Antler traps.

[bobbymalone]

Buying duck bands ? Please tell me that's not happening,

go to your favorite online auction site and search for duck bands. oh yeah it's happening.

just for fun, I searched "antlers"... oh yeah that's happening too.

[Musky Buck]

Unreal on duck bands, is it for the same reason Mike Tyson got a face tatoo, "look at me".

[bobbymalone]

Yeah, I figure a lot of them are sold so that you can look like the duck commander or whatever.

I dunno, it's not for me and I would feel like a big jake ace if I had a lanyard full of e bay items.

My buddy has talked about buying one to stick on the foot of his bull goose decoy which, I must admit, would be pretty cool. People probably buy them to stick on mounts too.

as for the shed antlers on that auction site, I could see buying them up if you were using them to make lamps or chandeliers and whatnot.

[vister]

Originally Posted By: vister

Besides, antler traps are illegal in mn anyways. I'd be curious to know how many people put out antler traps of some sort are also anti baiting. That would make one a hypocrite I believe!!

Probably not many (if any) because an antler trap would be mostly useless without some form of attractant (bait) to bring the animals to the antler trap.

Bottom line is they are illegal and can harm or kill an animal if they are constructed poorly.

oh, im sure plenty of people that set out antler traps full of corn to make retrieving antler sheds easier, are also anti baiting. seems like lots of people think antler traps are the cats meow. on the otherhand, almost everyone is antibaiting. but then again, i use trail cameras, 5 to be exact, and plant lots of food plots, and a bunch of people think that gives me an unfair, almost cheating like advantage! maybe i'm just that passionate about hunting that im willing, and love spending that much time out in nature, between plots, checking cameras, walking endless hours coming up empty handed shed hunting, scouting, moving stands, building stands, clearing brush, checking and maintaning mineral sites, and the list goes on. i guess one could say i put my time in

[Ray1]

People just need to stop baiting deer period. That is how diseases spread. Why cant people get that. The saliva from hundreds of deer on the same bait pile is not a good thing in my opinion.

[Musky Buck]

I hear ya Vister, not wanting to fuel the baiting thing but the DNR puts foot plots in with the help of area farmers in the rum river state forest, pheasants forever puts them in and it benefits the birds and deer as well. How could they tell them to stop doing that ? The DNR and CO's know the difference thank goodness and that dude rep from the crane lake area needs to wake up. Antler traps what's next a pop up fence once you have 3-4 bucks pop up the fence trap them and feed em till they drop their horns ? The not knowing when where and how you find them is the fun in it.

[Shoot2Kill]

[quote name='bobbymalone

just for fun' date=' I searched "antlers"... oh yeah that's happening too.

[/quote']

That's nothing new...people have been selling sheds for years on there....very profitable too if you are in an area where you can find a pile of them every year. A guy can only hold onto so many antlers. After a few seasons of finding a 100 or more what is the point in keeping all the little or average ones. People buy them for all kinds of reasons.

[Musky Buck]

Right on shoot to kill, uncle has 40 years worth in his shed, maybe I'll take a few pics and post the next time I'm at his farm. The part that gets me is if someone is loading up their lanyard for like a necklace and they really want to deceive who they are hunting with it's hilarious.

[Skunked-Rookie]

Well put MB! That's exactly my point, is too many people are lazy. Besides, antler traps are illegal in mn anyways. I'd be curious to know how many people put out antler traps of some sort are also anti baiting. That would make one a hypocrite I believe!! I've logged many many miles the past few years in search of sheds, only to find antlers on dead deer. The deer winter in very dense, less desirable walking conditions in river bottoms around us. I'd just assume bust my balls and come up empty handed, rather than fabricate something that a deer could get his head gear tangled up in well before anything is ready to fall off!! Besides, there's nothing wrong with getting a little hike in is there?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have and use food plots?

[Musky Buck]

I think Vister has food plots yet I don't think the deer just lay in them day and night, the deer using my neighbors food plots are traveling about a mile to get to them crossing at least 4 properties along the way and 2 roads. Yes, they are bedding that far away and they know the route and how to avoid the dogs on the way. Oaks, apples, farm fields, food plots, providing year round nutrition for our birds and animals and I thank all or our deer numbers would be even lower. Hang on antler traps don't sound like much fun to me.

[Shoot2Kill]

Right on shoot to kill, uncle has 40 years worth in his shed, maybe I'll take a few pics and post the next time I'm at his farm. The part that gets me is if someone is loading up their lanyard for like a necklace and they really want to deceive who they are hunting with it's hilarious.

Roger that man.......the D bag wearing the "paid for" bands knows the real truth and he's only hurting himself. People crack me up.

[Shoot2Kill]

Right on shoot to kill, uncle has 40 years worth in his shed, maybe I'll take a few pics and post the next time I'm at his farm. The part that gets me is if someone is loading up their lanyard for like a necklace and they really want to deceive who they are hunting with it's hilarious.

