The terms horns and antlers are frequently used synonymously, but they are quite different. Horns are composed of keratin, a material much like the human fingernail. Antlers differ from horns in that they are bony projections that grow every summer and are shed every winter. But when and why they shed are the questions.
Interesting is the fact that antlers start to develop about the same time in April-May over most whitetail range. However, shedding times (also known as “casting”) are variable. One thing we do know is the mechanism for shedding. There is a thin layer of tissue between the pedicle (bony projection of the frontal bone) and the antler. As this layer deteriorates (and it does very quickly, perhaps over a 24-hour period), the antler falls off.
Charles Alsheimer, writing in the March 2009 issue of Deer and Deer Hunting magazine, noted that bucks rarely drop both antlers at the same time. He feels that the
