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Hunting & Fishing Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

psinclair

psinclair

Gunny Sergeant
Commercial Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 11, 2008
3,394
538
66
Glasgow, Montana
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Its getting to be that time of year! The big bulls are getting close to dropping and the mule deer and whitetail antlers are on the ground right now. Lets see some bone!!!

A good run on the upper Yellowstone a few years back. Looking toward the park.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

I tried it once but had poor results.

I tried pan frying first and they were still really tough eating.

So i tried boiling in a soup stock with some caribou from last year and some chopped onions. Still really tough eating.

Finally i broke down and used the pressure cooker. They were still really tough.

Finally gave them to the sled dogs to chew on.

 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Damn....I miss doing that...

We would start to bring some ponies off winter pasture and I'd go pickin' bone...
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Been out looking for whitetail bone here in CT but no luck so far. Pretty thick cover in most places. Friend picked up both sides of a nice 8 point the other day. Laying right next to each other. I never get that lucky.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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My 8 year old with a nice mule deer antler i picked up 2006. i have others from the same buck going back 3 years....the buck was shot by a hunter in the fall of 2006.

saw this buck three times on the hoof after rifle season. this antler scored 87". he would have went 192 to 196 with a 22" inside spread. hes gone now but ill never forget him.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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13 pound elk antler i found in the missuori breaks. 13" base at the burr. also had a busted off G-1.



 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Nice! Looks like youve been out there making some tracks.

Do you keep them or sell them?
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

I keep them! I do plan on making some gifts with them. I saw a cool walking cane that used antler for the handle. And, my Wife wants a Christmas wreath made of antler. I just enjoy messing with them, trying to do restoration on the nibbles and staining them back to like new. All good clean fun!
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?


Same here, every 4 or 5 years i move the older ones outside to keep my indoor pile from getting too big.

Its a fun hobby and a really good way to scout. my most cherished are a set of elk sheds from a bull that i later killed. Ill dig them out and see if i can post up a pic or 2.

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I found this matched set of mule deer sheds in N.W. Nevada. he would go about 185 B&C. My 6 year old poses.They were 1/2 mile apart....spent about 6 hours looking for the 2nd one.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

pgs - nice trophys in the back ground, are they yours?

Plan on looking for the sheds from a nice MD next month during turkey season and see if I can figure out how to get him next fall.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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This antler had been on the ground a year when I picked it up (Missuori Breaks). It taped out at 175". This bull would have went at least 380 B&C. Main beam was 58". Never found the other one and as far as I know he was never taken by a hunter.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Pgs, its guys like you that make guys like me grin from ear to ear!! Keep that youngn behind the trigger whenever possible, great trophies. Our sheds would make you giggle.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Thank you for that nice compliment!

My boys (8&6) are my life!! To be able to pass this on to them is one of the greatest gifts a father can give his children.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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I took this photo through a 32x Zeiss spotting scope from about 1/2 mile in august of 2004. I ended up killing him in October of the same year. In the process of scouting and hunting for him a friend and I found his antlers from the year before. He went from a 345 B&C bull to a 400 B&C bull in just one year! He also ended up over 15 miles from where I took this photo. Probably the best trophy Ill ever take.... feel real fortunate to have this photo and his shed antlers also.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

pgs, all I can say is wow...

Ive been out walking the whitetall trails and hangouts around here but have not found any this year. They are out there some where...
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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Heres the right side. My 8 year old is going to have to work on that "flinch" a bit!
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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heres a nice mule deer "dead head" I picked up last spring. it had a bullet graze on one of the points. he scored 177 gross B&C. 29" wide.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

And, the award for the best man-cave goes to....

PGS, seriously, nice room and everything in it.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

I think the coolest thing in the thread is the eight year old, in there, spending time with you and your hobby.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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Matched set 330 to 340 B&C. Missuori Breaks.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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Matched set of Mule Deer antlers. These would go 188B&C with a 23" inside spread
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

I'll try to get some pics of this years finds... so far that is.

You'll surely droll..
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5 moose sheds and 3 matched sets 6 point elk sheds.

try to get some pics tomorrow.

Gonna go with the boy this weekend after more....

Still trying to find this bull I photographed in area 34 here in the Big Horns...

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Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pgs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
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Matched set 330 to 340 B&C. Missuori Breaks. </div></div>

Great pic fella! I really like hunting breaks country. With sheds like that that no wonder your room if full of trophys.

