Shed Crazy!

The question that often arises around this time of year is, "When should I start looking for shed antlers?".  It has been my experience that it's never too early.  I have found sheds in the past as early as January 5th.  That is only four days after the last day of deer season in South Carolina.  One memory that stands out is a set found in early January several years ago by my Dad and I.

Dad and I set out on an afternoon stroll one Saturday or as we like to call it, "a walk in the woods".  We decided to walk the fence line that bordered the pasture behind my Dad's house.  As we started out we fought through a thicket of small sweet gum trees and a briar patch that was too thick for the slickest of cottontails.  We some how managed to squeeze our way through and found ourselves in a young stand of pines.  We found a well traveled deer trail and began to follow it.  It wasn't long when we spotted one side of a nice eight point rack.  I had just read an article not too long before our walk that stated that the more mature dominant bucks often loose their antlers first due to their increased energy output during the year to maintain their dominance.  I'm not a biologist but this makes sense to me.  I also read that often a deer sheds both sides of its antlers in the same general area.  So we continued our walk and followed this deer trail.  As luck or fate would have it, we stumbled on the match to the shed we found earlier.  It was only approximately 200 yards away from the first one we found.  Not a bad day for just a "walk in the woods".

My most recent find occurred this past Sunday.  My son Riley, Cousin JD, and myself headed out for an afternoon stroll.  My intentions were to check the field edges and then to check the pine thickets around my Dad's house.  It has been my luck in the past to find sheds in those general areas.  Well after about an hour of walking we hit the jackpot.  We found one side of what appeared to be a six point.  This find was a little unusual though.  The brow tine on this shed was huge.  I measured it at about 9 inches.  The rest of the rack was not impressive.  We will definitely have to hunt him hard next year to get him out of the gene pool.  Check out the video.

 To me these sheds are a treasure.  Although they hold some value if you search an auction site like eBay, it is more than just a price tag.  It is like finding a lost piece to a puzzle.  It offers a glimpse of the unknown, because these animals are so elusive.  The sheds that I've found in the past are from deer that I have never seen and haven't seen since, but it's this clue to the unknown that keeps me hunting.  So don't hesitate to take that "walk in the woods", because it's never too early to find that treasure.  Clint's blog "Shed Hunting" has a little more detail about the sport.  Check it out!

Has anyone else had any luck?

What should I nickname this beast?

 I wanted to update the blog since my neighbor Griff Wilson emailed me a picture of the deer that the shed belongs to.  I thought you may want to see the other side if the shed is never found.  Pretty cool looking buck. 

Trail Cam pic from my neighbor Griff.