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The two main species of deer found in the United States are mule deer and white-tailed deer. Mule deer are mostly found west of the Rocky Mountains, but can also be found as far east as parts of North and South Dakota, while whitetails generally occur only to the east of the Rockies. Mule deer have a black-tipped tail which is proportionally smaller than that of the white-tailed deer. The male deer or bucks grow antlers annually. The mule deer have taller skinnier tines on their antlers where white-tailed deer typically have shorter thicker tines. White-tailed bucks are slightly smaller than mule deer bucks. Both of the species lose their antlers in January and regrow the antlers during the following summer beginning in June.
As their antlers become fully developed, they will start to shed their velvet. Velvet is vascularized tissue that is a furry skin-like material that covers the growing antlers. The velvet will fall off of the deer when their antlers start to harden in late summer to early fall to get ready for mating season in the winter. If the velvet doesn't fall off on its own they will make a "rub" on a small tree. This is when they rub their antlers to both mark territory and to take the remaining velvet off.
(Source: Wikipedia)