I was out this morning and picked up a few sheds from the neighbors last night. Pop cans, fast food wrappers, etc, yep, some real trophies in the hood.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

All found last weekend. Not real big ones, but finding matching sets is the coolest. It's almost more fun finding sheds than it is to hunt them. Plus, finding sheds lets me know which ones made it through the season. I love the palmated brow tines on the one set.

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Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Brown Whitetail antlers are way cool!! Nice job!!
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Any tips for us beginning to hunt for sheds? I'm especially interested in finding one from a large MD I saw last fall but it's pretty big country and a person could look everywhere.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Mule Deer here in NE Montana start dropping antlers in mid to late January. In a lot of our country I have to wait until the snow is completly gone (mid April). Its good timing because the grass is begining to get a tint of green and antlers are a little easier to see on green grass.

Start where you last saw the buck. search out the highest ground first and use your binoculars a lot. If its a buck that I feel I cant live without his sheds Ill make grids. And stick with a game plan. It will pay off most of the time. espescially if you are working private ground without competition. If other guys have been out in the same area its only a crap shoot
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

pgs....really nice sets you have there. being so close to the breaks it's not surprising. I have to share this with you. I had a buddy from out of state walking in the breaks one year and he couldn't help himself and had to ask. " What mountain range is this?" I looked at him cooly and said. "Mountains go up, this is a big a$$ cooley" But for anyone who's never seen the breaks, it's a fair mistake.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Brass Monkey, Exactly right! From the river to the top its only 800 vertical feet but there is a lot of in betweens. We call it Tiger sh%&. Some of the best wildlife habitat there is.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Yeah, that part of the country is tough, real tough. Taking anything from there is sayin' ya did something!

pgs, beautiful bull... I'd hang up the smoke stick and call it a career after that. 110% would be focused on the boy and working on his "career" ;-)
Kinda where all my attention has turned myself. You know the feeling when ya see the boy land a fish and his face lights up and the look he gets on his face after he stalked the morning doves or the robins in the yard. ;-)

 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pgs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">....Start where you last saw the buck. search out the highest ground first and use your binoculars a lot... </div></div>

I last saw him laying with some does in a steep cut on a south facing slope below the crest of the hill, it is a regular MD hang out. Why do you say to search out the highest ground first, because it is easier and more visible?
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Best place to glass from....look around from.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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Shane with a nice heavy Whitetail antler. about 75"
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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Siera, RaeLynn, Taylor my oldest daughters with some elk sheds.
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More elk sheds with my future horn hunters!
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Siera with a mule deer skull that I found dead.
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Taylor with some Mule deer sheds.
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Alyssa and Ashley my two year old twins with a match set of little elk sheds, pretty big for them!!
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Taylor with a dead Mule deer skull that I found.
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RaeLynn with a Whitetail skull that died from blue tongue.
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Taylor with another Mule deer skull
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Siera with Mule deer sheds
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Ashley biting off more than she can chew!!
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Owen, Youve got it going on man! Beautiful kids! Nice antlers!

Keep that crew doing outdoor stuff as much as possible!

Well done!!
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Hey WINMAGFROG........Whats your method of restaining your antlers? I have tried VanDykes Antler Stain but more brown than we get here in Wyoming. At least not brown in the sage and willows. More of a grey stain is what I am looking for to match up better.

Thanks!!
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

SENDERO I was referring to the moose pic... How big are the shed moose antlers you found so far. JLM and I are starting to get into yote calling and thanks for your advice so far. I used to work over that way in 1989 doing watercraft enf. on Desmet and Keyhole. Hows the turkey population doing over there in 89 it was booming?
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

I need to move out of the city...the only bones I get in my backyard are ones my dogs bury after I bring them back from the RibShack.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gregii_t</div><div class="ubbcode-body">SENDERO I was referring to the moose pic... How big are the shed moose antlers you found so far. JLM and I are starting to get into yote calling and thanks for your advice so far. I used to work over that way in 1989 doing watercraft enf. on Desmet and Keyhole. Hows the turkey population doing over there in 89 it was booming? </div></div>

Sorry.... missed this. Yes the moose is on "my side" LOL. I got a couple of B&C sheds
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11 moose now...

Turkey pop. is doing great. lots of them around.

Let me know how you do on the Yotes... it is addictive
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Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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A pretty good day of picking mule deer antlers. (two of us)
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

I have that same set of silverware!

Sorry. Nice collection!

Seriously though, I do have that same pattern.
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

Nice batch of bone!! I'll have to put up a few new ones...
 
Re: Antler hunting: Any bone pickers out there?

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Matched 8X7's 360"+ B&C..

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6X6's would go about 340" B&C...
 
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