Great find today!


Turkeygirl

Recommended Posts

Well I found my second shed of the year, woohoo! It's not huge but any shed is worthy of recognition. I decided to just hike through the middle of a section of woods on the property I hunt near home. I'm walking along and come into a bedding area below one of our stands. I see a skeleton on a mound of dirt and walk over, then find that the skull is the skull of a buck that shed it's antlers then died! confused.gif Here's a photo of that:

skull2.JPG

I looked around a little for the sheds, not expecting to find them because the skeleton appeared to be about a year old at least. Well going back to the skeleton, I bend over under a branch and see tines sticking out of the leaves; I found one of the buck's sheds! Here's an as it lay photo:

2ndshed06.JPG

I decided then to take the skull home with me because I figure this is not a common find. It is odd that it shed then died, not sure why except maybe it was wounded. The shed is in awesome shape; a year on the ground and no rodents got to it. Here's a photo of the skull with the antler after I got home:

skullnantler.JPG

Ignore the dates on the photos by the way; the camera is messed up. Hope you all enjoy the photos. I'm a happy camper right now grin.gif I hope to get back to the arear and see if maybe I can find the other side, or even other sheds because it's a good area. cool.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Great find today!

Cool find Ruth.

I don't think that antler came from that deer though. The pedical on the skull looks kind of mottled like it died in the early spring when it was about to grow a new set. I found a dead deer in the summer and you could tell the antler wasn't hardened off yet, the end of the antler looked pourous, just like your picture.

I guess we'll never know for sure. confused.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Great find today!

First,Congrats on your finds!! wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]

Cool find Ruth.

I don't think that antler came from that deer though. The pedical on the skull looks kind of mottled like it died in the early spring when it was about to grow a new set. I found a dead deer in the summer and you could tell the antler wasn't hardened off yet, the end of the antler looked pourous, just like your picture.

I guess we'll never know for sure. confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not saying the shed did or didn't come from that skull.When a buck first sheds an antler is the socket on the deer's head soft or is it already hard and heeled over?How many sheds are found that still have blood on them?

I think when a buck sheds the socket where the antler once was is soft.If the buck were to die before it healed it would be pourous when dried.

The locals upstate Pa. tell me when the elk shed some bleed like a stuffed pig from where the antler once was.

If the pedicle on the bottom of the shed and the skull fit together tight I'd say it's a match.Who knows!! confused.gif

I found 3 sets off the same buck and all antlers were dropped within 200yds. of each other over those 3 yrs.The forth year I found a big bodied buck that had already shed 20yds from where 2 of the antlers were found.I left the skull hoping the elements and the critters would clean it up.When I went back to get it somebody else already took it. mad.gif I believe it was the same buck that I had the 3 sets off of.I never found anymore sheds off that buck too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.