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The Mrs got a shot at this buck last October and hit him high. We looked without success for two days, and a couple weeks later he showed back up on camera. She saw him one more time in November, but it got dark before he could get in range. Now she’s even more sick, I don’t think she realized quite how big he is, it’s the biggest shed I’ve found in a long time measuring at just over 70”. We have a long history with the buck and he’s at least 8 years old, hopefully he won’t go downhill too much next year. His best year headgear wise was 2016.
I give up trying to get the pics right, I edit them before I choose them and they still don’t show up right. Sorry...
He might grow weird now that he was shot.
Nice one. So much fun finding sheds. Glad he made it.
Thanks Slate. Anybody else out looking yet?
When my schedule has allowed the weather hasn't and vice-versa. Great find!
I found a "drip" tine last weekend...Mike, his boys, and I, are headed out now to look for a bit.
Good luck Kyle! Dawna and the girls are taking advantage of a day off to go out today for a while.
The girls had a pretty productive morning, I’ll post up some pics when I have a better signal.
I walked parts of three farms and discovered that I'm still not good at finding sheds. Did find a heck of a rub though!
Was mainly looking for a specific set Jason, from a buck I know has already dropped.
I've seen them drop as early as late December but I find most in March
One of the largest bucks I ever had on my farm shed in late December.
Several mature bucks are still carrying both sides. From the data I’ve collected, most of the mature bucks (not all) will have shed in the next 5 days to 7 days.
If a guy can have the patience to wait until the first weekend in March, you can have a lot of fun in one day. I usually cannot wait that long.
Some good finds guys! I checked trailcams over the weekend... Nothing had shed yet, every pic of bucks I had were still carrying both sides.
Young ones down there still sparring as well. :-)
WTH? Looks like shed hunting may be on hold awhile in the SE. What a winter!Guess we don't have a monopoly on snow.
I watched 6 bucks in the food plots last night. Only 1 had dropped an antler, the rest still had both sides. I bet it's a different story in two weeks.
The Mrs and I will be heading out tomorrow, since both of us have a day off together. The leaves should be good and wet and it's supposed to be cloudy; can't wait!! We've been holding off on going to our farm.
Something I've done for a long time and maybe something you guys might want to try... Take a shed antler with you, toss it ahead without looking at where it lands, then look for it. It does two things for me; helps train my eye to see the shapes and colors of a shed, and it slows me down. I've found a lot of sheds while looking for the one I threw that I'm pretty certain I would have walked by otherwise. (I've been surprised sometimes at how hard it is to find the one I threw!)
Damp/cloudy days are the best!
Some nice ones. I’m jealous I can’t wait to get out there but not till early April. I hope nobody snatches mine up.
Already had people on me. Jokes on them we shot all the good deer.
People trespass to just look for sheds??
Oh yea,for sure.Trying to get a guy now.Got good pics of his yellow lab,poor ones of him.Neighbor on it for me as I type.
Found a decent set when Dad and I pulled cameras on Sunday. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good!
Decent? C'mon now Chris, I'm going to need a better look at those tomorrow!
I will bring them in. I plan on being getting there around 1:00.
Going to be a tough weekend for me. Corporate groups Friday, groups all day Saturday and Maize High Baseball fund raiser steak feed. Hoping to find time to slip away.
Being lucky rather than good is my entire deer hunting life in a nutshell, Kid! Nice find!! Dawna and I had another productive day yesterday. The bigger shed is one I was really after, since a buddy found the match a week ago on a property bordering ours. It was the main buck I was after on our place this year.
Dandy shed! Just got a pic from my place down there with a little guy still having a full set.
Rooster found a chew toy at work today.
Roosters a good lookin pup
Horrible dog name if you plan to hunt pheasants in a group...we experienced the Rooster/rooster confusion near Goodland this year. There were some good laughs over the longnecks after the ringnecks.
The laughs are what we are going for.
Caught 2 guys from Oklahoma today on my lease. And shed hunting a closed wildlife refuge. What guys will do for an antler always amazes me.
Many shed hunters believe "I am not armed so I am not trespassing".
Put another 7 miles in today and got skunked. After a good start, I’ve hit the wall. :)
See why your not finding more.... https://www.instagram.com/p/BeobWNsFk5e/?taken-by=shaflawn
Matched set... Squirrel food
Found an old one and a new one today on the Cimarron.
