Well, it is officially shed hunting season!

I always get so excited before this time of year, whether I end up finding – anything or not – and for the past two weekends, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve put in miles and miles of time in the woods hoping to stumble across a little (or big) piece of the elusive whitetail’s fallen horns.

Two weekends ago, the Mr. and I headed to Wadmalaw to see if we couldn’t find a shed, and enjoy some time outdoors at the very least. The weather was fantastic it was a great day to just hang out in the woods, letting Prine run wild and get out some of that crazy Boykin energy. Ohhh, Little Brown Hound.

We checked a few spots were deer have been known to wander I didn’t have any luck (with sheds, that is). We found some great rub lines and scrapes, and even the small skeleton of a doe that had long since passed.

In fact, one of the rubs was probably the biggest I have ever seen. If the fella who made this one could kindly drop his antler and a place where I can find it, it would be much appreciated! I did also find a deer leg bone that the critters had started on, but other than that we came away empty-handed. Also, I’m not sure why I decided to use it as a pointer to “showcase” the rub, either… Strange.

Fast-forward to this past weekend, and I was on a mission to do the same thing in Georgetown, just with some success! On Friday afternoon, I checked out a few empty, overgrown lots in the area where our beach house is, hoping to find the shed(s) of at least one of the enormous deer we always see. With zero hunting pressure, those boys grow big and tall, then bigger and taller.

Aside from Prine darting ahead of me and jumping a deer bedded down about 20 yards away, my outing only yielded one small jaw bone from a young deer. It moved too quickly for me to tell if it was a buck or a doe since the briers were pretty thick, but it was a promising sign that I was in the right area.

My dad and I spent the entire day on Saturday searching old trails and unused dirt roads that always have plenty of deer sign. The first path only yielded more cacti than I knew existed in South Carolina, but nothing in the way of deer aside from tracks and scat. I guess that’s how it usually goes, right?

Usually.

There was one more section I knew had lots of potential, so we trekked over that way and started the search. We were on a pretty well-defined “road” (from tractors and what not back when the area was proposed to be developed ) heading towards a thick patch of woods, just chatting, hardly paying attention to the ground beneath our feet. I just happen to glance down and… low and behold… I nearly stepped on one real gem of an antler.

I’ve struck gold! At last! Needless to say, I was super pumped about this find. It was so fresh, the edges of the burr were still a little red – it couldn’t have been more than a couple days old. I immediately started searched for its match – wouldn’t that be an awesome find – but no dice. My shed hunting adventure was officially a success, whether I found anything else that weekend or not.

Don’t worry, I didn’t call it quits after that. We searched a few more spots with some wicked rub lines (I’m talking 15 – 20 trees in a row) and spotting plenty of tracks, including one set from a deer on the run, followed in hot pursuit by coyote tracks. Yikes!

Finally, on Sunday, I packed up my essentials and headed to the in-laws to give the shed hunting weekend one last good effort. Making my way to one area in particular – right where this guy made an appearance in the view of my scope (but not for long!), as a matter of fact. It wasn’t too long before I stumbled upon one [rather old] gem of an antler.

It’s at least from last year, if not the year before, and more than a few critters have enjoyed a snack on it.

Aren’t the little bites and teeth marks cool? Squirrel, chipmunks, and other woodland rodents dig the calcium and other nutrients in sheds, and can make real quick work of one if given the chance.

…… Don’t point out how nerdy I just sounded, either. I heard it.

Aaaanyways… I don’t think I’ll be taking the Dremel to any of my loot to make some new jewels, but I’m not giving up the hunt after one weekend. I’ve got shows to do and stores to stock, after all! You could also do this with a shed.

It took about 8 miles of walking and searching, but I’d call the weekend a success! I’ll take 8 points worth of antlers any day of the week.

Whether they’re attached to a buck or not… Right? 🙂