Antlers Shed Hunting

nice. I need to get out...

 

I found this the other day setting traps.

 

Found almost the same combo yesterday, mule deer version!

 

nice ones!

 

Any of you guys have shed dogs? We just got a 6 month old lab and she loves to fetch antlers, she’ll do it all day.

I just don’t know what to do next.

 

start hiding them and give her your search command. Let her search for them.

 

I don’t have one, but I will be getting one soon. From what I have read it seems like you’re doing good thus far, they have to be interested in the antlers. Next would be hiding the antlers and having them find them, progressively getting harder to find over time. Eventually they will learn how to find them by smell alone

 

Danner pronghorns.

I wore them daily doing plant work for the NPS. 10 hr days, stream crossings, steep hills with no trails, any terrain you can imagine in Georgia, SC, NC including beaches and walking in the shallow surf. These boots are flawless for me. Went up to Wisconsin this winter and used them as snow boots. 100 degrees to zero degrees. Paired with a good hiking sock my feet never got too hot or cold at all. Same sock year round. Thorlo light hiker.

Touch them up with Snoseal occasionally and they look brand new.

Comfortable
Durable
Waterproof

 

Found another one.

 

So my son loves doing this. We went walking on the "deer highways" looking for antlers and only found poop and tracks. Also saw two does.

2 questions though: Is there a better time of the year to find these? I assume coyotes would pick them up? Also is there a place to look for them (other than on the ground)? I assumed they can be anywhere of course, but the chances of them being where there is obvious trails would be of higher likelihood. Basically i'm trying to impress my impressionable son, help me to deceive him into thinking i'm awesome. These are whitetails btw.

 

trails is the best way...but any crossing like a fence they have to jump or a log or whatever to jostle the antlers loose, follow trails that go down hill and look at the bottom of the hill. Edges of crop fields or in the fields, another thing is the bucks bed in a different place. so really could be anywhere. I dont know where you are located but typically they start losing their antlers in late Dec but some dont lose them til late feb or even march sometimes. Ive found an antler late into hunting season so its more a matter of stumbling on one. Unless you have a lot of antler hunters around in that case you are SOL because they may have already found the ones where you were walking. Did you see a lot of bucks? Im not sure if coyotes grab them or not, they may but they dont eat them as far as I know. Also if you find where there are rubs sometimes they come back to those and rub off their antlers. hope this helps a little.

 

One of my first finds! Definately hooked me. My dog and I walked up a trail from a dirt road right to this beast! This side has 12 points. The other side was found by a lady in the group 1/2 mile away. It has 9 points on it.

 

I'm in Ohio. The chances of someone walking my property is very remote so if there are any on my land, they should still be there. I have tons of doe tracks, but few buck tracks. I will look for more next time I go. I'll keep looking, that seems like part of the fun. And if all else fails, I will buy an antler and plant it to keep my son interested lol. I will be on the lookout for rubs, I never even considered that, thanks.

 

That thing is a tank! Have you scored it?

 

If you find bedding areas theres a good chance you will find some there also. Ive found them mostly on trails though. The last one I found was during elk season last fall next to a dead tree...looked like it had been there a year and snow pushed it into the ground. Also what helps me is the antler will bleach out and when it rains the rest of the wood etc turns dark but highlights the antler and basically sticks out like a sore thumb as the old saying goes. I look for anything that looks like a point or antler. One I spotted in a field fell in a burrow hole of some animal and there were no other sticks in the field so I said why not go look at it, I go over and pulled it out of the hole and it was a nice 4pt. Nothing great but still a neat find. Another 4pt I found just what looked like an old antler and it was chewed on the tips trampled in the ground. the base was still good just the top tines was chewed by a squirrel or porcupine...

 

Like Boone and Crockett measurement. Main beam, G1, G2, H1, etc. when you add all the measurements up you get the “score” of the antler

 

I miss the days of antler hunting. I grew up in the White mountains of AZ and used to go every year. My dad would buy them to make chandeliers. I tried a few times when I lived in nw PA but never found anything.

As far as the boots, I was young and didn't care what covered my feet. Nowadays I wear Chippewa steeltoe loggers for work. I wear them outside of work and am more comfortable than any other boots I've tried. They last me about a year but I am walking about 1700 miles a year. That is according to my fitbit.

 

No I haven’t. Buddy of mine that was with me that day and the person that got me started in this fun sport has a whitetail shed that makes this look small! He has scored his and if I remember correctly, his is around 116 inches! It is REALLY huge and impressive.

 

I had a deer skull I found this past fall scored just for giggles...While I thought it was a neat rack--double split brows, and 11pts it scored a measly 124 with all the boone and crocket deductions. I havent scored antlers so I couldnt say if they are good deer or not but they are trophies for me regardless of score. I can say they are lots of times inflated scores by people just like in fishing--bass weight/length.

 

These are best best Moose paddles I’ve picked up. Heavy haul out but worth every step. They are right around 51 inches wide. Pretty good for a Shiras Moose. Saw three other bulls that day still packing both sides.