2 pics yesterday of Neosho county bucks still wearing.
Seems every buck on our farm has shed now. Got some pics of a bacholer group of 6 bucks all head gearless.
An acquaintance took me shed hunting for the first time yesterday. We took several hours to cover several miles of a public wildlife area. Unfortunately, this is about all we found. The good news is, I have a pretty good idea of where not to hunt next fall.
“Slobs” on Kansas public land has nothing to do with big bucks.
Finally got to get out on Saturday. Put on a lot of miles (according to my aching knees...) and came up with 10 small/medium sheds. Then on the walk back about 100 yards from the truck I found one with some size that is several years old. My brother and I have walked or driven by this spot dozens of times and never spotted it. Oops...
^^^ I looked for a match to a shed I had found near the house last year for several weeks. I finally found it on the first mow of the year... it was in the yard and I had walked past it several times while heading out to look for it!
#5 after taking the "hood pic"
#5 after taking the "hood pic"
Thanks for cleaning all that crap up Ryan, F those littering dolts!
I had one of my better days today, five total and one skeleton. Three on the same winter wheat field, one at a fence crossing, and one next to a log/bed on a river bank.
Nice finds! I went out Saturday and found a couple. Always a thrill to see antler in the leaves.
Nice one Kyle. Did you happen to see him while hunting this past season?
I never saw this buck, but Mike may have...no pics that I can find of him either.
Drbonner, send me a PM(address) and I'll get you those "rattlers" I promised ;?)
Nice ones. I hope to get out some tomorrow.
Great day. Made the long drive but was able to find a few sheds. Found this one about 1/2 mile SW of Thornton's farm. Assuming a 18" spread this one would score 150" as an 8. Huge bases and tine length. Good luck to all of you still looking.
It's not 140". Maybe that one I found above is the matching side? Probably even the same place? Lol. We'll have to sit down down and talk deer management sometime. There's a reason that property has had 3 owners in 6 years and nobody has killed a really big one.
Found a few more yesterday afternoon. The last one I found of the day is the buck pictured before he broke off his inside kickers. Was real happy that he made it through season and might get to grow another yr or two.
I found a drop a week ago that did not have all the velvet shed. It probably was from an older buck as it had some nontypical points. Has anyone ever seen this and if so what may caused the lack of complete shedding of the velvet.
Twodogs- Usually the buck has no testicles and never participated in the rut. They are often referred to as "stags". I've only seen one myself and a friend shot one that was a huge nontypical in velvet during rifle season.
I thought that castrated deer did not shed their antlers, they stay in velvet all year long due to lack of hormone (testosterone) changes?
How much velvet left are we talking?
I have seen bucks with abnormal points keep some of their velvet simply because it dried on and it was in a location on the antler that was not easily rubbed off.
I read an interesting article not long ago about the older a buck is, the less he breeds and the less aggressive he is, less scraping, less rubbing. I had already known that, but what surprised me was that those habits started showing up at age 5 in some bucks... figured it would be 7+.
My 2017 buck has a 6-7" flyer coming off his left G2 and it was still in hardened velvet when I killed him...I left it on the mount. I think, like Ray, that the abnormal points don't always get rubbed off. A "Cactus" buck, which will stay in full velvet, never sheds it or drops it antlers.
So was the velvet on the abnormal part of the drop Lee?
I would say probably almost half of the drop was still had velvet. The non typical points had no velvet. it was on the typical part of the rack. It appeared to be on the outside of the rack where it could not be rubbed.
Here is one I had mounted that still had velvet on when I shot him in 2011... I had the taxidermist leave it on.
Back of his antlers have a lot of velvet still on as well. He has 15 scoreable points (a few over 3”) on his bases and it made it impossible for him to rub it off.
Found one yesterday that is from a deer I shot 3yrs ago. Shed had to be laying there for 4yrs!
Sorry scratch, not the same deer, way too different.... :)
Nice find!!
No denying that one is from the same deer. What is really amazing is it looks like rodents haven’t chewed on it at all. Great find!
Not a single tooth mark on it! It wasn't near any trees so that probably kept the squirrels at bay, but rats are everywhere. I was surprised that it wasn't more sun cracked also. If I hadn't known the history of this deer I would have guessed the shed to be 1yr old at most.
