# building an antler catcher



## GouletPens (Feb 12, 2009)

At my house I typically see 8-10 deer a day grazing in my field and walking through my property. I'm too close to a public road to hunt them (I'm not a big hunter anyway), but a hunter buddy of mine said that if I build a box with an open front and strech bungie cords across them (using some kind of bait?), that the cords will help to catch any loose antlers that the deer might be in the process of shedding. Then of course, I could turn the antlers. 

My question is, has anyone heard of/done this and does it work and do you have any tips? I want to do this responsibly without hurting them of course and the goal would be purely to get the antlers that would naturally fall of anyway.


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## Crashmph (Feb 12, 2009)

I have heard of doing something similar to this before. You may want to talk to your local game warden to make sure you do not break any of your local state laws. I am still learning about the Virgina State Laws since I just moved here.


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## GouletPens (Feb 12, 2009)

Crashmph said:


> I have heard of doing something similar to this before. You may want to talk to your local game warden to make sure you do not break any of your local state laws. I am still learning about the Virgina State Laws since I just moved here.


 Your local laws in Springfield are probably QUITE a bit different than in Hanover country where I am. My wife's from Centreville and I know some things are cooky up there are far as game hunting...


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## BullDurham (Feb 12, 2009)

My guess, would be that the state game warden would not be to happy with this. What would you do it the deer got in and could not get him self out. them there is the question of baiting a deer, they do look on this as a fun thing to do.

Edit: Would do better to fine A  Deer Hunt club And talk to them.  

 Edit: train your Dog to hunt the fallen antler.


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## Hayseedboy (Feb 12, 2009)

Though on first blush it sounds like it might work, you might want to ask your buddy if he owns any form of concrete or board stretcher. 

The other thing to consider is that they don't all shed at the same time and if you don't secure the bunges to something really solid that buck might end up being a little stronger than you think and might just pick up your bunge box and take it home with him.

lr


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## Don Farr (Feb 12, 2009)

I think that the local game warden would really frown on this idea.
My suggestion is to watch the deer carefully over the next few weeks and see what trails that they take on a regular basis. When you notice that the antlers are missing just go for a nice walk in the woods and pick them up.
Good places to look are where they may jump a fence or ditch and the extra jarring makes them fall off.
We are getting very close to the time of year that they lose them.


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## GouletPens (Feb 12, 2009)

Yeah....kinda like how Jeff Foxworthy says a redneck's last words are "hey you wanna see something cool? hold my beer and watch this..." (or something like that, it's from memory) my friend just said, "hey, y'know what you should do...."

I don't know if it's really something that's done or just a hair-brained idea. That's why I'm seeing what you all think.


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## Sylvanite (Feb 12, 2009)

I too, have lots of deer on my property.  Last year, I set up two "shed fences" along the runs to collect antlers.  I had planned to set them up again this year, but didn't get to it in time.  Basically, they were just t-posts (metal fenceposts) with chicken wire strung between them in a zig-zag pattern.  I put deer corn at the inside corners.  The theory was that bucks would go for the corn, snag their antlers in the fence, and shed them there.  The reality was that the does ate the corn pretty much as fast as I could pour it.

Regards,
Eric


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## Randy_ (Feb 12, 2009)

Hard for me to understand why so many are against contacting the game warden?  Seems like it would be better to know before the fact what his thinking is rather than waiting until he is writing out a ticket!!


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## jskeen (Feb 12, 2009)

Not to mention that game wardens spend tons of time in the woods for some reason, and tend to know things like where to pick up shed antlers, ect.  A couple of pens and business cards to the right squirrel sheriff may just net you more antlers than you know what to do with.  DAMHIKT


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## Daniel (Feb 12, 2009)

I will tell you that most. Gaming Laws have this nifty little clause about "Taking", or "Possession" of any part of a game animal. now if you are in your shop turning antler that you bought. this is not very likely to become an issue. walking out of the woods after having just cleared your trap. weeeeeeell. that might cause some problems. also what happens the first morning you look out the window and see the buck that is strangled in your catch? your time might be better spent just taking a hike or two and see what you find


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## GouletPens (Feb 12, 2009)

Daniel said:


> also what happens the first morning you look out the window and see the buck that is strangled in your catch? your time might be better spent just taking a hike or two and see what you find


 Fire up the grill? JK JK!!


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## Art Fuldodger (Feb 12, 2009)

Crashmph said:


> I have heard of doing something similar to this before. You may want to talk to your local game warden to make sure you do not break any of your local state laws. I am still learning about the Virgina State Laws since I just moved here.



