VIDEO: Watch the Moment a Drop Tine Buck Deer Shakes His Antler Off

For many deer hunters, a drop tine buck is a real prize. But rarer still is being able to see a drop tine buck lose his antlers right there on camera!

There are even those that, though not necessarily hunters, will still mark the locations of drop tine bucks in their vicinity in the hopes of being able to recover their antlers. 

In case you've never encountered the phrase, a drop tine buck is one whose antlers have produced an irregular and often downward sloping tine (that's tine like the pointy ends of a fork). Most of the the drop tines result from genetics, but they can also be the result of an injury near the antler's root, though that is typically apparent.

This handsome buck's drop tine looks like textbook genetics - and boy does he want to get rid of it.  Every year bucks shed their antlers, sometimes later, sometimes earlier depending on environmental factors.  The antlers drop off, leaving raw, red spots on the sides of the buck's head until they heal over.  The next year, the antlers begin to grow again.

But the process of the antlers coming off must feel at least a little irritating because this deer wants them off.  He jumps in place, engaging in a little of what we, in our heavy metal years, might have called "head banging."  Finally, one of the antlers falls off. 

The second set are a bit more resilient, and the buck must do some more running jumping before he's rid of those too.  Then, probably feeling gloriously unencumbered, if a little sore, the deer goes about his life. 

As a piece of footage, it is a rare and fascinating capture. See the whole video below, and leave a comment if you have ever encountered a drop tine buck in the wild - or bagged one!