2007             2006            2005           2004             2003           2002           2001...

September, 2005. I came across this moose antler while bushwacking around, scouting for the upcoming bow season. The bears got to it first, but it still had some dark brown color on the backside. Made for a nice decoration back at camp under the pines.

August, 2005. Jason Lamppa sent in his last finds of the season from last spring. There's a couple older moose and deer sheds in there that would've been dandys to find fresh. The fresh whitetail antler is pretty interesting. Nice brow tine on that one.

June, 2005. Here are the last moose sheds we found this year. Sasha and Lena with a nice medium sized one found in some thick alders. The bigger shed was number thirty on the year. I called it quits after that. There's also a rare timber wolf skull in there.

May, 2005. Hopefully these aren't the last moose sheds I find this season. As you can see, the green up is upon us. The top row are a few older ones, some with size. The bottom row shows two different moose sheds. The first one is a year old and the second one is fresh. Both are fairly good size and have beautiful color on the backs.

May, 2005. Moose shed hunting is on. Jason Lamppa found a heavy 4 point moose antler and an old, rare find: a bull moose skull. Jim Price found a large white shed and few nice fresh ones. At one rubbed up tree, Jim walked up on two big paddles from two different bulls. Scott Stroyny notched his first moose shed antler ever, a nice white paddle.

May, 2005. A few final photographs of whitetail sheds. Things are pretty green out there now. Jason Lamppa found these antlers, a few nice ones in the snow, moss and grassy trails. The last photo shows a magnificent 16 point matched set. Lots of character to this buck; a basic 12 with some flyers and sticker points. They are a year old, but in excellent shape.

May, 2005. After finishing work on a movie in Northern Minnesota, I took to the hills in search of some solitude, peace, quiet and antlers. I found it all. You don't walk up on many matched sets this close together. It's not a giant buck, but an 11pt laying directly on top of each other like an antler basket. The next photo is a matched set from a 50 inch wide bull moose. Even a medium sized antler can jump out at you, as the following photo shows. In the next couple pictures, I found two similar antlers in the same area, both under rubbed up trees. I think it's the same bull, judging by the shape of the paddle. There's a nice ten point antler, a year old but still a good one. There's also three photographs of a massive moose antler I found at the end of the day. It's this year's shed from the huge set I found last year; icing on the cake for my best day in moose country.

April, 2005. After some time spent deep in moose country, the Potter's came out of there with a bunch of nice moose paddles. There's a big old one with an impressive triple brow tine and a nice matched set in there. Chris is holding two really heavy-based moose antlers from a couple mature bulls. Looks like a couple nice outtings!

April, 2005. Back in moose country, I found these three antlers on a camping trip. The smallest is a year old but still has pretty nice color. It'll be a good one for the "cabin pile". The next two are both bleached totally white, but still solid. The middle one is a medium sized paddle with a few unique brow points that enable it to stand up on end. Pretty cool. The last one is pretty big, it may be one of my larger single sides ever. It's got 12 points and is about 36 inches long. Walking up on it was like seeing a beached whale out there in the wilderness.

April, 2005. The whitetail shed season is winding down. Here's a couple of the season's final finds. The first one is a neat photo of a shed I found in a cut soybean field. Even though it was lying out in the open, it wasn't easy to spot. Next is a small buck skull. The other shed was even more difficult to see. It was an antler that I have been in search of for several months. It's a 60+ inch 5 point side with a kicker point off the G2. I found the right side to this nice 10pt. buck while bowhunting last fall.

April, 2005. The Potter's sent in some really nice photographs from a recent shed hunting trip. Chris is holding up a tank. An older one, but still a beauty. As you can see, they traversed some fairly treacherous terrain to get to "the spot".

April, 2005. We put up some pretty good numbers on our first trek into moose country: 8 total. We scooped up four nice ones, including a medium-sized matched set before breakfast one morning. As you can see, Lena is bushed. The next day we found the other side to the big one; this bull's spread probably measures 55-58". The matching side is a very unique, self-standing antler with a few nontypical tines drooping down and winging off the side. Later that afternoon, Sasha walked up on a nicely colored matched set, her first ever sheds! We noticed the bulls were really working the small pines to assist in the shedding process.

