The Best Time to Find Deer Sheds
Male deer, called bucks, use their antlers during rut--mating season--both to attract mates and to fend off rival males. Unlike horns, antlers consist of bone tissue and are shed and regrown each year. Hunting for shed antlers, also referred to as deer sheds, is a pastime for a number of people.
Other People Are Reading
-
Antler Growth Cycle
-
Bucks begin growing antlers in the spring, normally in April. Covered with a vascular skin called "velvet," the antlers continue growing until late summer or early fall, when the velvet dies and the bucks rub it off. The antlers then cease growing and harden.
Antler Shedding
-
Bucks keep their antlers until rut has finished. They usually shed their antlers in January and February, though some bucks shed them as early as late fall and others as late as April. This period, late winter and early spring, is thus the optimal time to hunt for deer sheds.
-
Antler Hunting Tips
-
It is best to look for deer sheds in areas frequented by deer during the winter. According to hunting sites such as Minnesota Bucks and ShedAntlers.com, areas that receive direct sunlight, especially south-facing slopes, are excellent spots to find sheds. In addition, shed hunters should look for deer trails, deer droppings, and deer rubs--places on trees where bucks have rubbed their antlers.
-
References
- Photo Credit Red Deer image by Steve Mutch from Fotolia.com
