What’s the point of searching for antlers that deer shed each spring? Many outdoors-men and women will have different answers to this question, some wont give you a straight answer while others will be blunt and say they plan to sell them. My answer is based around three things: exercise, scouting related and most important to me, just being outside in the great outdoors.
Annual shed hunters will throw out the phrase, “miles equal piles” when asked the secret to shed hunting. This means the more walking they do the more shed antlers they will find, hopefully. This is great for people who just want to get outside and explore wilderness, agriculture fields, grass lands or maybe just their back 40 acres to stretch their legs. It is great exercise traversing the hills and low creek beds of southern Indiana, easily putting in more than 4 miles in a hike trying to find where the white boned treasures possibly dropped. Walking up and down hills, through thick brush, climbing over downed trees and just the long distanced walked will elevate your heart rate and is great cardio.
Off-season scouting can be an important part of inventorying what deer have made it through the season and winter months, while checking bedding areas and travel corridors for shed antlers that belong to those bucks that you chased all fall. While out walking for antlers you can walk deer paths to see where they lead with a lower possibility of running off that prized deer you’ve had your eye on. Just remember that going in too early during cold periods where food is tough to find can be an unneeded stressor on deer causing them to seek other places to keep safe or push them possibly to dying. While the later is an extreme case that often doesn’t occur when shed hunting is done after harsh conditions have passed, there are states that prohibit shed antler hunting until after certain dates to help protect these wild animals in their winter ranges.
Finally, it gets me in the great outdoors. I have so many memories over the years of being outside with friends and family that I constantly have this inner drive to get back outside and soak up the sights and sounds that surround me. Finding sheds to a deer you watched either from the stand or on trail camera for several months adds to the history and stories you have each fall. It is exciting to hunters to find those sheds, hold them in your hands and talk to hunting buddies about interactions you had with the deer and how amazing it is to find a piece of him knowing you’ll get to chase him again that fall. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time, and harvest that animal it creates a rich story that you can share with anyone while bringing that buck and his antlers together again. I, myself, am fortunate enough to have a memorable buck and his shed antlers together thanks to another member of my deer camp. The story of finding the antlers brings laughs and smiles and the memorable hunt when I harvested the buck we called The Thick 8 gets my adrenaline going every time I tell it, but those stories will have to be shared another time.
For now lets lace up our boots, call-up some buddies and hit the woods to look for little memories that bring us closer together for Deer Camp.
