elk shed question

[JohnyRingo]

How long after a bull drops his antlers will he bleed from his pedicle? I found a ton of bull beds in the snow that had blood around them. I didn't actually see the bulls to see what had dropped, but I did find a few antlers. I don't really like running into bulls when I am shed hunting as to not disturb them.

 

[Griztrax]

It's kind of like any scab or scrape. It will typically bleed for a day or two and then heal over. Bulls will start growing new antler very quickly after shedding - slow at first and then it cranks up once green-up starts. If you are finding blood in bull beds then they likely shed their antlers not long before you found the bed. I have heard of people back tracking blood and finding antlers but has never happened to me. As for bumping bulls.....none of us like it. Only way to avoid it is to avoid looking for antlers until conditions improve and the elk start making their way back to summer grounds. By then, your competition has already scooped up most of the antlers because they don't care if they bump animals or not. Guys in the Elkhorn Mountains near my home in Montana have NO MORALS OR ETHICS! They start following around bulls in Mid February and don't stop until they all have shed. It is sad and hard on the animals but greed wins out every time.

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Depending on the individual, usually a maximum of a day but tends to be shorter than that.

 

[WestrnHunter270]

Bringing this post back because I've been very confused lately. I've always been under the impression that bulls bleed AFTER they shed so if you find a bloody bull track, you should backtrack it but I just had a buddy tell me that he found a bloody bull track and he just followed it, he didn't backtrack it and he found it's fresh antlers using this method. So do bulls also bleed right before they shed as well?

 

[madtom]

Maybe he had a bloody nose.