The search for a shed is on!

(Above) Nearing the end of his second winter, a young six-point buck has dropped an antler; the second will soon follow.  Next year’s antler growth will be larger and will likely have more points. - Photo by Lowell Washburn.

Iowa bucks are suddenly losing their heads-- or at least the showiest parts of them

by Lowell Washburn

By the time mid-February rolls around, Iowa’s white-tailed bucks will be dropping their antlers.  For outdoor enthusiasts, it’s an annual Call to Arms as a willing legion of shed hunters invade local woodlands in search of discarded treasure.  During recent years, shed hunting has become one of our fastest growing forms of outdoor recreation.   

Traditionally the domain of deer hunting males, shed hunting demographics are changing.  A surprising number of New Age antler hunters are nonhunters and a growing number are female.  One thing that hasn’t changed is that, once hooked, the search for antlers can become an obsession.  Some collectors go so far as to schedule annual vacations around shed hunting; logging in hundreds of miles -- by foot and by vehicle -- in hopes of finding an antler bigger, better, or more unique in design than the last.  Some aficionados go so as to keep and train antler hunting dogs which are bred, at least in part, for this highly specialized task.

The early birds get the worm, and as late winter snow cover begins to recede, competition intensifies.  Even though some north Iowa bucks are still carrying their head gear, antler enthusiasts are already scouring rural landscapes.  But not all competitors wear stocking caps, lace-up boots or travel on two legs.  Squirrels, white-footed mice, and other small mammals are also looking to cash in on their fair share of the bounty.  But local squirrel populations aren’t collecting sheds for their value as trophies, of course.  Instead, the bushy-tails covet cast off antlers for their rich deposits of minerals and calcium.  Nothing goes to waste in the outdoors.  Woodland rodents had already been efficiently recycling for centuries before we invented the word.

    Enjoy more wildlife tales online at Washburn’s Outdoor Journal at iawildlife.org/blog