Cattle have horns. So do sheep, goats, gazelles, bison and pronghorns. Horn has a core of bone covered by keratin, and most of those animals keep them throughout their lives. Whitetails have antlers. So do moose, elk, caribou and reindeer.
Antlers are pure bone, bone that grows right out of the heads of male members of the deer family.
Female caribou and reindeer also wear antlers, and occasionally whitetail does will grow them. Big, impressive antlers have fascinated hunters for thousands of years. Whitetail bucks begin growing antlers in the spring. The bone grows rapidly, as much as a half-inch a day. By October, the antlers are fully developed, and the velvet begins to fall away.