While sitting in my stand this evening I noticed a shed lying on a trail about 10 yds. away. Nothing special, only a spikes horn about 8 inches long. I'm pretty sure I've seen this buck at least two times in the early season and he looked very healthy. At dark I picked it up on my way out and it still had blood on the base. I'd say it happened sometime today. I was just wondering if anybody else has ever found a shed in December?
I saw some but they hadn't come off yet. :D
Saw a spiker and a couple other bucks that wouldn't let me count. Then about a mile from them, I saw a forkie chasing two fawns.
Killdeer
I shed hunt quite a bit and I have never found one in December. The earliest I've found a shed is February 12th. I've heard several people this year have already started to find them. Tripper
We find them here in WV every yr in December, well I should say my Brittany Spaniel does. Of course our buck to doe ratio is way out of wack and I feel this has caused this over a long period of time. Me and one of my buddies found an matched set last December at work.
Jack
A friend of mine killed a buck in the northern part of the state a few days ago. Had antlers when he shot it. But both came loose as dragged it back to the truck.
Found one on Christmas Eve a couple years back. Lost that day or late the previous day because I had just walked the farm road the day before and it wasn't there then. Never found another shed that year till late Feb or March. So I've seen it but I think it is pretty rare. dino
Saw a fesh drop last year in Dec on a wheat field. Two years ago a friend daughter shot a doe during our Dec special fall rifle doe season it turned out to be a small buck that had shed already.I would say most deer drop them after Feb here
I have a buddy that shot a doe last year during boomstick season(last three weeks of Nov and the first week of Dec....roughly). Got up to "her" and found out it was a big ole' buck that dropped his antlers already.
I just wondered if maybe it had to do with the lack of mast this year? Like I said it appeared to be very healthy though. Jack, our heard ratio is also very imbalanced. Does anybody think this could have that effect on the timing of their shedding?
a few years back a shot a "doe" on December 14th, turns out it was a buck that shed his antlers already.
Jerry. in that case, is it considered "antlerless" (for tagging purpose)
ChuckC
Last week, two days before Christmas, I had a little buck walk past me that had recently dropped one side. This seems a bit earlier than usual.
A local guy here found a pair of small antlers already.
I find most of mine from the tractor seat.....
I need to get my trail cams back out. They have been dropping for a couple of weeks now and that's about right around here. Most will drop in January,Feburary.
I don't know about the food thing but this is about the way it happens every year in my area. Of course I had 4 coyotes chase 10 bucks past me while I was cutting wood late last Feburary and they all had there racks. :knothead:
Tracy
I found a shed 20 yards behind my stand the day after Christmas last year...earliest I've ever found one.
I just took a doe to the meat house today,there were several other deer there to be processed.The owner is a friend of mine as we were talking he ponted to a big bodied doe and said check this buck out.It turned out he had 2 bucks there that were killed over the weekend that had already shed both sides of there rack.
Bill
A freind found one this year in Indiana last week.
I've never found one this early. Around here I have regularly seen bucks that still had one and a lot of times both antlers in mid April.
Dennis
QuoteOriginally posted by Orion:
A friend of mine killed a buck in the northern part of the state a few days ago. Had antlers when he shot it. But both came loose as dragged it back to the truck.
A friend of mine did the same thing one year. IMHO..I think some bucks just shed early and some bucks keep them longer.
Heres a matching set of sheds i found a few years back... found one stuck in a brush pile and the other 50 yds away on a well used trail... Jason (whitebuffalo) did a sweet job of mounting them for me as a gift...
(http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii152/jacobsladdergrice/100_4372.jpg)
Yes found a shed friday nice 8 pt.
From what I've heard they've been falling off since early Dec in CT. Getting the dog ready for spring reconaissance missions!
The Iowa DNR website, because of the harvest reporting system they have in that state, has up to date harvest information by county. Info is listed by Antlered Buck, Doe, Button Buck and Shed Buck. I was suprised how early in December I started seeing shed bucks registered.
This is really weird. I had 2 mature bucks come in last Saturday evening and BOTH had one antler. It was too dark to tell but I don't think they had been broken off. BILL
I find quite a few in late December on the public land where the deer have been pressured a lot during gun season.
If deer are pressured hard, have little food been injured, or any combination will cause them to get rid of the extra weight to help them survive.
The Black-tails in my area have been dropping them for at least a week now.
It is a bell shaped curve...some lose them early, some late, and most in the middle
Killed a small buck in early January a few years back that had dropped both sides already.
I rattled in a buck two days ago that already shed his antlers. I got it on film. Coming into my horns, the buck look like a gunfighter coming to a gun fight with out his guns! Ha!
Mike
I found one once on a December 4th,but most of them I find in mid January till end of February.