How many of you have ever had the chance to see a trophy whitetail buck in velvet while actually deer hunting? I would venture to say not many. I have had the opportunity to hunt and harvest many bucks in velvet over the years. There are not many places around the country where you get the chance to harvest a buck in velvet, especially with a rifle, but the Low Country of South Carolina provides that very opportunity. With a rifle season that opens on August 15th every year, the Low Country of South Carolina provides a chance to hunt what I would consider one of my favorite times of the year. You will get a chance to see things while actually hunting that most people only get to see from afar, either while scouting or driving by an open field a month or so before their season opens. Yes, it is HOT! Yes, the bugs can be TERRIBLE, but  to be sitting on that bean field or freshly cut corn field about an hour before dark and watching a bachelor group of 8, 10, 12 bucks step out of the timber and into the field is a sight that is very special and one that I look forward to on an annual basis. The deer this time of year are still in their summer patterns, and the bucks are usually still running around in their summer bachelor groups. That my fellow hunters, is a combination that is tough to beat! 

The 2009 hunting season provided an excellent example of this at my hunting camp in Allendale, SC. There were four mature bucks, all still in velvet, harvested out of the same stand in a five night period by four different hunters. We knew the bucks were using the freshly cut cornfield and knew there was a large bachelor group. On the opening night of the season, eleven entered the field about forty five minutes before dark, and a member of the club shot a beautiful 4 1/2 year old 8 point. Two evenings later, another member watched the same group enter the field within five minutes of the time they had before and harvested a dandy 3 1/2 year old 11 point. A very similar story played out during the next two evenings. This ever shrinking group of velvet bucks entered the field shortly before dark and two more mature 8 points were harvested, one by yours truly. This early season hunting offers not only the chance at a mature buck in velvet but usually provides us the ability to pattern the deer right before the start of the season.

This season brought a new opportunity for me to chase the ever elusive velvet buck. My home state of Florida made some major changes to their hunting zones and season dates effective for the 2010 hunting season. My particular zone's archery season opened on July 31st this year which provided me with the chance to harvest my first velvet bow kill, something that had been on my "bucket list" for several years. When I first heard the discussions of the changes I thought to myself, what are these people thinking, who wants to deer hunt in July? My next thought immediately turned to, I could not get a better chance to accomplish that goal than this, right in my own back yard. I had really been looking forward to this challenge since the changes were officially announced this past spring. I had been watching this bachelor group of bucks, which consisted of two mature 8 points, a young 8, a 6, and a 3 point, running around my property for most of the spring and summer. I was seeing them every day, and most days twice, for months. Opening day could not get here soon enough. My stands were hung, some shooting lanes trimmed, and I was practicing with my bow on a daily basis. Well, it did not happen opening morning as I had been dreaming about for months, but by weeks end I was able to scratch the velvet buck with my bow off of my list.

I had been hunting pretty hard all week and had seen several deer but not the two bucks that I really had my eye on. On the seventh morning of the season I was sitting in my stand as the light was just coming over the horizon when I noticed a couple of deer heading my way down the middle of the creek which had about a foot of water, unbelievably beautiful. They were about a hundred yards down  and heading in my direction, but with the low light I was not exactly sure what they were. When they hit the 50 yard mark I knew these were the two 8 points that I had been looking for. That of course is when the adrenaline kicked in. I was starting to realize that this was going to happen. I was about to get an opportunity at the bucks that I had been watching since April. As they got closer they decided to come up on my side of the bank which was going to put them at about six yards from my stand as they passed. The one that I really wanted , as I knew he was the older of the two (aged at 5.5), was in the lead. When he stepped behind a large Oak tree between the stand and the creek, I drew. As he stepped from behind the tree and stopped on the other side, I let the arrow fly and let loose a six yard shot that definitely hit its intended target.

WHAT ARE VELVET ANTLERS?

