Shed antler hunting almost as popular as hunting itself

Used to be, every now and then you would stumble on an old shed elk or deer antler while hiking in the hills, or chasing a grouse around in September.

I remember as a kid finding a shed antler here or there and thinking it was pretty neat. That doesn’t happen much any more. Most shed antlers are found by shed hunters long before anyone might casually come across one.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think shed antler hunting would become a pursuit that draws just about as many avid participants as does the hunting of the animals themselves.

In fact, shed hunting might draw the most avid participants of any outdoor pursuit.

I was at the elk feeding station in January and as I looked at the dozens and dozens of branch-antlered bulls munching away on their daily feeding of hay, I automatically had visions of one of the big bulls sneaking through a patch of timber next fall with me close behind, a special any-bull tag in my pocket.

As I stood there daydreaming about those possibilities, I overheard a couple of guys discussing their plans for the upcoming shed-hunting season. They drooled over several of the big bulls and hoped they might get a shot at finding a set of horns like those when they hit the hills this spring.

“Man, I’d give my right arm to get my hands on one of those,” the first guy said, pointing to a rather heavy-horned bull standing in a pile of straw.

“You mean, your hand,” the other guy said.

“What?”

“You said you would give your right arm to get your hands on those antlers,” the second guy said. “But if you gave your right arm, you would only have one hand, so you couldn’t get your ‘hands’ on it. Besides, I would have probably found it first. ”

They argued back and forth for a few more minutes, and then relived a few tales of past shed-hunting trips — like the time they spotted a shed across a canyon and almost killed themselves running to get to it before it was spotted by some other avid shed hunter.

They told of waiting at the gate of one of the roads leading into the Oak Creek Wildlife Area in the dark hours before midnight on May 1, when the area officially opens to shed hunting.

Listening to these guys talk, I started thinking about maybe giving shed hunting a try for myself. A few years ago I was walking along a little overgrown road while turkey hunting up by Colville and stumbled across a matching set of five-point elk antlers. The big bull dropped one, and then walked about 30 yards and dropped the other. They are beautiful, heavy antlers that sit on my fireplace hearth to this day.

And I have found dozens of shed deer antlers of various sizes over the years while out hunting deer. It is always fun to find those.

But I’ve just never gotten caught up in the craze of specifically going out and hunting sheds. I know — for deer, anyway — it can be a great way of determining what size and quantity of deer might be in the general vicinity come hunting season. And some shed hunters do it for profit, selling the shed horns to buyers who in turn make them into chandeliers and tables and belt buckles and knife handles.

Some areas are open for shed hunting right now. But others, including the Oak Creek, L.T. Murray, Wenas Wildlife Areas in Yakima County and Whiskey Dick and Quilomene Wildlife Areas in Kittitas County are closed until May 1, to protect the animals from being bothered coming out of winter.

Some people are so into it they teach their dogs to help find the antlers. Others ride horses or four-wheelers to cover more ground. But, according to some shed hunters I’ve talked with, the best way to find sheds is to cover the ground on foot.

It does sound like a good way to spend a day outdoors. I’m just not sure I’m willing to give up one of my turkey hunting days, or my spring salmon fishing days to go out looking for shed antlers.

I don’t when shed hunting became so popular. It seems to have happened overnight. The elk and deer are just now starting to drop their antlers. And there is one thing for sure, the shed hunters won’t be far behind.

• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

• Area and road closures at Oak Creek Wildlife Area remain in effect until May 1 to limit disturbance to elk and other wildlife. There are also vehicle gates at other entry points to the wildlife areas that remain closed through April 30, including Mellotte Road into the Wenas, the Robinson Canyon and Joe Watt Canyon roads into the L.T. Murray, and certain roads into the Whisky Dick and Quilomene wildlife areas.