Yeah, talk to the authorities.  Screwing with wildlife in unallowed manners is often a felony, you don't want to risk it.


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## spiritwoodturner (Feb 12, 2009)

Mike's got the solution. If you did that in Colorado, it would be very expensive. I find tons of them behind my property, usually in great shape. A dog is very useful, if you can keep them from stashing them as chew toys. They love 'em.

Dale


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## GouletPens (Feb 12, 2009)

Yeah...unfortunately I don't have a dog. My wife and I are apparently one of the few newly married couples with no pets. It seems to be a trend these days. We also both drive 10+ year old cars. Buying a new car seems to be popular for college grads. No student loans either. We are quite the enigmatic couple.


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## its_virgil (Feb 12, 2009)

They are called 'antler traps' and are illegal in some states. Google "antler traps" and you will get lots of info.
Do a good turn daily!
Don


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## wdcav1952 (Feb 12, 2009)

Brian,

If this guy offers to take you on a night snipe hunt................:wink:


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## Art Fuldodger (Feb 13, 2009)

GouletPens said:


> Yeah...unfortunately I don't have a dog.



Poor guy, I'm sorry to hear that!  I send my condolences.  

(You can probably tell from my avatar about my love for canines.  That's my 5-year old Russian Shepherd mix, Duke.)


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## sparhawk (Feb 13, 2009)

Can you train a cat to look for antler?:biggrin:


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## GouletPens (Feb 13, 2009)

sparhawk said:


> Can you train a cat to look for antler?:biggrin:


 can you train a cat to do anything??


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## amosfella (Feb 13, 2009)

I trained a cat to come on command.  He was more reliable about that then the dog we had.  He would also shake paw about 60% of the time I asked.


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## Randy_ (Feb 13, 2009)

I've trained my cat to claw the furniture, throw up in a  corner of the bedroom and jump up on the counter and eat my dinner.
 
Wasn't difficult at all !!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## Daniel (Feb 13, 2009)

My cats are very well trained. they are laying in my chair any time I want to set down. laying on my side of the bed any time I am ready to go to bed. and know to cry and scratch at the door just at the moment I am most relaxed. Oh and they all do not to go in or out at the same time but pace it so I have to make three trips to let them all out and three more to let them all in. if they are on there game this entire process can be accomplished in 30 minutes with a trip to the door at exactly 5 minute intervals. Such things cannot be happening by coincidence. they are trained and conspiring.


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## Dario (Feb 13, 2009)

spiritwoodturner said:


> A dog is very useful, if you can keep them from stashing them as chew toys. They love 'em.
> 
> Dale



Dale,

Sure they would...it is bone remember? :wink:


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## bitshird (Feb 13, 2009)

I find that a 22 lr placed just by the ear work great, and the beneficial part is, it's quiet. and doesn't waste any meat,  Don't ask why all the feed stores around here carry deer corn, and stuff called deercain I think the reference should be obvious, and salt/mineral blocks formulated for deer, yet the state game code prohibits baiting. 
I've talked with several department of parks and wildlife (game wardens) if you do it on your property it's OK, the best thing is plant a few acres of beans, it doesn't mater what variety, if you plant it they will come. At which point they are a nuisance and you have the states blessing to cap dey a$$.
The problem is there is only about 1 buck for every 50 Does in our area, Does are better eating, but offer nothing for pen crafting.
I realize that there are those among this group that shed tears at the thought of blowing Bambie away, I'm sorry, I like to eat and venison is far better than store bought steroid, and hormone fed Black Angus. And far superior to Mutton, DAMHIKT:embarrassed:


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## stoneman (Feb 13, 2009)

Here are a couple of related links, including one with a short video of an antler being "collected.

http://www.shedhunter.net/shed_hunter_feeder.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K6JS8VdpvQ

Of course, if you know areas where deer are common in the winter shedding time, you could get a dog and try this site as well 

http://www.deersheddog.com/


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## workinforwood (Feb 13, 2009)

Why not just do what I do.  I chase the buck with my horse and wrangle him down with my rope.  I hog tie him down.  With my trusty bone knife, I assist in the shedding of the antler.  I stick a lollipop in the bucks mouth, then ride off into the sunset.


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## wickford (Feb 13, 2009)

workinforwood said:


> Why not just do what I do.  I chase the buck with my horse and wrangle him down with my rope.  I hog tie him down.  With my trusty bone knife, I assist in the shedding of the antler.  I stick a lollipop in the bucks mouth, then ride off into the sunset.



Stick a lollipop in his mouth...What a nice touch!  How thoughtful!  :biggrin::biggrin:  That cracked me up!


