The takeaway: Shedding velvet is a key milestone in late summer, heralding a change in behavior and territory. Learn how to be prepared for when this happens.
In late summer or early fall bucks shed their velvet and move into fall territory. This is an important transition and marks a major behavioral change in bucks. Timing of the velvet shed varies by region; by using a game camera, you can note when it occurs so you can shift your focus and be prepared for this territory and behavioral repositioning.
What Is Velvet?
Deer antler velvet is a soft tissue that covers growing antlers in deer as well as elk, moose, and caribou. Full of blood vessels, it is a skin-like covering that provides nutrients and support to the bone and cartilage in the antler. As the antlers mature and harden, the velvet dries, cracks, and eventually sheds. This process looks painful but it’s completely normal.
Why Do Bucks Shed Velvet?
Bucks shed their velvet in anticipation of the rut. Antlers grow during the summer months, but as the rut approaches, bucks’ testosterone levels rise, which serves as a signal to the antlers to harden. The hardened antlers cut off the blood supply to the velvet, causing it to fall. A velvet-shed buck is ready for the rut.
What Happens When Bucks Shed Velvet?
Shedding velvet is the most obvious sign that changes are afoot at the end of summer, but the shed is just one of several things happening.
Bucks will begin to rub their antlers on trees and shrubs to mark their territory and strengthen their neck muscles as they prepare to spar with other bucks. Meanwhile, summer bachelor groups will break up, with the bucks dispersing and establishing new home ranges. They may also become more nocturnal, find different bedding areas, and seek new food choices.
Be Prepared for this Shift
Understanding these changes can be key to hunting success, particularly in the early fall. All or some of these changes may occur in bucks. Not all will move miles from their summer areas, but some will. Meanwhile, some of the bucks you’ve been watching for months will seemingly have vanished.
Game cameras can help you stay ahead. As images and video from your cams begin to show velvet shedding, you can respond by relocating cameras to fall hotspots. Move your cameras to:
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Scrape zones
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Rub lines
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Funnels
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Bedding-to-field trails
Cameras offer real-time intel during this critical shift:
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Reduced human intrusion
Employ pattern recognition and logging:
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Track time, wind, and movement
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Identify huntable patterns
Deer shift–make sure you do, too:
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Don’t rely on summer data too far into the fall
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The velvet shed is a signal to shift your strategy
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Cellular game cameras are one of your most important tools
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Stay ahead of the curve for early season success