Antlers Shed Light on Deer Behavior

By Robert Loewendick

“Do you see anything?” I asked. “No. Should I?” answered nine-year-old Jeremy. “Keep looking,” I said. Jeremy strained and squinted his eyes in search of the antler tips sticking up from the bed of leaves. We walked towards the antler a few more feet when Jeremy spotted it. “There!” he shouted. He plucked the antler from the forest floor as if it was the top prize in a treasure hunt.
We looked over the antler for a few minutes and I answered the questions that come from a young kid that has just found his first shed deer antler. We then continued with the true lesson, which was for Jeremy to learn the habits of the whitetail deer. Jeremy’s father has other commitments that keep him from devoting time to teach Jeremy about the sport of deer hunting, his father’s favorite outdoor pursuit. Although Jeremy is planning to attend a hunter education course later this summer, he already has the curiosity of why deer do what they do.

If my writing encourages only one group, I hope it is the kids. Getting kids outside is my most important goal in outdoor communication. For this reason, it is common to have two or more kids, my own and others, with me on scouting trips and hikes through the woods and fields with camera hanging on my neck. Teaching a nine-year-old, who is interested in pursuing deer hunting, a few important facts of deer behavior can be a challenge with words only. So, after getting permission from Jeremy’s parents, we went on a field trip to get some hands-on experience.
I prefer the spring to start scouting for next deer season. Many facts regarding the area’s deer herd and activity patterns are easily exposed. If you ask any kid interested in deer hunting what deer they are dreaming of taking, you will be told of huge buck dreams. So to impress a youth when scouting, why not do so when it’s possible to find an antler treasure lying on the ground for the taking? After finding the antler with Jeremy, it was quite a task to keep his attention on the ground for additional antlers. Instead, he walked like a drunken person, staggering from side to side, inspecting every grain of the found antler as he attempted to walk in search of another.

On the subject of getting kids involved in deer hunting, as a mentor I believe it’s our responsibility to prepare the kid for success in the woods. Hunter education courses do a supreme job in teaching safety and ethics, but the “how’s and why’s” of deer behavior is the mentor’s assignment. Hunting shed antlers in the spring is prime time to put the student on the playing field, teaching by showing, not telling. Hunting for a shed deer antler is as challenging, if not more so, than a kid’s favorite computer game.

Deer normally drop their antlers from late January to late March, depending upon the deer’s age, health and geographical location. Sheds are found in all types of deer habitat, including feeding, bedding and watering locations. The best locations I have found for searching for sheds are along trails that deer use during the winter months. Even more concentration should be focused on areas that would cause a buck to jerk its head in rapid motion. While shed hunting with a youth, explain the reasons you want to search a specific area intensively for an antler. Put a visual scene of deer action in the kid’s head that will be the thought to which the young hunter will return when he is actually hunting.
Fields and other feeding areas such as oak stands are excellent places to find a shed antler. Those areas are also perfect locations to point out deer feeding patterns to a youth. Picking up a piece of acorn dropped by a feeding whitetail is another visual aid for teaching the kid the feeding habits of deer. Deer tend to concentrate in feeding and bedding areas in late winter and early spring, so scan several times over trails linking the two areas together. But, don’t spend so much time in one area that you lose the kid’s attention; that may lead to boredom.

Any day in the woods is better than a day not in the woods, no matter what the weather. But, there are days that are better for shed hunting, such as overcast days following a rain. Kids love mud, not sure why, but maybe it’s to give something for mom to shout about when returning home and walking in the door with very muddy boots. The real benefit to shed hunting on cloudy days is that the ivory color of the antler stands out against the contrasting color of the wet, dark leaf and dormant plant clutter. Don’t focus entirely on the ground, as antlers do hang up on briars or low branches after being flung from their bases.
If the kid is lucky enough to find a shed, great, but if not, use that as a lesson, as well. Teach the youth that hunting is not only about bringing home something tangible, but it also is just as satisfying to bring back mental rewards. An enjoyable time spent in the outdoors, either hunting deer or only their antlers, inspires the desire to return for more.

Jeremy hauled that antler around for days, showing it to anyone who would look. More importantly, when I asked him what he learned from our shed hunt, he stated, “The buck probably lost his antler running to his feeding spot. There were a bunch of tracks crossing the creek below the big trees. Maybe I should take dad hunting near the creek crossing this fall. Maybe the buck that lost this antler will still be living there.”
Goal accomplished.