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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Shed Hunting – A Family Affair

Welcome to Summer, Okie friends! Hope y’all we able to bag a big ole’ Tom turkey this Spring. Don’t fish? Whatever shall you do between Turkey season and Dove season? While I like to fish and predator hunt, if those things aren’t for you but you are itchin’ to get outside try shed hunting!

If you aren’t familiar, shed hunting is exactly what it describes: “hunting” for sheds of antlers of deer. Typically, Whitetail bucks shed their antlers between December and April, making spring or early summer the perfect opportunity to get back into the woods.

Why do deer shed their antlers you ask? Hormonal changes, including a significant drop in testosterone levels which causes the antlers to weaken and eventually fall off.

Where/how to search? If you are like me, I like searching every square inch of my property or hunting lease. Not only do I love the search itself, it beats the heck out of a treadmill. My daughter is 8 years old and also loves wearing her cowboy boots crashing up and down the creek. She’ll find little “sea shells” and pretty crystallized rocks and whatnot to put in her fanny pack. She LOVES when she finds the deer sheds before I do (don’t tell her I pretend to not see them). Occasionally we’ll take a picnic and some water and sit on a falling log under a shade tree and just enjoy nature. While confined to our house I’d be lying if I said my kids didn’t enjoy their iphones, I’m blessed in the fact they all love sports and the outdoors (well, the last is a stretch for my 14 y/o, but still).

One caveat: Unless you are going in March or early April, I’d suggest loading up on the bug spray. In 8 years I don’t think I’ve seen my daughter as upset as she was when we found an embedded tick on her. Snakes and other creepy crawlers are starting to move around, so I prefer a knee high pair of Muck boots as well.

Get outside. God has given us a beautiful Earth for us to explore and appreciate nature and the like. Who knows, you might work off some of those Lenox or Lottaburgers without even thinking about it. See ya next month!

Dalen McVay
Dalen McVay
Dalen McVay is a lawyer and an avid outdoorsman, hunting and fishing for every species available in Oklahoma. He especially enjoys bass fishing and deer hunting. He has two sons and a daughter who also enjoy the great outdoors, especially any time spent at the lake. His lovely wife does not enjoy his muddy boots.

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