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September, 2006. We wanted to spend my birthday in our favorite place: moose country. I figured we'd take a hike in a nice moosey spot that I couldn't get to last spring while shed hunting. It offered great grouse habitat as well, so I thought perhaps we'd find a bird or maybe even an antler. Turns out we chose the right spot. We picked up a couple small sheds right away and then later I found the big left side. We searched around a bit for the match but came up short. We started to head back out since it was getting close to sundown. Suddenly our dog Lena flushed a grouse. Luckily it took to a perch in a nearby tree. I found the right angle and downed the bird. As I walked over to retrieve my bounty, I locate the other side to complete the big matching set. Quite the sequence of events, especially since it was my birthday -some nice gifts from Mother Nature.
June, 2006. On what would be my last day of shed hunting for the season before heading off to work on a feature film, I set out to find a specific antler: the match to the huge shed I found in May. Although I had gridded the area fairly well already, I wasn't ready to give up. I walked in and started meandering around on the secondary moose trails and found myself drifting further and further away from the first shed location. I was trying to get in the mind of the moose and boom! there it was. It was lying in a rather unlikely spot, in a very open area underneath a large white pine, about 500 yards from its mate. After some hooting and hollering with my prize held up to the sky, thanking mother nature and such, I was out of there, happy to be done for the year. It's probably the biggest set I've ever found by a few inches or so. One antler is 67" and the other is 75".
June, 2006. A friend of Minnesota bucks sent in this nice collection of whitetail and moose sheds. Some nice ones in the group and some great spotting on those tough-to-see antlers. Check out the base on that last moose antler. Cool, eh?
May, 2006. Two days in moose country yielded 11 sheds. When the snow shower hit, I was thinking it would sure be nice to have something to photograph in the late season squall. I turn the next corner and there's a little matched set just waiting for me. Kind of like a shed hunter's snow globe I guess. Most of the others are bleached and white, but there's some good size to some of them. The matched set sports quadruple brow tines. There's even a big old shed that a birch tree fell on.
May, 2006. A recent camping trip with my girlfriend, uncle and his family produced quite an impressive stack of antlers in Minnesota's moose country. After breakfast one morning my uncle and his respective woodswomen went out and found four big sheds. Sophie and Maude both found their first ever shed antlers in the woods. After lunch we went back to the same hot zone and pulled out three more; a big year-old matched set and a really nice fresh one, all from the same giant bull. The big fresh antler is the largest moose shed I've found, measuring around 75 inches and stands up on its own. Excellent weather, great company, a beautiful location and a successful shed hunt -what more could you ask for?
May, 2006. Here's a nice collection of shed antlers sent in by a few friends of Minnesota Bucks. The second photo is a great six point shed with an excellent brow tine. The shed by the creek is a dandy, scoring around 65". There's a few matched sets laying next to and on top of each other. Gotta like that. The last three photos is a nice matched set from a moose that was captured on trail cam.
May, 2006. I had a nice couple days out in the woods before the green up takes hold. The matched whitetail set is from a buck that we've seen from the stand twice this past fall. Nice to know that he made it through the season. He'll be close to a 150" class buck this fall. A few more small moose sheds to add to the stack.
May, 2006. Chris and Stephanie Potter located several nice antlers out in moose country this spring.
April, 2006. Jim Price found a few really nice antlers on a recent trip into moose country. The first set was unique in the way they were propped up next to each other, so close and so oddly positioned. The last one is a giant shed with a pretty wide palm and nice distinct points. Not too bad of a weekend!
April, 2006. My first couple forays into moose country produced a few good antlers. There's a few nice old deer antlers in the mix, the bigger one was found by a friend of mine from up north. Even with the chewing and decay, they score 63 and 81". A few nice fresh moose antlers in the group, nothing huge, but even a small moose antler is a keeper.
April, 2006. After an ice fishing trip in the Boundary Waters, I wanted to walk some woods and stretch the dog's legs before the long drive home. I guess I picked the right piece of woods as I cruised up to this dandy matched set. Big, fresh and brown; what a magnificent animal. Check out that right brow tine! That thing could be used as a masonry tool. Even with the busted left G4, this set scores 148". You add a conservative 20-inch spread and you're talking about a potential Boone and Crockett buck. I have this same buck's left side from the previous year; you can see how much he grew.
April, 2006. This is a nice batch of shed antlers sent in by a few different friends of Minnesota Bucks. The first antler was spotted from a long distance away and ended up taking third place at the recent Minnesota Deer classic, measuring 80 3/8". Nice tine length on that buck. The third photo is about as nice of a four point shed as you'll see, scoring 64". The next three are some great year old sheds. The last two photos are of the same big six point. Note the hoof print pushing the antler tip further into the snow. A buried shed like that can be tough to spot.
March, 2006. I've started to collect some nice sheds over the past two weeks or so. Here's a few of the more interesting ones. The first one is a unique little six point. The second one is a very fresh little four point shed on top of two feet of snow. The third is a cool matched set, with one of the antlers busted off just after the brow. The last two antlers are both nice five points weighing in at 65" and 67" respectively.
March, 2006. Dean Basch has found quite a collection of nice antlers already this year. These two matched sets are pretty remarkable, and even more impressive in person. Some excellent mass in these two mature 11 point bucks.
March, 2006. Here are some recent whitetail sheds found by some friends of Minnesota Bucks. The first one is a shed off the Cowboy Buck, named for how the antlers ride like a cowboy hat on the buck's head. This is the 4th consecutive year off this deer. The last four photos are of a magnificent animal. Notice the other nice buck checking out the big antler lying in the snow. This set took first place at the recent Minnesota Deer Classic. His right side scores 85" and the left, 91".
March, 2006. My first whitetail finds of the season, despite miles of searching in January and February. There's a dead 8 pointer, some small singles and a couple decent matched sets. The first set has some potential to be an awesome buck. 21 inch main beams already! The second set still has me wondering if it's really a match. I combed that area and only found those two antlers 30 yards apart.
February, 2006. Here's a batch of the first sheds of the season for some antler friends of mine. A nice big paddle, a monster nontypical and a unique 7 point typical shed are among the collection.
February, 2006. While out snowshoeing in the northern Minnesota wilderness, I noticed a bunch of timberwolf tracks congregating to a specific spot about a hundred yards away in a clearcut. I went over to investigate, expecting to see a carcass of some kind. Upon arrival, I noticed the wolves had dug a hole in over two feet of snow to a piece of bone of some kind. I looked more closely and determined an antler tip. After excavation, it turned out to be a pretty decent, older moose antler in good shape. An amazing find, considering the conditions. The wolves found this one for me. They kept it open as a marking post, probably on the border of pack territories.
