Boot tracks n Barb wire

[squirrel]

It's unbelievable really what has gone on in the last 5 years on hunting for a dumb 'ol piece of bone... Dirt roads are parking lots, foot races and fist fights on the hills, animals run near to death by the CPW in choppers all winter chased even more by people out thrashing 3' of snow hoping to pick up a silly horn before the next guy. Quite a few of these from out of state no less, as if I cannot lose enough money driving 10 minutes from home and getting skunked, they come from 10+ HOURS away to get that "free money".

(They sink guys, they sink, horns are conductors not insulators)

Well if everybody was jumping off a bridge would you jump too??? I guess that is a big 10-4 as I had to go out and slog thru the mud yesterday to quell the spring fever while waiting on gobbler season.

I used to be able to tell who had been there based on the tracks in the mud (pigeon toed size 8... Donny) Yesterday there were so many of various sizes and treads it was impossible to even guess.

After about 7 fruitless miles I was closing in on the Jeep and found a true trophy, anybody can find the bigguns! And even horn hungry hordes can miss these whoppers!



At only 300 yards from the Jeep I looked over and on top of each other was this gorgeous set. Not very big (174") but scores well and very pretty.



I snuck across the fence and looked all around making sure nobody was looking and slipped them down deep in my pack for secrecy, straddled the fence and it decided to eat me, boots punctured, carharts caught in multiple spots from several angles, sliding in axle grease mud... I was going down, just had to pick a soft landing spot, right in some rocks on my back getting skewered by horns... as usual.

The dogs swung by to see why all the foul language as I tore my pants and freed myself. Being stubborn and not really very bright I tried the same spot and ended up in the exact same fashion wallowing in the mud upside down and tangled up.

Now mama didn't raise no quitter so I gave her a third try and succeeded. Torn $200 boots, ripped $40 pants, bloody leg, shredded hand leaving a blood trail, horn holes in my back... but horn rich, horn rich I say...

 

[Gerald Martin]

Sounds like it was worth it to me! Give ya $20 for both sets.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I wish they had never been worth one red cent!

 

[mtmuley]

I remember a lot of years leaving sheds where I saw them. Big stuff, small stuff and deadheads. Too much of a PITA to carry. I still don't specifically shed hunt, I like antlers attached myself. I do pick them up now when I see them, but don't sell any. mtmuley

 

[Manderscheid]

I'm one of those out of state guys that drives as much as 20 hours to look for elk sheds. But I have never sold a single one of them nor would I ever consider it. Each one is a treasure, for as you might imagine, we are a little short on elk here in Iowa.

I used to find plenty of whitetail sheds here in Iowa, but anymore I am lucky to find a few. Boot tracks and four-wheeler tracks everywhere a guy goes, and that starts already in January. Not too crazy about it either, but it is what it is.

 

[squirrel]

My point of the post other than to tell an amusing story ending up with me upside down wallowing in the mud was not to denigrate the selling of antlers, but the silliness they seem to bring out in people, far in excess of any real worth.

People will break into a car for a pile of sheds on the seat, while I suspect if there was a $20 bill on the seat they would pass on by... maybe yes maybe no (some people are just crooks). But the rote response of how much they think they are pulling in amuses me. Work evenings at the Kum+Go and you will consistently out earn shed hunting!

When you find a couple hundred fresh deer and a hundred or so fresh elk in a year I see no real way to not sell them, either as antlers or as a product made from them. I have a tolerant Mrs. but even that has its limits when piles of fresh shed are endangering both man and dog alike!

Manderscheid... 20 hrs driving to just pick up an antler??? Wow!! I guess I shouldn't talk myself into going straight home instead of stopping on my way home from work. I would have to take up fishing or some such trivial hobby.

I watched a guy from Utah showed up 3 weeks ago with $30K of atvs on a trailer (funny in its own right as it was still sled weather/conditions) He slogged the little strips of stony/bony points and wallowed through crotch deep snow in between all day long. I glassed him as he was approaching his truck and he had a half of a 170 buck clutched in one hand. Brutal day for one lousy horn.

 

[Wyodeerhunter]

I remember a guy who looks just like you, and has the same dogs as you that sold the location of a big buck for 10,000 dollars to mossback. Maybe that Utah guy clenching that antler was tipped off to the area from your greed to make a buck. Please don't try to knock down the fine people at the CDOW when you yourself sold that poor buck to denny and the mossback crew.

Cool story bro.

 

[Browtinemt]

That is some funny $&!? Squirrel! Those are the kind of finds that need to be on your desk or prominently displayed in your home so whenever you're having one of those days you can look at them and smile. Thanks for making me smile today.