Casting

[lonlon]

Friday December 14th my son sat in my Turkey blind, bow at ready, watching a cut corn field in Central Wisconsin where we had been seeing several nice bucks. He returned after dark to inform me he had seen a bigger bodied deer that proved to be a buck that had shed his antlers. The deer appeared healthy and spent his time in the corn field feeding, ignoring a doe and a fawn that fed at the same time. Sunday afternoon on December 16th after the Packers victory over Ta Bears I decided to walk the cut corn field thinking maybe I could find his sheds, the odds seemed to be slim. It may have been my fastest shed find ever !!! Took all of ten minutes, both sheds laying together in almost the exact spot my son had seen the deer feeding two days before. Ten point buck, 20 inch beams, gross 141 M/L. What are the chances ??? All I know is I am headed for Florida shortly and won't return until early April. In the mean time Dad leads in the shed antler find category !!!! Has any body else found sheds yet ???? lonlon

[bouhntr]

there is another forum i check out also and they have footage of a deer that has shed his antlers already. isn't that strange. seems early, but i guess it happens

[lonlon]

I almost always find a shed or two before the first of the year. On the other hand I have seen many deer as late end of March still carrying antlers. Once I was hunting turkeys in April and had a buck come by with antlers attached. lonlon

[bullwinkle]

Sometimes the deer who are injured or are in tough shape lose there antlers early. I believe there is a relationship to deer health an antler shed.

Last year we had one 150" shed early, By March he was dead. I have his shed but wish he was around to chase last fall

[lonlon]

Charles A. told me the same thing, but in this case the picture of the deer after casting would show him as healthy. I too have found numerous large dead bucks that are litterally run to death, again I have been told too many does, too few mature bucks. I went out yesterday and walked several hours looking for sheds to no avail, headed for Florida next week so I will leave the shed hunting to the younger hunters. Finding sheds, almost as much fun as shooting the deer---Almost ! Lon

[lonlon]

Two more reports of bow hunters seeing shed bucks in Central Wisconsin, also a find of a shed spike horn.