So what are velvet antlers and why do bucks have them part of the year and not the rest? The head gear that sits atop the heads of those magical creatures (the whitetail deer) that get us out of bed at 4 A.M. throughout the fall and winter are actually called antlers and not horns. Antlers are only grown by deer and other members of the Cervid family, while horns are grown by cattle, bison, sheep, goats and other horned members of the animal kingdom. The difference in the two is that antlers are made of bone and are shed and regrown on an annual basis while horns are actually made of a substance know as keratin and continue to grow throughout the animal's life. The 128 day process of antler growth is know as Antlerogenesis and is primarily caused by the change in testosterone levels in the buck's body. This change in testosterone levels is caused by the pineal gland which is triggered by the increase in daylight hours or photo-period. The longer the daylight hours the faster the growth occurs. This same gland and shortening daylight hours is what also causes the antlers to stop growing to allow the hardening process to begin and eventually the dropping or shedding of the antlers in the winter time. The velvet itself is actually a skin like tissue covered with tiny hairs and filled with blood vessels that feed the antlers and helps them to grow. Antlers are widely known as the fastest growing tissue in the animal kingdom and can grow up to 1/2 inch a day during their peek growing time.  

The amount of stress, age, genetics, and nutrition play a major role in how large the antlers will grow. A stress free, well fed deer will have a greater chance of growing a much larger set of antlers than one that is stressed out or lacking the nutrients needed to grow to their potential. Not all of the nutrients that are needed to grow that large set of head gear come from food intake. A lot of the nutrients are actually taken from the deer's own skeletal system. Similar to bone degeneration in humans, a deer will rob the remaining minerals it needs to grow their antlers from places with in its own body such as the ribs and sternum.  Unlike humans, when the antler growing stage is complete, they will replenish what was lost and the bone density will return to normal levels. Once the antlers have finished growing, they begin to harden under the velvet which then causes the blood supply to shutdown. This in turn will cause the velvet to dry and begin to crack. At this point the buck will begin the process of removing the velvet from its antlers which is usually done in a very short period of time. I once witnessed a buck that was in full velvet at 7 A.M., and when I saw him later that evening around 8 P.M. there was nothing left but about a 4 inch strip that was hanging from his left side. Later in the winter when the daylight hours have shortened and the testosterone levels have changed again, the bucks will begin to shed or drop their antlers and now the growing cycle has come full circle. It truly is an amazing process.

WHAT DO I DO NOW?

Now that you have harvested your velvet buck you may be asking what I need to do to preserve the velvet.  What you plan to do with your trophy will narrow down your choices as to what to do next. Whichever method you are going to choose you must act quickly. The blood flow to the antlers stops upon harvest, and the velvet will begin to slip if not taken care of in a timely manner. Once the velvet has begun to slip your chances of saving the trophy rack have been lost.

If I plan on taking it to the taxidermist to have a shoulder or european mount done, I know I have two options. Option number one, cape the animal out and drive straight to the taxidermist for them to take care of.  Option two, If I can not get to the taxidermist right away I will cape the animal and put into a freezer which will certainly buy you enough time until you can make arrangements to drop it off. I have discussed with several taxidermists what methods they use to preserve the velvet and typically they will either use the freeze dried or the formaldehyde method. The freeze dried method simply consists of putting the antlers in a frost free deep freezer for several months which will kill the bacteria and preserve the antlers. Much simpler, but it does take up a lot of freezer space and will take much longer to get the trophy mounted. From my research I have found that this method has become more popular in recent years and is being used by more of the new generation of taxidermists. The formaldehyde method is a little more labor intensive but is preferred by a lot of the long time taxidermists. When taking this route, they will cut a small slit with a razor blade in the very end of each tine. Next they will take a syringe with formaldehyde and inject into each vein lying under the velvet pushing the blood out of the small slits in the end of the tines. Once this is complete and the formaldehyde is coming out of the ends of the tines the same color it is going in they will use a brush and gently brush a light coat of the formaldehyde on the outside of the rack to complete the curing process.