April, 2005. Late season whitetail shed hunting: it's all about expanding your perimeter, taking a different route and covering some of the fringes. Here's some examples of what can happen. The first shed is between a fence line and a pile of old farm machinery. It's the match to an antler I found earlier in the season. The next few are under a highline tower, amidst an old junkyard and just beyond a grocery store parking lot. The last one I've walked past several times in the last 2 years. This time I saw it just because I came at the woods from a different angle. It's old, but heavy: 5 1/2" inch H-measurements and scores 66".

March, 2005. On Easter Sunday I embarked on what I considered a "Mission Impossible": find an elk antler. I was in a place I'd never been before, northern New Mexico. So I went on an egg hunt of my own up in the mountains with only a map and a hunch to guide me. When I walked up on this one, my tired legs and lungs at 8000+ feet became secondary. This six point elk shed is what dreams are made of: big, brown and fresh. The beam is 50 inches; beautiful dark color with polished ivory white tips. Top notch. DC Manwiller and David Galbraith, two fellow outdoorsman back at the camera truck were fully impressed with this gem.

March, 2005. The first photograph here shows what happens when you walk into a northwoods deer yard. This buck shed late, as there's a good 2 feet of snow under the antler. I also found another diamond in the rough, a tall-tined 6pt that goes 72". I'm holding a matched set in my right hand in the last photograph; a real scrubby 7 point.

March, 2005. Dan Urbas, a fellow shed hunter sent these finds in. Some pretty nice antlers and a great matched set. Each one has a bit of character. Three pretty remarkable year-old sheds in the bunch as well. Nice finds!

March, 2005. Here's a nice group of antlers from some shed hunter friends of mine, Jim Price Jason Lamppa and Scott Stroyny. Jim found a beast of an antler; a great looking 81 inch nontypical. Jason spotted the heavy winterkill, the tips in the snow and the great matched set. Scott has found a bunch of nice antlers so far this year, too.

March, 2005.  I was working on a motion picture being filmed in Northern Minnesota and I figured my shed hunting was on hold for awhile. On my one day off in 12 days, I headed out into the wilderness, despite the 40+ inches of snow. My efforts were rewarded as I located the "needle in the haystack" shed. I wasn't expecting this much antler to be under the snow, but man was I happy. Just shy of 70 inches, this antler is one of my favorites: beautiful color, nice mass, a kicker point and a unique wormhole in the mainbeam.

March, 2005. I found a few antlers out there one morning. Nothing huge, but an old medium-sized 5 point side and a busted up 8 point matched set and . I have a photograph of the 8 pointer on the hoof.

March, 2005. I finally found an antler over 60 inches this year, and it was a dandy. A nice five point with a twelve inch G2. This one scores right around 71 inches. The next one is a neat little nontypical. He must've banged into something while in velvet. There's also a photo of a fresh rub on February 21st. The last one is a nice heavy 4 point, but it's absorbed a few years of sun and weather. With a five inch base, it would've been a nice one to pick up fresh.

March, 2005. Here's a nice batch of shed antler photos from 3 different friends of Minnesota Bucks.  The first 3 show a few nice shots of some good singles lying in the snow. The middle photo is a nice matched set under a blanket of snow. The last two photos are a close up of a nice 4 point side and then a wide shot of 3 shed antlers in the same area. There were actually four sheds in this spot, but you can only see 3 of them in the photograph. Pretty cool. 

February, 2005. It was nearing the end of the day and my path found me walking towards the sunset. I looked over in the grass on the edge of a field and thought, "that piece of wood looks a lot like a small moose antler." This deer antler has a unique palmated shape to it. It scores around 56". The middle one is a small 4pt. I found the last one in the rain. The moisture tends to make the antlers very distinct against the dull leaves. This one is from an old timer, a few years past his prime. It has a 5 1/2" inch base and a 4 inch droptine opposite of where the browtine should be. Kind of a neat antler.

January, 2005. Here's a group of some of the first shed antlers of the year; basically a few small 3, 4 and 5 points. A shed is a shed; good to get that first one in the books. The one on the deck is from a friend up north. The two after that are of the same little 3pt. Good luck finding that one. Lots of owls out there, too.

January, 2005. The spirit of the woods was good to me on my first day out for the New Year. I walked up on this tremendous buck. He was lying about 200 yards from where I found his shed antler last year. He did some growing over the year. This buck scores 152" and sports 27 inch mainbeams and a 21 inch inside spread. What an animal.