Buddy found this one after they burned, old but pretty unique
Now that's an antler! I love the mass and kickers.
Dam. Nice one Kyle and that is great story Jason. Will be out in about a week. Hope I have some good ones to show you guys. If not I hope to have some good pictures on the cameras of some that survived after the season.
It’s amazing how some cane be out there for years, not be touched and others out for just a few days and be completely destroyed.
Awesome to have that history... I was fortunate to find 6 sheds of one buck I killed.
That’s an awesome antler Kyle. Hopefully he’s still out there.
It’s amazing how some cane be out there for years, not be touched and others out for just a few days and be completely destroyed.
Awesome to have that history... I was fortunate to find 6 sheds of one buck I killed.
That’s an awesome antler Kyle. Hopefully he’s still out there.
Great find Kyle!!
Found this older buck dead last weekend. Not sure how he died either.......
Chris...WOW he has been pretty well picked clean!
Found this scene today while looking for turkeys
NZBUX.....I have noticed if I take a picture in portrait/vertical orientation (like yours is) it never loads on here in portrait/vertical orientation...even when I try to rotate it correctly in the edit mode. However, if I have rotated it to the correct portrait/vertical orientation in the edit mode it will look correct on other tablet devices like an IPAD or Kindle...but not on an IPhone.
I have found that pics on here load correctly if they are in landscape/horizontal orientation when taken.
There is a tool in the post to turn the pic
But, that tool is only available on a PC or Laptop...can't rotate on your phone.
Sad deal, that was a good buck!
Bummer. I've seen a couple of does hung up on fences but I don't think I've ever seen a buck.
Should be able to select "desktop version"
Then when you press "edit" , you will see the "image tools" button.
Im using an Andriod, Samsung Note 9, , not sure how iphone works, but should be possible
Pressing the "image tools button, toward the bottom, you will see the rotation buttons
Im in the "mobile version"now still shows the image tool..?.. anyway, yes, pics can be rotated with a phone. Edit, i just refreshed the page, image tool is gone..lol
Brian...on my I-Phone your vertical pic is still sideways.
Interesting..i have flipped them with my phone before..
I reposted the pic.. now lets me flip it.
My desktop version shows it flipped If i go back to mobile version, it flips back..lol Might have to go fire up the desk top.. see what happens.
My desktop version shows it flipped If i go back to mobile version, it flips back..lol Might have to go fire up the desk top.. see what happens.
It's a cool shed nonetheless
Here is Gordo at 3 1/2 in the 2017 season.
Here is Gordo at 3 1/2 in the 2017 season.
2017 Left shed. Didn't find it until this year shed season.
2017 Left shed. Didn't find it until this year shed season.
I've been holding off from sharing this story, but this is a true gut wrenching reality of what can, and often does, happen when you take the gamble of letting deer get to full maturity. This is a buck my boy Lane nicknamed "Gordo" back in 2018 when he was 3 1/2. He's a big Royals fan and it seems all of the bucks on the farm have some sort of connection with that. We have a heavy racked buck we call "Moose" and lost another unreal 3 yr. old to neighboring rifle that he called "Royal". He said since this buck had the matching splits adding up to 4, it would be fitting to name him after one of his favorites, #4 Alex Gordon.
We have a bunch of history with this buck and he was very regular and comfortable on our small farm. Lane passed him on one of our larger clover plots last October and I was proud of him, but also worried that he was only doing so to please me. I was very shocked that Lane decided to pass him as a 150 inch or so three year old.
The 2018 season began with high hopes as Gordo put on some serious growth. I still don't know why I allowed him to pass this year and I told him prior to season that I was ready to work at getting him a shot at him, but if that was unsuccessful, I was willing to let him go one more year. With the jump he made from 3 to 4, I was confident he would really be something if he could just have the chance. I was ok with passing, but hoped to work hard at getting an opportunity for Lane. With him teetering around with the idea and finally settling on letting him go, we hoped to run into a buck we knew was mature that also lived on the farm. That encounter never happened for Lane, even though I had that target buck in easy bow range without him in the stand with me. It was a tough decision and one I know Lane learned is a gamble.