When deciding to just cut the antlers off and keep them, or if I am going to mount them on a board myself at home, I have used two different methods and have had great success with both. The first method, which I learned from some of the old timers in our hunting camp in South Carolina, is to take a needle and puncture as many tiny holes in the velvet as you can stand to make. I have spent many hours poking on a single set of antlers. While doing this you are squeezing the antlers gently using a paper towel or rag to soak the blood as it comes out of the velvet. Once you have gotten as much blood out of the rack as possible, you will put it in a pan, box or anything large enough to set the rack in and cover completely with borax. I generally will take the borax and sort of squeeze and grind it in (carefully) to make sure that I have totally covered the entire rack. I will continue to cover with the borax for about 30 days or so. After the 30 days, I will take an air hose and gently blow off the remaining borax. The second and now my most preferred option, is the freeze dried method described above similar to that used by taxidermists. If I am not in a hurry to do something right away, I generally will choose this method because of the simplicity. I typically will leave a set of antlers in my deep freezer for about 6 months. I have used both methods on several occasions and have never lost a set of velvet antlers yet.

There are a few other places around the country that you will have a chance at harvesting a trophy Whitetail buck in velvet due to early September bow seasons, but it can be hit or miss. However, with South Florida's July 31st bow season and the Low Country of South Carolina's August 15th rifle season openers, you can bet that the odds are in your favor, that if you can find them, they will be in velvet. If you have ever dreamed of harvesting a Whitetail in Velvet for you trophy room, you might just check these two places out. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

By Tom Knight

Tom “flbuckhunter” Knight was introduced into hunting and fishing at an early age by his father and grandfather. Born in central Ohio, hunting and fishing was a family way of life. He was fishing regularly at the age of 3 and started tagging along coon hunting with his father at the age of 5. From day one he was hooked and has never looked back. He soon was tromping through the woods and fields in pursuit of rabbits, squirrels, and pheasants. At age 8 the love of the outdoors soon took on a new love and that was the Whitetail Deer. At the age of 12 his family relocated to Sarasota, Fl where he discovered many new game species including the Osceola Turkey and wild hogs, but to this day the Whitetail is his true passion. Tom has spent 29 years pursuing the whitetail and enjoys every moment he spends in the outdoors.

Tom currently hunts locally around the State of Florida, has a personal lease in Troy, Alabama, and also is the camp master of a 10 member 1600 acre hunting club in Allendale, South Carolina.

Tom is a graduate of Troy University located in Troy, Alabama where he earned a B.S. degree in Finance. He has worked in the mortgage industry since graduating in1992 and has owned his own Mortgage Brokerage Business specializing in residential mortgages since 1999. Tom is a Lifetime Sportsmen License Holder in the state of Florida and is co-chairman of the Southbay chapter of Friends of the NRA.

When Tom is not in the woods or on the water he is spending time with his two children who are quickly gaining the same passion for the outdoors as their father. They have both loved fishing and have been tagging along to the deer stand or turkey woods with dad for several years and both will be getting their first opportunity to hunt this coming season.

Comments(4):

1. Great Article!

   Thanks for educating us on the ins and outs of Velvet Bucks. I am a little smarter today because of it.

   Friday, September 03, 2010 Denny

2. velvet hunting

   GR8 article, I also enjoyed the taxidermist "how to". I Might actually visit a friend in the near future for some S. Carolina Velvet.

   Saturday, September 04, 2010 Kipp

3. Kipp, Thanks for the compliment. I enjoyed writing the article and really do love hunting that time of year. If you have a friend in South Carolina and have never hunted that early season I would really recommend it. It can be a great hunt and a great opportunity to harvest a nice velvet buck. Good luck and Happy Hunting. Tom

   Saturday, September 04, 2010 Tom

4. Cool Stuff!

   I did not know about the freezer thing. good info and great research!

   Thursday, September 09, 2010 Robert