Whitetail bucks shed their antlers every winter or early spring, but it’s rare to find both sides of a rack on the ground next to each other. This is because usually one antler drops, then the second one drops later — later that day, later that week, or maybe later that month. Of course, a whitetail buck can travel a great distance in a couple days, or a couple weeks, so finding both sheds from a particular buck is often very difficult, and even impossible if the buck drops one antler in a river, swamp, land you don’t have permission to hike, etc.

In the YouTube video below, a trail cam captures the moment a buck sheds both antlers simultaneously. Note: According to the video description on YouTube, the date stamp on the cam is wrong; this event happened on Jan. 6, 2022, in Connecticut.

The 5x5 whitetail is a Pope and Young-caliber whitetail. My guess-timate is he’s 3.5 years old, but he could be 2.5. His rack isn’t very heavy, and his body isn’t overly large, either.

It looks to me as if the buck was wet from rain. Many times I’ve seen whitetails shake this way shortly after rising from a bed; maybe he was bedded nearby? Note: My Lab shakes this way every time she gets up from laying in her crate for a few hours. She stands, exits her crate, takes a few steps, stretches, then shakes like this buck. It’s like clockwork.

I think it’s funny how the right antler flies off and then lands on the buck’s back, spooking the animal. Be sure to check out the second video below, too. In this instance, a buck living in a suburban setting shakes to get rid of water on his hide and head, but only one antler goes flying. Turn up the volume to hear the woman and man talking; it’s good stuff.