Miles per Antler?

hunter_614 · Apr 21, 2015

I have been keeping track of my miles searching for bone this year and was wondering if anyone else does the same thing and knows approximately how far they travel on average for each antler. I am currently sitting at just over two miles per antler and have 89 antlers for the year not including ones that I throw away because they are too decomposed.

Blackjack · Apr 21, 2015

I average 1 antler/hr away from the truck. A 6 hr hike should net 6 antlers overtime.

bonepicker · Apr 22, 2015

I'm also right at 2 miles per antler on average. 71 antlers so far this year.

BrowningRage · Apr 22, 2015

Wow- you've hiked 180 miles looking for antlers..?? That's some real time and dedication...

Congrats.

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

hunter_614 · Apr 22, 2015

Thank you, My wife has been very patient and understanding with the time I have taken since I do not see her except for an hour or so at night. I was kind of curious if the guys that are finding 200 plus bones a year are in premium areas like next to a big reserve like the Henry mountains or if they have a lot of time off work (seasonal job) etc. etc. Thats why I am curious about the miles per bone.

shedhead · Apr 22, 2015

i am at 81 and would say I am pretty close to about a little over a mile a horn. Hitting it hard pays off. and some days I will find 10 plus in 1 mile, and other days I find 1 in 10 miles. but average is just over a mile.

fortheloveofit · Apr 22, 2015

I'm one of the lucky ones who has an area to myself for deer sheds and have picked up right at 200 horns in 5 trips out. Hearing all the bad experiences with four wheelers and other hunters make me very appreciative to have the area I do. I know this weekend I picked up 42 buck horns and walked 9.5 miles.

hunter_614 · Apr 23, 2015

That would be awesome to pick up that many sheds in a day, a good day for me is anything over 8 antlers and I will walk 8-13 miles or so. I would say the best days I have had this year I picked up 10 antlers in 3 hours and 5 miles on an after work trip. Walked out in the dark with a mix of some elk I was watching and some bonus deer sheds that the others had missed. I will hike 5 miles with only finding 1 antler some days and then I will find 5 or so in 15 minutes, thats the beauty of it, eventually it will pay off. I picked up an awesome set a 2 days ago on an evening hike, it has a nice drop tine on it. I am at 92. I am going to try an post some pictures of some of the better or unique antlers I have pick up.

sactribe · Apr 23, 2015

hunter_614, you are killing it! Nice sheds you are picking up. I have been keeping track of my stats for 4 years now and I am right about 1 shed for every 2 miles. I keep a notebook and track the place (in code), date, miles, and what I found and then at the end of the year I add everything up. It helps me keep track of where I want to go back to and what I can skip. I also mark flags on my GPS when I find a shed and I have discovered that sometimes you can pattern an area and then really focus on those hot spots. However, I think the severity of winter can change all that. This year some places are keeping to the pattern and others are not at all. It is fun to try to figure it out.

hunter_614 · Apr 24, 2015

sactribe, I have been thinking of the best way to keep track of where, when, how etc. I find antlers to pattern out for future hunts and to see if I can get multiple sets of the same deer. FYI the deer that my wife and mother inlaw is holding up is the same deer this year and last. I only found one of his sheds last year and picked the other up this year. I must have walked over his shed in the sage a dozen times. Anyways I am going to keep a log book with date, area, elevation etc. and possibly color code them with a marker on the base of the antler per general areas that I hunt. Thanks for your input and good luck this weekend.