Blacktail shed

[Thehowler]

Out on Monday 12/30, looking for early dropped sheds and came across this one in a headwaters spring.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[7mmfan]

screenshot your photo and post that

[b0bbyg]

I did not know they started dropping this early, guess its time to get out and start looking soon.
Plus I just need a good excuse to go hiking.

[boneaddict]

It’s pretty early yet


You find em where you find em. Lol

[7mmfan]

Like Bone said, it's pretty early. Most will drop between mid February and late March.I snuck into a blacktail wintering spot a few years ago the first week of March hoping to find a few, and all I saw were bucks running away with horns still firmly attached.  All deer species have early droppers, but whitetail and blacktail seem to have more than mule deer. I definitely wouldn't use one fresh horn as an excuse to hit the hills in January and run a bunch of wintering deer around. I don't think it's as big a deal with Blacktail, but can be a real bad deal for Mule Deer.

[7mmfan]

And great shot howler, always cool finding them, even cooler finding one in a creek.

[Born2late]

That looks like its chewed on from what i can see. might be a last years shed.cool find.
blacktail do drop in january up north. i think the lower elevation and southern ones drop later

[boneaddict]

Thats not a freshie as far as I can tell from here.  Looks like an old one

[buckfvr]

Those little buggers dont usually let go this early.

[Birdguy]

I have heard of two or three blacktails dropping already. In fact I saw game cam pics of a 2 pt that dropped on the guy found both just on the trial in his backyard December 23!!  If he did not have the pictures of it hours before on his head I would not have believed it. Like I said I have since heard of at least 2 and I think a third already dropped. Might be a odd year fir blacktails  .

[Bango skank]

Granted im looking at the pic on my phone, but doesnt look like a fresh one to me

[Atlas1993]

I saw two bucks in the Washougal unit today that were both missing an antler... I didn't know they let go this early. A spike and a two point both missing their left sides.

[lokidog]

It is early, but my neighbor shot one yesterday that had just dropped his antlers, so it does happen. That or he kicked them off to put his antlerless tag on it....      

[blackveltbowhunter]

A close up would help. From that pic it does not look fresh.  Blacktails have the longest drop period from my experience, although that could be because I see them more than other species. In years past found a fresh 2 point in vail on thanksgiving weekend ( cant remember the exact dates) and a set of small forks around Christmas while trailing in the snow. I have also seen bucks still packing in deep April. Those are anomalies though, the majority drop on the usual dates.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

While there are other factors that can affect when exactly this happens such as nutrition, age of the deer, health of the deer, severity of the winter and latitude where  the animal lives, hormone changes brought on by shortening days is the main trigger for antler loss.  The full process usually takes weeks and that is where the other factors kick in.

And lengthening days causes hormone changes that kicks off the growth of new antlers.

The shortest day of the year is usually around Dec 2st or Dec 22nd so that is probably the kick off point for most bucks to start the process that leads to dropping their antlers.  Exactly when they finally fall will be determined by the other factors. In Alaska, I've taken bucks in late November that have already lost their antlers and by the end of Dec, most will have lost them or they will be very loose.  There will be a few that are still packing well into January.  Had a buddy who had shot a nice 3x3 in early Dec. jump up on the side of his skiff and grab his buck by the antlers to hold it up for us to see. Both antlers popped loose and he lost his balance and fell backward into the water as we whooped it up. Was funny for us to watch but he lost a nice mount and got soaked in the process.  Another time in late Dec, some friends and I were anchored up, enjoying coffee after breakfast when a nice fork horn walked out on the beach about 100 yards from us, so the boat owner stepped out on deck and shot while we watched with our binos. When he pulled the trigger, it looked like the antlers were spring loaded as they both flew in opposite directions.

In Washington in the mid Dec, late muzzleloader season it wasn't uncommon for us to take a buck that had dropped it's antlers. I shot a spike one year that had already dropped one antler and when if fell the other one fell off. I had to do some looking in tall grass to find the antler that I knew I'd seen when I shot. One pedicle was healed over and one was still raw. From what I've seen around home here on the coast, Most bucks lose their antlers from between late Jan into March. They are usually starting a new set by late April.