The period when bucks shed their antlers can last for several months, but evidence suggests that individual animals tend to drop their racks at roughly the same time each year.

Shortly after dawn, I was on my way, packing my favorite walking stick and a fanny pack with a Thermos of coffee. I picked up a trail along the side of a ridge and followed it for 15 minutes before spotting something white nestled in the thick fallen leaves a few scant yards away. The freshly shed antler was nearly covered in debris but in perfect condition.

It wasn't a trophy antler, but it was the first shed of the season. As the morning progressed, I continued searching trails along nearby ridges. Two hours later, when I finally ended the hunt, I had nothing more to show for my efforts, but that's the way antler hunting often works.

While shed hunting doesn't compare with putting a buck on the ground, there's no season opener to look forward to and the stories may not be as exciting, shed hunting is a challenge loaded with rewards. Searching for antlers gives you a good reason to get back into the field after the hunting season ends, and it will help you discover which bucks survived the season and how big they are--and how big they might become.

The shedding period of antlers is lengthy and may occur over several months. One buck might shed antlers in January while another doesn't shed until April. While studying the shedding patterns of a few pen-reared bucks, I noted these individuals tended to shed their antlers about the same time each season.

Finding a matched set of antlers is the Holy Grail of shed hunting. Obviously the highest probability occurs when the sides fall off in close proximity, but determined hunters can sometimes locate them some distance away.

For instance, during a six-year period, one buck shed between February 3 and February 18 each year. He always dropped both antlers during this 15-day period. He carried his largest headgear the last two years, but this did not affect the time of year he shed.

During a three-year span, another buck always shed his antlers from March 2 through March 15--a span of 13 days in which both antlers dropped. The last time I watched him, when he carried a huge 10-point rack, he shed at almost the same day he shed the first year, when he carried six points.

I tracked another buck for two years, and both times he shed during a 10-day period in early February. It appears he will follow the same pattern as the other two.

With this in mind, I believe we can safely assume that a buck will shed his antlers near the same time each year. I also found that sometimes both antlers would drop at the same time--usually within 48 hours of each other. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I believe this is proof of how important timing is for successful shed hunting.

Home-Range Bucks

The size of a buck's home range can vary, but many mature bucks spend the majority of their time in areas one-half mile in circumference or less--providing they do not have just cause for leaving the area. Even if they're spooked by human activity or predators, many will return to this known territory within days if the habitat isn't significantly changed (logging or other land clearing, for instance). Bucks are typically in their home range when they shed antlers. Thus, you can assume that after locating a shed, the same buck will probably be nearby in autumn, before the first breeding cycle begins. That's good news for archery hunters and gun hunters who have the opportunity to pursue a buck before the peak rut. -- JT, Jr.

Obviously you don't want to start too early because there won't be any antlers on the ground. Beginning too late could be bad news for the condition of antlers, but certainly the best time to locate antlers is near the end of the shedding cycle. In my portion of the Midwest, I begin in February, even though some bucks in this area won't shed till March or April and even though I occasionally see bucks with an antler missing as early as December or January.

If possible, confine your searches to periods when there's no snow on the ground as snow makes the antlers more difficult to spot. But don't let snow cover stop you; if you wait too long, calcium-loving animals may devour the sheds before you can get to them.