Shed season 2010 - 2011

[First-light]

The base on that antler is huge!

[wooly]

What a find WNY!

That's what we hike so long and hard for every season, just knowing there's the possibility of hauling in one like that! My first set of the year had 8" bases around the burr. Couldn't believe it when I pulled that mammoth set out of the snow. ???

Man, that horn you got is so nice and clean,.......and fresh!   Wanna trade,lol.

Great finds to all you guys who've been posting your finds!

[WNY Bowhunter]

Scored this shed @ 68 4/8" typical or 70 2/8" non-typical.  Really don't know if the G2 & G3 would be ruled as common-base tines?  I hope that my uncle can talk the guy who has the 7-pt. match into selling it to me.  This deer would gross 150+ if the other side is similar with is pretty amazing considering the tines only range from 6 1/8 to 7 2/8 in length.  From the description that my buddies dad gave me of it, it sounds to be just like the one I have.  Man, this dude has to be 6-7-8 years old?  The other big one from the weekend scores 62 but looks to be a young deer and should be a monster this year...

[G-Man]

I hope that big one didn't cast his horns and die.. Found a few skeletons thru the years with no headgear and huge pedicals.. i guess just they died from natural causes.. Cause he'd be sure fun to see in the flesh!!

[G-Man]

Quick walk today yeilded 2 a dead spike from hunting season and a 3 that looks like it was tore out if its head!

[sampotter]

Lansing, NY 3/5/11

[nyantler]

Sam .. how many has the dog chalked up so far?

[sampotter]

Rutland, MA 3/14/11

NYANTLER- I can't honestly say Fleur has found one on her own yet without me seeing it first. For one reason or another she seems to be upwind at the wrong time. She has located and retrieved 3 that I saw and directed her towards from no less than 20 feet without touching them. She's only 7 months, but its only a matter of time. My girlfriend and I drove to Iowa this AM to visit her folks for a few days... It could be said that I have ulterior motives... (referring to the visit, not the girlfriend).

[sampotter]

Dorchester, IA 3/22/11

Actually a break off from from '09.

[CantrellTaxidermy]

Here are a few from the weekend

[Geno C]

that last one has some mass   

what county are you in?

[erussell]

I read an interesting theory today in and article. It said that if you are not finding sheds in a certain area it could be because the area is seriously mineral deficient and the deer are eating thier own antlers or they are being gobbled up by everything else to get the minerals. Anyone else ever hear of deer eating thier own antlers? That would explain alot since I have been out looking for antlers the last 10 yrs and have found only one shed. And it was fresh like it had dropped off that day. I have never found an antler from a previous season in NY also. I have found old ones in LA that were badly chewed but never in NY. What do you think?

[wooly]

That's a great excuse erussel,lol!

Highly unlikely...., but a great excuse.

Finally, some freshness!

On to a new propperty now. #17 came home yesterday. I didn't see much evidence that I'll be packing many out of here but I was happy to be back on a fresh antler.

Little 90* spiker. :

[G-Man]

Off today had the whole day to look and woke up to 10" of snow.... on hold again...

[CantrellTaxidermy]

Geno the picture doesnt even do it justice it has some serious mass and a 9 inch browtine to boot lol. I am in Monroe county, I just bought a house with a giant sanctuary right across the road, and have seen some of the most amazing bucks I have seen in the woods. I only have 5 and a half thick acres but it works.

[WNY Bowhunter]

I read an interesting theory today in and article. It said that if you are not finding sheds in a certain area it could be because the area is seriously mineral deficient and the deer are eating thier own antlers or they are being gobbled up by everything else to get the minerals. Anyone else ever hear of deer eating thier own antlers? That would explain alot since I have been out looking for antlers the last 10 yrs and have found only one shed. And it was fresh like it had dropped off that day. I have never found an antler from a previous season in NY also. I have found old ones in LA that were badly chewed but never in NY. What do you think?

