Well, I was sitting at work on a fine Saturday afternoon and the phone rings....... The old man is calling to saying he is on the board. First shed of the year, though, I don't know about it, since it is from one of the bucks he feeds (or should say one of the deer that clears out his birdfeeders) He has been watching it for the last few weeks, one of the routes he walks to work (he lives in town) goes by a pothole and he has seen it bedded up there several times, even walked home one time and got the video camera and filmed it (maybe 200 yards from the house) Anyways, one day it had both antlers, next day it didn't, went out Saturday and found one side right in the bed....... I don't think it is normal for bucks to start dropping this early, and I got another call from my dad this afternoon, he was out looking for the other half and saw the buck bedded up, watched it move and bed for about a half hour, he said it couldn't put any weight on one of his front legs, had a big gouge out of his back and had a big nasty looking scrape running from one front shoulder all the way to the rear hind quarter. He thinks maybe it is a buck on buck wound, with that much damage I am thinking maybe he got rolled by a car?
I hope they dont start dropping till Feb here, because we have a muzzleloader season coming up and plenty of bowhunting left.
I have always wondered if stress from different things causes early drops. That kinda confirmed it for me. I found a dead buck three years ago about this time of year that had shed both of them already. I didnt find them
Congrats to your pa WI. Cool! I actually just saw my first antlerless buck yesterday. Crossed the road in front of me.. was limping REAL bad. Thought it was a doe at first til it turned and looked at me.. no mistaking it then. I am aware of sheds being found in N. Hampshire.. Kansas.. Minn.. Ill... and now Wisconsin. I have yet to venture out of course.. but I'm paying attention.
Man this is really scaring me, I still have a month and a half of hunting left and i want to get a shot at a buck with antlers. But anyway congrats to him on the great find.
Congrats on the find! I have seen bucks in late season here in Iowa that have dropped during the last part of Dec. Also something to keep in mind... If you shoot a buck in late season be careful not to pull the antlers off when getting the buck out off the woods. I saw this happen twice last year here!
Same here, during the shotgun season guys have been shooting shed buck and pulling off antlers... and it's not even christmas.
As a side note, the gentleman who's land I hunt on was out last weekend bowhunting and saw 2 yearling bucks with one antler, now whether or not they shed or busted them off, that is up for discussion.
I know of two local hunters who shot bucks in the last week and pulled antlers off trying to drag them out. 'Tis the season!
