Hidden Treasure

By Ken Gher

 

    It is an early March Wisconsin Day and warmer spring temperatures give a very welcome break from Old Man Winter’s cold grip. The blanket of fast melting snow now shows hints of spring peeking through its melting layer as distant calls from migrating Canada geese echo across the spring air.

This crisp March Day finds me in the deer woods walking down a well-used deer trail bordering an old, abandoned agriculture field. At the edge of the field Prickly ash grows along with a mix of smaller hardwood trees.

Kneeling to take a rest, I look down the deer trail ahead of me and instantly my attention is drawn to something at the trail’s edge.

A second look through my binoculars quickly confirms that it is indeed the hidden treasure that I have walked so many miles to find.

The treasure is a one-of-a-kind treasure from a whitetail buck, and judging from its size, the large cast antler is from a mature whitetail buck that has shed his antlers for many seasons.

This new-found treasure is just one of many shed antlers that I have found after years of learning how to find them.

This learning curve involved countless hours of observation, learning deer behavior and of course many, many miles of walking and recording where I have found them.

I pay close attention to the date and location of each antler found and try to figure out the buck’s travel habits that put him at the location where he dropped the antler. A mature buck’s travel habits and living area revolves around food during late winter (when bucks shed their antlers).

His main concern is to find enough food to survive the winter. That food supply can be a considerable distance from where he spent his time during the summer or fall rut, so your search should be planned accordingly.

A buck fawn is programmed to develop antlers while in his mother’s womb. While in the womb specialized tissues called “pedicels” begin to develop on the young buck’s skull.

Pedicels are the antlers’ growth platform. They are the connection between the living bone of the skull and the antler. While antlers grow, blood nourishes the living tissue in two ways: from an outer skin called “velvet,” and through the core of the pedicel. In his first year of life, a whitetail buck will grow antlers that are only about one inch in length. He will cast these small antlers during his first winter and will grow a new and bigger set in the next seven months.

While in the velvet stage, antlers are the fastest form of bone growth known. A mature bull elk, for example, can grow one inch of antler each and every day during the peak-growing season. New antlers begin to appear on the pedicel in April, soon after the casting of the old ones, but a major part of the growth occurs during the lazy days of summer.

By August, the soft, blood-rich, growing antlers will have reached their full growth.

When full growth is reached, the pedicels cut off the blood supply to the antlers and they harden to bone.

The buck’s skull is living bone and the antler becomes dead bone. At this point, the pedicels function as a strong connection between the living and dead bone.

 Studies have revealed that after the mating season (usually in December or January), whitetail buck’s testosterone levels begin to drop.

After these testosterone levels drop below the minimum needed to support a set of antlers, the pedicels on the bucks’ skull begin to de-mineralize and soften. This is when casting (or shedding) of antlers occurs.

Studies have also found that casting dates are highly individualized, varying greatly. A buck may cast one side of his antler’s weeks before the other, while the next buck may shed both antlers the same day.

Searching during late Winter months can be productive if hard-packed snow has not had fresh snowfall for several weeks however, I have found that the best time of year to find them is late winter when snow begins to melt. I start looking when daylight hours begin to lengthen, usually around St. Valentine’s Day or when last autumn’s fallen leaves begin to show through the melting snow in spring.

 March seems to be the magic month to find shed antlers however, if a heavy snowfall is still present it can make hunting for shed antlers difficult, if not impossible. When I do hunt in deep snow, I walk on heavily traveled deer trails that surround or go through feeding areas.

     The most common question people ask me about shed hunting is, “Where do you find them?”

That is easy: I lace up my boots and dedicate myself to a lot of walking in not only good deer habitat but the right deer habitat.

Knowing where deer are feeding and bedding at this time of year is an absolute necessity.

     I will also talk with farmers during the shedding season. Farmers spend a great deal of time in their fields and can give me information about where they have noticed deer activity. Sharing your hunting stories or found antlers with these farmers or landowners is also a great way to foster good relationships.

I have not met a landowner yet that did not want to see a shed antler or hear about deer I had seen or harvested on their land.

