What do you do with velvet antlers?

[Bradyshawn]

I love archery deer hunting.  Most of the bucks I hunt are in full velvet.  If you shoot a animal in velvet you dont want to mount what do you do with the antlers?  Keep velvet on? Strip it off?

 

[Bradyshawn]

I only have 3 bucks I kept the anlters on. the first one I had treated and mounted on a board.  The second I sprayed with bug spray evey day for several weeks to keep the bugs off and I let them dry have the antlers laying in my garage.  This years buck I stripped the velvet and did a euro mount.

 

[ElkManDan]

Strip it off and sell it to Ray Lewis 

 

[Kmbingham92]

I have kept it on my mule deer and had them preserved. Mine have been injected but many say freeze drying them can help them last longer. I guess I will find out down the road. None of mine have been big enough for a full head mount yet so I am researching a little more so I know what to do this year when I kill that monster Muley in Wyoming. Stripped of the velvet on my caribou and they turned out good. Depends on what you like. I like the velvet if I can get it taken care of immediately and it isn't already coming off.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I have never taken an animal in velvet, but I'm sure if I do I will keep the velvet on provided it is in good shape to begin with.

 

[GoatT]

Leave it on.  I used the freeze dry method on this buck's antlers and they turned out great.  Was able to get them to my taxi and to the freeze dryer within a couple of days.