What causes a chocolate colored rack

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Some of the bucks were we hunt have the chocolate colored racks, We really like the color but I have always wondered what causes this.    

I have heard lots of different explanations but was just wondering what you guys think.I don't prefer one or the other just as long as were seeing them  :D  

Tracy

[Wannabe1]

Dipping!      

Oxidized blood/local plants - antler color depends partly on the amount of oxidized blood left over from velvet shedding and partly on a chemical reaction between the blood and sap from plants on which the antlers are rubbed.

[KCHIEFAN 13]

The best answer I have heard is simply, light colored racks are bucks that bed primarily in direct sunlight. Dark racks are bucks that bed in deep shadows. not sure but it makes sense to me.

[Wannabe1]

Tracy, I got that clipping from a biology article on whitetail deer I read sometime back. The article title was, " Factors that determine deer antler characteristics." By Matt Ross, Whitetail Stewards, Inc.

[steadman]

Don't know about the whitetail, don't have them here. But with elk and mulies, light colored racks, rubed on quakies or other light tree. The dark ones rubbed on pines or another tree with a lot of sap, then dirt and stuff collects making them dark. Which one you goin for Tracy?

[Brian Krebs]

velvet comes off; the rack is white. The deer rub on trees for whatever reason; but the sap does make the rack sticky.
 Then they rub it on whatever they can; the ground; burnt trees; this tree that tree; bushes; and the sap makes the pigment stick from those things.
 Here with forest fires; racks can have almost totally a black appearance from bucks rubbing on burned trees.
  I have no doubt its minerals from the soil mostly that darkens them; and sap is the glue.

[BMOELLER]

I always thought it was tannic acid from eating acorns.  It seemed most of the choc. antlers I saw were from S.Mo. and the lighter were from up north more corn and beans.   Other than that, not real sure.

[vermonster13]

It's politically incorrect to ask or point it out.    :rolleyes:

[Widowbender]

The area I hunt has both. I always thought  that the darker racks came from rubbing pine trees...

David

[Orion]

As already noted, racks are pretty light when first out of velvet.  The plants they rub on gives the antlers the color, conifers and such contributing to the darker color.  A lot of the antlers get pretty light again by the time they're dropped because the bucks stop rubbing or greatly reduce rubbing after the rut.

[Pruneemac]

sap

[Matty]

Hawaiian Tropic!!
   

[Eric in FLA]

Here in Florida the soil quality necessitates  supplemental feeding for maximum antler development. We find that the feed mix with a higher SPF produces lighter colored racks. I prefer a mix of corn and Bain De Soleil #4 for a deep dark antler color.

I do tend to see more darker racks on 3-4 yr old deer versus the younger spikes. I have always believed that it is due to reduced exposure to sunlight as the older bucks become increasingly nocturnal. The coat of these deer are usually darker as well.
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[Ray Hammond]

We had a buck with monstrous, coke can size bases, with five points on a side..really tall rack, 250-275 lb buck on a property my buddy and I had exclusive right to hunt on in metro Atlanta for several years.

The only problem he had was his spread was about 10 inches and his points tilted over to form a nearly impenetrable cage, blocking him from ever rubbing on trees..he just never did it.

His antlers were ivory colored...you could see him coming from 300 yards away through thick brush because of the spotlights he was sporting! All the other bucks on that property had the typical brown antlers with a couple highlighted spots where they really worked out and polished them off by constant rubbing...but the rest of their rack was brown from tree sap colored by the sap itself and dirt and debris caked into the sap.

In some of the nooks and crannys there might be some dried blood from the velvet that initially turns brown to color the horn.

Awesome buck...lives in my dreams...but it is DEFINITIVELY due to rubbing - rubbing on what, or not rubbing vs rubbing, only.

[Dave Bulla]

Personally, I think it's just a trait like blond or redhead in people.  The blood left in the antler makes the most sense coming from a biologist and all, and I think some deer just tend to have more of it than others.

Having cut up numerous antlers, some dark and some light, I've found that the dark color goes far deeper than what I think tree sap could ever penetrate.  For that matter, if you look at most deers antlers, very few are dark all over.  Usually the tips and tines are lighter colored.  THAT'S where most of the rubbing is done.  Where the bases are rough and knobbly or on the back sides of the main beams is where they tend to be darker.  

If you see a buck who's rack shape allows him to rub his rack smooth right down to the pedicle, it's usually lighter in color than the sides and back of the bases so how does rubbing darken the rack when the rubed areas are lighter?  Yea, I know different kinds of trees... I'm just not convinced that sap can penetrate halfway to the center of solid bone.

It's probably a lot more complicated than anything we're guessing at.  Kinda like 20 years ago when the big argument was whether bucks rubbed trees to remove the velvet from "itchy" antlers or to strengthen their necks.  I remember some pretty knowledgable hunters back then arguing strongly for some pretty ridiculous reasons about that.  Heck, they even argued over whether to call them rubs or scrapes.

Anyway, all I know is I LIKE dark racks.  Big, gnarly, massive dark racks......  Who cares why they are dark or light.  I certainly won't pass up a buck because his rack isn't the shade of brown I want.