     Food is key to a deer’s survival during the harsh winter when buck has shed their antlers, so food sources such as harvested agricultural fields are great places to start looking. As Bucks actively dig for food that is buried under the snow an antler can be jarred loose.

Travel routes between agriculture fields and bedding areas should also be checked.

If bedding areas have a lot of fresh beds, and droppings cover the ground, you may have found a real hot spot.

 Last season I found a pair of shed antlers in a deer bed that looked as if the buck had bedded down and shed both antlers while he took a nap. Do not check just in the beds, check the perimeter of the bedding area as well. Bedding areas usually have an edge on one side.

That edge may be an open field, a small thicket of pines, or maybe just a spot where the undergrowth thickens.

 Bucks seem to like areas where two edges converge and spend a great deal of time there.

     Underneath apple trees is another favorite place to look. Late in winter, hungry bucks will stand on their back legs to reach for spoiled apples that still cling to branches.

As the buck drops back to his front feet, an antler that has become tangled in the branches can pop off.

I discovered this one-year on an early-Spring turkey hunt with my son Nicholas. We found a large set of shed antlers belonging to a dandy buck under just such a tree.

Under the same apple tree was another single shed that belonged to an even bigger buck.

 

Then, to top it off, after a further search of the small, abandoned orchard (on a southern, exposed hillside), we found three more shed antlers from different small bucks. I soon learned that apple trees that still hold apples late in winter are great spots to find shed antlers.

     Another area and probably the best area to find sheds is along the base of southern, exposed hillsides. If a stream or small creek is present, it will boost the odds of finding sheds.

     In my home state of Wisconsin, bucks that have been strained from last autumn’s rut are now trying to survive a harsh winter. I have found that they like to bed at the base of southern-exposed hillsides. This is another area where bucks can spend a great deal of time soaking up the warm sunshine to conserve as much energy as possible.

Taking refuge at the base of a warm sunny sheltered hillside with access to water, versus a cold wind-swept hilltop or the cold shade of a north-facing hillside, just makes sense. Trying to stay warm during a cold winter burns a lot of a deer’s stored energy, so searching in areas most protected from winter’s harsh conditions is a sure bet.

Out of all the places I have mentioned to find shed antlers, one area coincides with all the others: “edges.” Edges of agricultural fields, edges of agricultural set aside field that have grown tall with grasses and weeds, edges of swamps and marches that boarder agricultural fields or orchards. Any noticeable edge that has a combination of food, water, seclusion, and exposure to warm daytime sun is best.

I have spent a lot of time looking in heavy cover close to such places, but for some reason most of the shed antlers that I find along these edges are in the open part of the edge. I believe the reason is because deer bed and take refuge in heavy cover during daylight, but with the security of night deer become more active when traveling and feeding in open areas. Common sense tells me that a buck is more likely to drop an antler when he is actively moving around feeding, verses snoozing in his bed during daylight hours.

     Squirrels and other small rodents chew on shed antlers for their mineral content, like calcium and phosphorus. Chewing on hard antlers also helps them to wear down their continuously growing teeth.

If an antler is dropped in an area with a large rodent population, it can be chewed to bits in just a few weeks, so finding antlers in these areas can be short. We humans are not the only ones who enjoy finding shed antlers!

     If a trophy buck has been smart enough to avoid hunters, he will leave behind his shed antlers at the end of another season. He leaves behind clues to where he lives ad will be next hunting season, and bigger!

I think the reason that hunting for shed antlers has intrigued me over the years is because I am collecting the antlers of a hunter-wise buck. Who cannot appreciate the allusive wisdom of a buck that has survived long enough to grow a set of trophy antlers? It is much like collecting the same but only better trophy, year after year and some can take on sentimental value. They become reminders of an early spring day spent in the woods with family or friends. The only equipment you need is a good pair of waterproof hiking boots, warm clothes, and some good binoculars.

Shed hunting is a fun, low-cost way to hunt for trophy antlers and to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

I will never forget the first time my son Nicholas found his first shed antler at the age of nine. The excitement in his voice and the glitter in his eyes were as if he had just found hidden treasure. The hidden treasure for me was to see his joy.