 It's getting close. You know, that time of year when your winding down your bow-season, all the gun hunting opportunities for whitetails are over, and Christmas is behind you. Hopefully with some luck, you've filled your freezer with some venison, and have a few pictures and a lot of memories from the past deer season. But you almost feel guilty not going out and hunting some more? This is a great time to scout the woods, and also go SHED HUNTING! The only thing close to being as great as tagging a whitetail buck is finding a antler shed from one of them following the season. Finding antler sheds is as big an adrenaline rush as anything. When you pick that shed up, hold it in your hand, realize a buck was wearing that thing a couple weeks ago, and that he's probably still alive, well it's an awesome feeling! Antler sheds can also give you valuable information such as; (1) the buck made it through hunting season (2) the age and possibly genetics of the deer (3) a good bet where the shed was found is the buck's home range, for next year as well. Whitetail bucks shed their antlers annually. That is every year, they drop their antlers in order to grow new ones the following Spring. Incidentally, horns (such as goats, sheep, rams, antelope) stay with the animal the entire lifespan, and do not drop annually like antlers do. Antlers are true bone--starting to grow as early as late April through early June. As late Summer approaches, testosterone levels in bucks increase, triggering the hardening of the blood vessels in the bone, and therefore drying out the velvet. This testosterone change, will however, do the opposite in late winter. As the testosterone levels in bucks decrease, this triggers the antlers to deaden and fall off. These hormonal changes are timed depending on many factors. A couple being the size of the deer, age, health, genetics, and how hard the buck was running during the rut. The younger bucks seem to drop sheds later, their antlers holding on longer than the mature deer. In the early stages of antler growth, injuries are much more apt to happen, and these early injuries are responsible for most of the abnormal antler growth seen during hunting season. The soft antler is very sensitive until it starts to harden and by then any damage will be visible as the velvet falls off. Bucks will rub and tangle with trees and shrubs to speed up the process of getting rid of the velvet. A buck's antlers when in velvet have been know to grow up to 1" per day. Here in Missouri, antlers start falling from mid- December all the way up to early April. I start looking in February, and keep looking from then on. You can find sheds all year round, but the critters find them also. And squirrels, mice, and others can chew them up quickly. I know quite a few farmers who run over a shed each year while doing hay, but these sheds are out in an open field, where squirrels seldom venture out. Every deer hunter is amazed by a big, Whitetail buck. Those antlers seem to have some sort of weird effect on all of us. But besides that, shed hunting is fun, an excuse to be in the woods during the off-season, and also gives us a chance to scout trails and food sources, as well as deer activities when we otherwise may not be out in the woods. Shed hunting has grown into a popular hobby for outdoorsmen and women, and many local and national big game record keeping agencies now have a list of record antler sheds. I know Buckmaster Trophy Records and Missouri Big Bucks do. Get online and type in "shed antler hunting" for more info. Ultimately, shed hunting will make you a better hunter, so next time you get a couple of hours to spare, give it a try, and go shed hunting. Following are a few tips to help you get started. Read them over, and copy them and bring them with you while shed hunting to remember. *Start your search for sheds in a bucks home bedding area or range, if you know one already. *Most bucks will shed their antlers within 200 yards of eachother, but there are exceptions. *Some bucks shed both antlers the same day. Others shed as long as a week apart. *The farther a buck travels from bedding area to feeding area, the longer distance the sheds will probably be apart. *Fence lines and ditches are great places to look for sheds. Jumping and lunging over these can jar antlers loose. *Game trails, open fields, bedding areas are all great places to look. *Look closely as they are hard to find. Concentrate on a few feet around you, as opposed to 20-30 yards out. By Matt McAnally hunter profile-Keith Pinson | Whitetail Feeding Habits All Year Long | The Ridge Stand by Matt McAnally | Off & Running--J.P. Mahn | Elk Photos | Confidence Doe | Shed Hunters | Chad Goetten Buck | hello M.B.B. Rob | Mud Lick Monster | | Return Home | Taxidermy Shop | Hunting Photo Gallery | KIDS TRAIL! | Wild Hog Mania! | Fishing Photo Gallery | |
||
