I found this buck right around this time of year last year when I was in the States
He had been hit by a car, and his front leg was broken with the bone actually sticking through the skin. He had been walking around on his bone and the inside of the bone was plugged full of dirt.
Nice little 8 Pt. We borrowed his rack.
What is interesting with this rack to me is the fact that because of the time of year, and also the stress that the buck endured before he died, he has begun preparing to shed his antlers. You can actually see on the bases where the bone has begun to pull away from the antler, weakening it, and getting ready for it to basically break off.
Now this is as opposed to a healthy deer from earlier in the season.
Found this 9pt here in Ontario in early December a couple years back. He had been dead for a bit, but was dead before shedding time was close. Notice how solid the bases are.