Question from a reader: Mike, I hunt deer on a ranch in eastern Wyoming. Some of the bucks have blonde antlers; others have chocolate-brown racks. Why is this?  Seems like the dark antlers are slightly more common on bigger bucks. I’ve also seen this difference in the whitetails I’ve hunted back home in Minn.–Tim

Tim, biologists say antler coloration is determined by several things, including:

(1) buck age. younger bucks tend to have lighter-colored antlers. Older, more dominant bucks often have darker antlers. But this is not set in stone.

(2) bark coloration of the predominant rubbing trees in a region. Bucks that rub light-colored trees, like aspen, have light antlers, while bucks that blaze pines and cedars with sap have darker tines.

(3) genetics. some strains of bucks have light racks in their DNA while others have dark antlers.

(4) time of year and habitat. later in the season antlers that have been on a buck’s head for 4 months or more have been exposed to the sun longer and are more bleached out, especially in open habitats like Wyoming.

I’ll add that the rack color of individual bucks seems to vary widely with no rhyme or reason across America, as referenced in genetics #3 above. You can sit in a stand and see a buck with antlers the color of used motor oil, followed by an 8-pointer with brass-tinted tines, followed by a dark-horned buck…or a blonde one. You just never know.