I just had to share this story with someone so I found this forum and it is perfect. First off, I used to hunt a private farm about 10 years ago. The farm belonged to my ex wife's parents. After my divorce, I stopped hunting there and it has been ten years. No one else hunts this land. Last weekend I went out scouting for Turkey and decided to do so from a treestand. I saw about 14 does during the early morning hours but no bucks. I was just about to climb down from the stand when I heard something in the thick brush. I looked up to see a set of A-Typical antlers. One side had a lot going on but the other side was a bent spike that ran down the side of the buck's face. Plus I am guestimating his age to be around 7 years old. He weighs approximately 250-275lbs easily. I am totally pumped about this buck so much that I am starting to forget about turkey season.
Testosterone levels drop off at the end of the rut causing the antlers to drop, If perhaps the buck is 7, it is possible that the buck's testosterone levels were never elevated throughout the rut, because of this the buck may not shed, and may carry all summer. Often times a buck in this situation will stay in velvet though...
