Answer:
Whitetail bucks shed, drop or lose (depending who you ask) their antlers every year. This happens when a bucks testosterone levels begin to drop back to normal or low levels. A whitetail bucks testosterone levels will rise throughout the early fall and remain high through the rut until all the does have been breed. After the breeding has been done a deer’s focus goes back to safety and food, testosterone levels begin to retreat to normal. Whitetail bucks can lose their antlers beginning as early as mid to late December. However, most bucks won’t start to shed their antlers until late January or early February depending on where you are in the country. Some bucks will still have their antlers as late March.

Most things you will read will state that the older more mature bucks will usually lose their antlers first. While I am not a biologist and have not been formally trained in anyway, I do have a trail camera. Based on my observations of bucks in the late season with the use of a trail camera, the younger bucks seem to show up first with half of a rack. This could easily be coincidence and is hardly scientific; I am just passing along my observations.