Shed season 2018

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  • Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    I might have to go out Monday. I hear Squirrels will eat them up too ?
    Takes them a awhile. Sometimes you find them where the outline of the antler is paper thin and chewed all the way around the radius.

    Just guessing, but I would say that takes about 2 years. It also seems they prefer the portion above the brow tine and generally speaking, start with the tines first.
    The main beams are incredibly dense and hard as stone. If you cut them with a saw, the bone rapidly clogs the teeth and when you drill them you have to do it slow. If it smells like the dentist drilling a tooth, slow down and let things cool.

    The other thing is, with a sharp bit, the material that is drawn out of the hole through the drill flutes, curls is flexible and seem a little soft to the touch.
     

    ironpony

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 8, 2013
    7,187
    Davidsonville
    Oh, wow, 2 years. I was told this when I was young so I believed it to be quicker. Now I'm curious about working one into something so ... another project ugh.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    We have made some lamps from time to time for gifts and its relatively easy to do. The trick is to find a few that sort of match in appearance and are not to bleached out. Even then you can smooth them out with some stock filler, polish with steel wool and then stain to match. Put them together with common wood dowels (poplar cause it easier to stain and hide end grain) and wood glue or epoxy.
    If one is dull, use it for the base and experiment with a low gloss spray-bomb clear. (The whole arrangement). the cheaper the brand the better the final appearance. Think Dollar General for a natural appearance or go name brand for matte, semi or high gloss.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    Went out yesterday for a stroll. No antlers. No cover crops in my area this year. I wonder why that is. Young wheat fields are my favorite places to 'hunt'. I've found many matching pairs in green fields.

    I did find these two fawns...120 yards apart along the same tree line. Probably siblings. Definitely coyote kills.
     

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    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    I searched on Saturday for four hours with my dog in likely territory and came up empty. Driving home, I saw a herd of about 20 deer all bunched up together. No antlers. I'm not sure if they were all does or if there were some antlerless bucks in the mix.
     

    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    I found a buck that had been eaten up by coyotes yesterday in MoCo. No telling what killed the buck, but from what I could tell, it had shed its antlers. It only had little nubs and I could tell they hadn't been removed by a saw. I searched the area with my dog but didn't find anything.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    I found a buck that had been eaten up by coyotes yesterday in MoCo. No telling what killed the buck, but from what I could tell, it had shed its antlers. It only had little nubs and I could tell they hadn't been removed by a saw. I searched the area with my dog but didn't find anything.

    Leaping to conclusions here, but it's a good chance that buck was unhealthy, one way or another. One day I killed three deer during the late three day gun season. They all had bad limps and appeared to be does. I saw lots of deer that day, but no mature bucks so I focussed on the walking wounded. As all the deer died within eyesight, tracking was quick and easy. To my surprise, they were all 2.5 yo bucks. They will drop them early if physically stressed or wounded.
     

    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    Yeah. I looked over the skeleton but couldn’t tell what the story was. The coyotes picked it clean. No broken bones. Maybe it was hit by a car, sick or got in a fight. It has big hooves so I think it was a mature deer but I’m not an expert. You can guess where this was.
     

    BigCountry14

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 17, 2013
    1,668
    I saw two very large and pretty 8points yesterday. They're still holding them from what I've seen.
    This young one is still holding on to his hat.
    I read a small study last year that showed evidence that the longer they hold their antlers into spring, the more likely it is that they will NOT gain mass with the next set, and may in fact be smaller.

    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
     

    tdt91

    I will miss you my friend
    Apr 24, 2009
    10,810
    Abingdon
    I found a couple of sheds today out in the woods. They have a brown color to them, should I try to remove that color and make them bone white or just clean off dirt and be done with it?
     

    AlBeight

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 30, 2017
    4,371
    Hampstead
    I found a couple of sheds today out in the woods. They have a brown color to them, should I try to remove that color and make them bone white or just clean off dirt and be done with it?
    Many hunters seek out a “chocolate” horned trophy. I’d leave the color alone. They’ll also whiten up some over time.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    I found a couple of sheds today out in the woods. They have a brown color to them, should I try to remove that color and make them bone white or just clean off dirt and be done with it?

    Never.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    I read a small study last year that showed evidence that the longer they hold their antlers into spring, the more likely it is that they will NOT gain mass with the next set, and may in fact be smaller.

    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

    I notice that the longer they hold them they get more mass but am not a scientist. It seems that the bigger bucks hold them the longest some times. Found this the other day. All the rain is bringing them up.
    IMG_2330.JPG
     

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