kstout,
Where ya at in BR? My camp is by Big Jackson School, off of 19 mile rd. Small world.
From what I understand, bucks hanging onto antlers longer, or dropping antlers early is often a sign of herd stress.
Meaning, perhaps poor food, poor herd structure, over population for available quality food, skewed antlerled buck to doe ratio, stressful rut, they drop early. And vice versa.
From what I've read, bucks holding onto antlers later is perhaps a signal of better overall "herd health".