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## JohnU (Feb 13, 2009)

Not mentioned yet are the new laws in many states about feeding deer or putting out salt and mineral blocks to lure them into areas like shed fences.  Since CWD has become such a large problem many states have outlawed feeding deer in ANY way (excluding planted clover and biologics).  Please check with your local DNR first.  On another note,  I find many of my antlers along ridges, fence lines, field edges and main game trails between bed and feeding areas.  

As for buying antler, in many states it is illegal to sell or buy antler that were cut from the animal.  Shed antlers on the other hand are open season.    I would suggest talking with your local dnr or deputy sheriffs.  They handle lots of accidents involving deer and might have antler on hand for "a free pen".  Also, your meat lockers and deer processing places often have small racks left behind from hunters that just want the meat.


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## Russianwolf (Feb 13, 2009)

also might want to check the laws for use of antler in your area. I know it's illegal to sell items made from shed antler collected in Pennsylvania. 

Reason is they are a major source of calcium for other critters.

If you kill it while hunting, it's okay, but the sheds belong to mother nature in Penn.


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## Don Farr (Feb 13, 2009)

Russianwolf said:


> also might want to check the laws for use of antler in your area. I know it's illegal to sell items made from shed antler collected in Pennsylvania.
> 
> Reason is they are a major source of calcium for other critters.
> 
> If you kill it while hunting, it's okay, but the sheds belong to mother nature in Penn.



WOW!!! Thats interesting. That reminds me of the person that picked up an eagle feather and got caught with it. Bad news. :frown::frown::frown:


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## Rcd567 (Feb 13, 2009)

edit to say, this is an email I got from a friend.

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed
it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first
step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they
congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me
when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at
the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it
should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its
head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The
cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were
not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up -- 3 of
them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the
feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I
wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a
good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell
it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.

I took a step towards it..it took a step away. I put a little tension on
the rope and then received an education.
The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there
looking at you funny while you rope it,
they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer
EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT
stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I
could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no chance.
That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling
it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and
started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a
deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally
imagined.

The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other
animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to
jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few
minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing
out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for
corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of
that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its
neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere..

At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that
moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling
was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where
I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against
various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still
think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I
shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so
I didn't want the deer to have it suffer a slow death, so I managed to get
it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had
set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute.

I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope
back. Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years
would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very
surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed
hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by
a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and
shakes its head --almost like a pit bull.

They bite HARD and it hurts. The proper thing to do when a deer bites you
is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking
instead. My method was ineffective.. It seems like the deer was biting and
shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I,
being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by
now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right
arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer
will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back
feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are
surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -- like
a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily,
the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive
move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit
so you can escape.

This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would
not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy.
I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had
always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you
is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the
head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being
twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run,
it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately
leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What
they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are
laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally
managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a
scope so that they can be somewhat equal to the Prey.



Try ebay.  You can purchase them by the pound there.  Stay away from the trophy ones unless you want to spend hughes amounts of money.


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## Jim15 (Feb 13, 2009)

Red567, thanks for the best laugh I've had today.:bananen_smilies051:


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## Chris Bar (Feb 14, 2009)

Might be as illegal from ebay and worse, could be a trap.
On another note, wonder if the deer peed on the guy who roped him and he didn't tell :biggrin:?


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## TomS (Feb 14, 2009)

The easiest thing to do would be to check with the taxidermist's in your area. If they don't have any, they would probably know someone who collects them.


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## Daniel (Feb 14, 2009)

Bob, I'm laughing so hard my side hurts and I have tears in my eyes.


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## jaeger (Mar 15, 2009)

Here is another idea for you.
Talk to some buddies and get the word out that if you get a decent rack or a couple racks(if they are smaller), you will make a free pen for them in exchange for the remainder of the antlers. I've picked up quite a few racks this way. 
The hunters obviously don't want to give up their trophy racks but the long 2x2 or 3x3 work out pretty nice for pens. I will say though, a coworker gave me a really nice 4x4 with very long tines. I have made 4 pens off this rack. I still have one whole side left!!!

I just made some pens for someone that had antlers from hunts in '85 and '87. The pens turned out nice and I only used about 1/4 of the antlers for his pens. 
The nice thing about this way, you can collect antlers year round. You just need to have a pen with you and show it off and get the word out.


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## Randy_ (Mar 15, 2009)

Some states have laws about selling game animals and parts.  trading a pen for a rack might qualify??  might be a good idea to check with the game warden before you do that.
 
You don't want to get cross-wise with those guys as they can make your life miserable if they are so inclined.


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