Shed hunting season of its own

After a fridgid run of weather, and a little cabin fever, I hope you got out and enjoyed the warm weekend.

If you need a reason, besides soaking up some rays, to get outside, then try shed hunting. A great activity for the entire family.

Buck deer and elk shed their antlers every spring and must grow a completely new rack by the fall, now is the perfect time to collect some of those sheds. Although the big game seasons are over, there is some hunting that can reward those dedicated few with some nice trophies.

Why do bucks spend so much time growing antlers over the summer only to shed them five or six months later? “Scientists have pondered that question for years, and we still don’t know,” says whitetail biologist Dr. Mick Hellickson. He points, however, to a couple of solid theories.

Some scientists believe bucks shed annually so they can replace damaged antlers. If a buck had to live his entire life with snapped tines or a broken beam, he couldn’t fight his rivals or posture for does. A second theory suggests that bucks shed and grow new racks (which get anywhere from 10 to 30 inches bigger each year) to keep pace with their increasing weight and girth as they mature.

Here are some interesting shed facts from Outdoorlife.com, along with tips to help you find more antlers.

Shed Facts

After the rut, decreasing testosterone levels cause an “abscission layer” to form between the antlers and their pedicels. As the connective tissue dissolves, the bucks’ antlers become loose and fall off.

Bucks drop their racks from late December through April in the South.

Weather, and food availability and nutritional value can influence when antler loss takes place.

If your area has an early rut, bucks’ testosterone levels will decrease earlier and, as a result, some deer will cast their racks two to four weeks earlier than usual. A severe winter with a lot of snow can also cause stressed deer to shed earlier.

Most older bucks shed antlers earlier than younger bucks do.

A study in Mississippi found that individual penned bucks usually shed their antlers during the same week each year. Other studies of captive deer show that bucks usually shed both antlers within three days of each other.

Some folks are just better or luckier than others when it comes to finding sheds. But here are a couple of tips to increase your odds.

Check trails that enter and exit a feed field. Bucks often walk only 100 to 300 yards and then lie down out of the wind on the first east- or south-facing hillside. You might find sheds on or just off a trail or along the bedding slope.

Rainy days are great—sheds shine and catch your eye. Bones can be tough to spot in brown grass lit with sunlight.

The biggest mistake people make is to wander around, looking too far out front and all over. Mark off small grids of land, walk slowly over each and look straight down at the ground for sheds.

Fence crossing where bucks go over or under are great places for sheds to be dislodged.

With the cold and snow last week, cattle feeders are a natural attractor for deer, and where the deer were, sheds could be close.

Word of warning- antler sheds cannot be taken from any of the state’s public wildlife management areas without prior permission from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. And on federal lands in Oklahoma, such as the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, antler sheds cannot be removed at all.

“The elk in the Wichita Mountains shed their antlers in March and April,” said Wichita Mountains personnel. “Several people have been caught and ticketed over the years for trying to remove sheds from the refuge.”

The antlers are considered part of the wildlife and cannot be removed. The animals on the refuge (elk, bison, longhorn cattle and smaller critters) eat the antlers to get the calcium they need, he said.