Pressure is relatively high in the area and I knew the risk was high that he could get shot. I still don't exactly know what happened but after being highly visible through all of October, he disappeared in early November. As regular as he was, I was thinking he was already dead. We lose some to a nearby highway each year and I assumed that could have been what happened. Fast-forward to the week after rifle, and boom, there he is. I was pumped! The only problem was that I saw the picture of him and did not look close enough to see his severely swollen rear right foot.
I don't know for certain if it was hoof rot or if he was hit by a car, but he looked very thin and I just prayed he could somehow make it through winter. I was even more bummed when I checked another trail camera that showed him walking away and it was evident that the coyotes had already caught up with him and skinned his rear left leg up pretty bad. I would later find that the bedding area showed signs of that struggle.
In mid February I got a call from my cousin letting me know that my uncle had found him with the swollen foot and already shed. It was a sickening moment and really still is, but its the price you pay at times and part of what makes the reward that much sweeter.
I am saddened that he didn't live to full maturity, but many don't and this year was a very tough lesson on what can happen with a brutal cold rifle season and the need to feed. I try not to be too harsh on corn as it is legal, but the unbelievable drawing power in late season was evident this past rifle season. Lane now second guesses like I do, but I keep letting him know that they won't have a chance if we don't give them one and it takes a lot of luck to get one through, but the management and projects continue, even though this one really stings. Hopefully something great fills his shoes. Been a rough shed season for me, but at least I got a piece of history with a great buck that could have been.
Here is what he put on from 3 to 4. Photos from this past summer
Here is what he looked like after he went MIA for a month. The week after rifle. I heard a neighbor missed him 4 times from long distance. I initially thought maybe a bullet hit him, but wouldn't think he would have lost the muscle mass and body weight in such a short time.
Great looking buck doubledrop, we have a similar property set up as you with similar pressure. It’s amazing that any of those bucks make it to maturity actually. We have a few around that have passed the tests of time. But the biggest racked ones seem to pass in and out of our lives way too quick. Sooner or later we hear of them being shot, some as far as a couple miles away.
And a couple weeks later I get a few close up, going away photos. Look close at the skinned hind leg. Where I found the single side, there was hair scattered everywhere. I assume he had multiple struggles with coyotes in his final days.
Finally, here is one of the sides. I have looked everywhere for the other, as I hoped to put it on a plaque for Lane. You sure wouldn't think it would be far, but you never know with coyotes and squirrels.
I hate to sound like a downer, but it's easy to get attached to these amazing animals that we chase. I am just glad we provided a place for an animal such as this and earlier I was ready to give up on the management and all of the work that goes into it. Now I realize that it has fueled my fire and I know it can be done. Just have to work harder. It's going to be a long off season.
Still a treasure to find a shed like that!
Take solace in knowing those couple of years that you guys passed on him he was passing along his genes. Hope you start seein some younger bucks coming up through the ranks that resemble him and it turns your frown into a smile!
Pic attached is the lower front foot of my 2016 buck who I noticed was walking with a pretty severe limp. It wasn’t until I recovered him that I found out why. He too had Foot Rot!
Thanks Jason. I wondered if it could have solely been the hoof rot. The buck Lane shot on the same farm back in 2016 had it as well, but it wasn't all that evident in November, but it was definitely that. Does anyone know how this gets out of a herd, or is it weather condition related?
Heckuva shed Dylan, don't give up on him just yet!
Do you have feeders out or water holes? It's known to be contagious in damp conditions where deer congregate. Great deer by the way, and pretty cool.to have a history with him.
Jason, I do not use feeders, but neighboring properties do. You really made me think though as my mineral sites I refresh every late winter/spring and they always hold water and are deep troughs. I sure hope that isn't part of the cause.
You might do some research, sometimes our actions have unknown or un-thought of consequences. Mineral can be put on a stand, trough, or slab of rock to keep their feet dry if it's a worry.
Well no sheds. It’s real green already and I half hardily looked. Have some pictures of a few that made it. Their sheds should be out there somewhere. Always cool to see who made it through.
Good one thorton... like those guards
Nice find, Thornton. What’s the story with the water? Is that a pond, or a river/creek? Normal water level, or is it higher than usual.
Cimarron River on the Oklahoma border. It's flowing good but about the same as it's been for the last year.
Thanks Kyler and nice one Jason
Probably the last obvious one of the year. The grass is getting too tall to see them
