Earlier this summer I was talking to a couple of friends over a few cocktails and the wife said after they got into their car from hiking, they saw a man walking out of the woods carrying something and the closer he got she noticed it was antlers and wondered where and/or how he had these. I told her, this time of year, (IT WAS EARLY MAY) he was probably shed hunting. For those who do not know the when and how, there are many factors that can affect when a buck will shed its antlers. This process starts after rut (MATING SEASON) sometime between January and April and can take 2 to 3 weeks. This is when a hardened ring forms at the base of the antlers, shutting off the blood flow and the antlers dry up and fall off. I knew all this, but I didn’t know enough to tell them about shed hunting, so I changed the conversation to ATV & UTV riding.

In the Northwoods, it’s very easy to meet new friends, so I do know a person (Dan) that hunts for sheds to make lamps and other items using the antlers. The next time I ran into him, I brought this subject up over a few beers, to find out more about shed hunting and KIND OF got some information. I said, “kind of” because Dan wasn’t really giving me any real answers. When I asked him where to find the sheds, I was told you have to scout for them in the woods. Ok, where in the woods? His response to that was, “would you give up your best fishing spots”? My reply, not really. Then you understand why I won’t give up areas where I find antler either, because there are a lot more people out looking for sheds than years ago and it can be competitive.

Then, some of these spots can be great hunting spots also, so, this is why he wouldn’t give me any real information. At this point I needed a new approach, and said I would give a few of my fishing hot spots up, but only to a good friend. So, after another beer I said, If I looked near water, would that be a good spot? That’s when Dan started to laugh and finally told me, you could look for bedding areas to start. Then southern exposure has a meaning, areas with winter food help, and yes, looking near water would be a good idea.

He added, many people will walk past sheds because they are looking ahead and not in front of them. The trick is slow down and take the whole day scouting for the antlers. Then finding a matching pair is the hard part. You may find one, but the other one could be a mile away or never found, because a buck can drop one antler and the other could fall off in minutes, hours or even days. Well, there you have it. Now you know as much as I do about shed hunting.

I need to add that much as I have researched this being legal or illegal, some say it is ok to hunt for sheds, while others say it’s ILLEGAL to hunt for shed antlers in Wisconsin. If you read law (29.347) that states it is illegal to hunt for buck antler sheds, but other articles say it is legal. So, it’s unclear and also confusing but that’s the DNR for you. I even asked Dan, and he said he only hunts for shed antlers in the U.P. of Michigan, and he’s not sure about Wisconsin, because of the way the law is written. If someone can find an answer that will tell us its 100% legal to hunt for antlers that have dropped off a buck’s head, please let me and other folks know if we’re going to be fined or get life in prison.