Brown Gold: March 2008

March 29, 2008

First elk shed of 2008

I decided I would post a few since I only found one old broken antler...but that is now 4 weeks in a row! Next week will be better...hopefully.

March 22, 2008

The "bone is bone" saying took on new meaning for me this weekend. We only found a few small ones this weekend, but at least we got out and found some. This as they lay picture was from 2 different deer with a small 2x1 set! Whooo. My daughter also found her first brown gold, a small spike.

This was our big find for the day. With my brother contributing another small 2-point and a real old stump to something bigger...

3 weeks in a row of finding sheds has been my best year yet, so yeah, I am just getting into it and on a roll...hopefully I can get back to bigger sheds. Elk sheds should be next.

March 20, 2008

Book Cliffs Trip #2

We didn't end up finding as many brown sheds the 2nd weekend, but we were still successful. My nephew found his first shed, then I found the other side...he was pretty excited about the rule of finding the first one and getting the second.

This skull was pretty old and stuck under the root of a tree. I didn't even try to get it out. It was a sweet picture anyway.

More pictures from Book Cliffs trip #1

We ended up finding around 30 antlers and my daughter found her very first.

Book Cliffs Trip #1

This is my first brown set of the year. I found the right side, then my brother found the left...so I got the set. Not bad for our first trip of the year!

Welcome to Brown Gold

This is the first post to the Brown Gold blog. I have always loved hunting and the outdoors and I have recently become obsessed with shed hunting. The majority of the posts will be dedicated my shed hunting success and those of my friends and family. If you have any good hunting or shed hunting sites to recommend, please let me know...I am obsessed with those too.

All About Antlers

Did You Know...?

Male Deer and Elk shed their antlers annually as a prelude to the regeneration, or re-growth, of new ones.

Antlers in the velvet can grow up to 1" in one day.
Velvet is the only regenerating skin found in mammals.
Elk antler velvet has been used in the Orient for medicinal purposes for thousands of years.

A healthy bull elk can produce up to 10 pounds of velvet a year.

During early stages of growth, the antlers are very sensitive and can be susceptible to injury and cause for abnormal antler growth.

Younger deer and elk are usually the last ones to shed their antlers.

Why do deer shed their antlers? Male deer grow and shed their antlers every year. Antlers are composed of true bone. Antler growth begins in late March or early April and the growing bone is covered by skin with numerous blood vessels (velvet). In late summer and early fall, testosterone levels increase. This hormone elevation results in the antlers hardening and the buck rubs off the drying velvet. When testosterone levels begin to drop, antlers start to shed beginning in mid January. Deer that are in the best physical condition will lose their antlers later in the winter.

The entire shedding process takes a mere two to three weeks to complete, and the re-growth phase takes place over the summer. The docile male deer that, with the exception of the male and the female reindeer, solely sports antlers, sheds them between January and April, after the autumn mating season draws to a close. He can do without antlers at this time, because his need for them in prior months, to attract and to impress females for his harem of mates, and to fight with his competitors for the females' affections, no longer exists.

Mule deer usually shed their antlers in January and February, and most elk shed their antlers in February and March, however animals of both species sometimes retain their antlers into April. Questions about antler sheds are usually asked by people wanting to try their hand at finding antlers. In that regard, prospective antler hunters are asked to keep their distance from wintering animals to minimize stress and disturbance on winter ranges. There have also been problems associated with antler seekers trespassing on private lands. As with any other activity, permission must be obtained to use private lands.

The antlers themselves differ from the hollow horns of cattle, in that they comprise solid bone tissue with a honey combed structure. Pedicles, or knobby, skin-covered nubs protruding from the skull, support the deer's antlers, or points, which range in number from one shaft to eleven branches. The pedicles are a permanent fixture on the deer's forehead, and are the point from which the antlers annually break off.During the first year the pedicles appear on the young deer's forehead. The following year, the youngster sprouts straight, spike-like shafts, and in the third year, the first branch appears. In successive years, as the deer matures, his antlers lengthen and, in most species, he acquires additional branches.
During the growth phase of the bony antlers, they are covered with a sensitive skin referred to as "velvet," which is filled with blood vessels that feed the antlers the vitamins and the minerals necessary to build up the bone, and to promote normal antler growth. Antler growth spans two to four months, after which time the velvet is no longer needed, and a ring, which effectively serves as a shutoff valve, forms at the base of the antlers and cuts off the blood supply to the velvet. As a result, the velvet withers, dries up, and falls off, often assisted by the deer, which rubs his antlers against tree bark. The antler regeneration is complete, and the shedding cycle will resume once mating season in the fall concludes.

http://www.kingsoutdoorworld.com/stories/antlers_story.htm

Brown Gold

March 29, 2008

First elk shed of 2008

March 22, 2008

Bone is Bone

March 20, 2008

Book Cliffs Trip #2

More pictures from Book Cliffs trip #1

Book Cliffs Trip #1

Welcome to Brown Gold

2009 Shed Stats

All About Antlers

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About Me

Cool and Helpful Sites

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