I have heard of deer in TX eating their sheds, but I don't think a deer's teeth would be very efficient at chewing off pieces of bone. IMHO, this theory doesn't hold much water.  I have found sheds from previous seasons that were chewed by rodents and others that weren't chewed at all.  Not one of the sheds I picked up this year, other than a decent 4-pt that is at least a couple of years old, has so much as a gnaw mark.  We are pretty luck here in NY when you look at the condition of some of the sheds found in the midwest...they'll literally get their tines chewed off by treerats within a couple of weeks of being on the ground.  Sickening!!!

I believe that most people who don't find sheds simply because they aren't looking where the bucks were bedding and feeding during the shedding months of Jan./Feb...

[wooly]

I read an interesting theory today in and article. It said that if you are not finding sheds in a certain area it could be because the area is seriously mineral deficient and the deer are eating thier own antlers or they are being gobbled up by everything else to get the minerals. Anyone else ever hear of deer eating thier own antlers? That would explain alot since I have been out looking for antlers the last 10 yrs and have found only one shed. And it was fresh like it had dropped off that day. I have never found an antler from a previous season in NY also. I have found old ones in LA that were badly chewed but never in NY. What do you think?

I have heard of deer in TX eating their sheds, but I don't think a deer's teeth would be very efficient at chewing off pieces of bone. IMHO, this theory doesn't hold much water.  I have found sheds from previous seasons that were chewed by rodents and others that weren't chewed at all.  Not one of the sheds I picked up this year, other than a decent 4-pt that is at least a couple of years old, has so much as a gnaw mark.  We are pretty luck here in NY when you look at the condition of some of the sheds found in the midwest...they'll literally get their tines chewed off by treerats within a couple of weeks of being on the ground.  Sickening!!!

I believe that most people who don't find sheds simply because they aren't looking where the bucks were bedding and feeding during the shedding months of Jan./Feb...

Ya know, I've read those articles too....but anyone who knows a their chit from shinola about the way deer rip, tear, and chew their chaw is full of BS in saying they eat their horns.

Maybe a lick here and there..., but they don't chew them down like crunch and munch.

Gotta love how anyone can post anything they want on the net these days and have it percieved as factual. :  Untill somebody drags up a pic, I ain't buying it.

Just another disgruntled shed hunter IMO.

Now that I say this, I'll probably get a pic of a deer chewing an antler tomorrow.

[Geno C]

Geno the picture doesnt even do it justice it has some serious mass and a 9 inch browtine to boot lol. I am in Monroe county, I just bought a house with a giant sanctuary right across the road, and have seen some of the most amazing bucks I have seen in the woods. I only have 5 and a half thick acres but it works.

very nice! i can see the mass compared to your hand, looks very good... the other deer you posted is from 5 1/2 acres? lol or are you finding these sheds on your 5 1/2? eitherway, thats great!

[CantrellTaxidermy]

No Geno I just got the property last year and didnt kill anything on it, I saw 4 giants there. I am finding the sheds on and around where I was able to get permission to look. The neighbors dont hunt but allowed me to go look for antlers. I am thinking in the next five years I might tag the biggest buck of my life, and least thats what I am hoping for lol.

[WNY Bowhunter]

Finally, some freshness!

On to a new propperty now. #17 came home yesterday. I didn't see much evidence that I'll be packing many out of here but I was happy to be back on a fresh antler.

Little 90* spiker. : 

Congrats.  You should be able hit 20 (once this friggen new snow we're getting melts off... > ).

[nyantler]

I find it hard to believe that a deer has the jaw or tooth strength  to chew an antler.. but I really don't know for sure.. but I highly doubt it

[erussell]

Wether or not its true is another storie.

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/article88293.htm

[wvhunter1968]

Hope its OK that I add my videos to this thread.  Ive gotten into the videoing aspect more than just taking pics straight down at an antler.

SHED ANTLER HUNT MAR 22, 2011

[WNY Bowhunter]

Can't wait for this snow to melt off so I can resume my shedding!!!

[WNY Bowhunter]

Well, I stopped to see the kid who found the other half today and he offered me $50 for mine but I turned him down.  Originally, he was supposed to sell me his, but apparently has changed his mind.  Reguardless, its a pretty cool looking set with a lot of character.  Hopefully, he'll need some money sometime and will want to part with it...