That's a lot of bone....he have any he'd want to part with when the time comes? I use them for all kinds of things and am always looking for extras without paying through the nose.

[Musky Buck]

I'll ask him certainly, it's a pile alright. He's been at it longer than anyone I know, once a dairy farmer and now being retired for about 10 years, well he still has deer to entertain him and also several deer stands that you realistically have a chance each season to bag a monster buck. He is constantly in the woods or swamp and my 12 uncles have all been passing down to us nephews hunting and fishing heritage,history,stories,etc. I think an antler trap vote would be 0 for and 12 against. Us old timers like the way it once was and we aren't to technology savy.

[mrklean]

the corn under the stump i didnt have a problem with besides have to keep feeding nonstop because they will become dependent on it, chicken wire or anything like that is just foolish

[Skunked-Rookie]

I think Vister has food plots yet I don't think the deer just lay in them day and night

[vister]

I'm just curious as to the point you're trying to make. Are you calling me lazy for hunting near food plots? Maybe you've never planted one, but there are several hours over several weekends, among the gallons of sweat spent working on plots!! I don't do it so I can have a deer walk out and shoot it. They provide nutrition. Why wouldn't you want healthier deer? I've seen hundreds of deer while hunting over or near plots, but have yet to shoot a deer in one!

[Musky Buck]

I hear ya, I doubt Vister was hoping for a shed gold mine when he started pouring dollars into a food plot. Can a food plot make shed hunting easier, I guess maybe in some areas, but our area the bucks shed late march/april mostly so they are ranging around a lot more, I guess maybe. I think well if you have the land and you love wildlife and certainly especially deer, why not improve what you have, you are basically planting a farm field that won't get combined, should we all turn on the farmers who left their corn due to moisture and mold knowing a bunch of them might not combine it,lets turn on pheasants forever because their plots attract deer, or lets write into the DNR to stop putting food plots in the rum river state forest, it also benefits other land owners in the area as well as the critters. Well Rookie maybe it's simply a difference between Hopkins and out state minnesota. I think I missed the boat on this one.

[buckhunter21]

I really doubt when Vister was planting his plots that he was thinking, man Im gonna find so many sheds in this. Finding a few more sheds is just a small benefit of planting plots. Im guessing his main goal was to improve the deers nutrition while at the same time hopefully drawing more deer onto his land for hunting purposes. An antler trap and a few bags of corn would maybe run you $25 where as a food plot costs you in the hundreds of dollars when you figure in the fuel, fertilizer, seed, spray, damage on equiptment, etc.. If you wanted to spend that kind of money on something to find a few sheds you might as well go on a guided shed hunt in Canada and guarantee your chances.

[mrklean]

they have guided shed hunts????

[Musky Buck]

I missed reading your reply Vister, agreed. My dad and I have hunted farm fields for 48 years except the closed year or 2 in the 70's, me 26 years, and roughly 20-30 relatives. After a 5 minute reflection I can't picture any of the 300-400 or so bucks we've taken being shot in a field, some must have been, but I can't recall any especially the big boys and we all have field stands at our disposal, and those fields go cold quick once opening day is done, however we only rifle and muzzy hunt.

[vister]

both you and MB are correct. let the record state, that in the hours i've logged searching for antler sheds, i've found ZERO. only while hunting, or scouting for hunting, does the occassional shed trip ya. believe me, i've thought that an antler trap or two would be the ticket to actually getting some sheds. but when you spend the time trying to provide deer with better habitat, like food plots and cutting down undesireable trees for added cover, you realize antler traps could possibly tangle and kill the very deer your trying to provide a better habitat. especially when trail cams show deer with full sets of headgear all the way up to april. you just wouldn't know when the deer is likely to shed its gear.

[buckhunter21]

they have guided shed hunts????

Haha yea they really do. I just couldnt see myself spending hundreds of dollars to find a deers sheds that is hundreds of miles from my house. It is cool to find sheds but one of the main reasons I shed hunt is to scout for what will be around next year. Maybe some people would do it but not this guy.

[mrklean]

i guess it is canada there a little different up there

[Skunked-Rookie]

I'm just curious as to the point you're trying to make. Are you calling me lazy for hunting near food plots?quote]

The point I'm trying to make is that if someone thinks another person is lazy for simply using an easy or efficient method it simply isn’t so' date=' it is all in the eyes of the beholder.

If two guys are ice fishing and one guy thinks the other is lazy for using a gas auger, because he himself chooses to use a hand auger,,, well to each his own. The guy using the hand auger might be a hard worker, but not a smarter worker.

Just like the food plot explanation I used. (the food plot explanation has nothing to do with hunting or finding sheds) What I said was

[icehousebob]

Just so we're all on the same page: Shed hunting is not an Olympic sport. There is no national championship tournament. There are no written rules and no recognized rules on keeping score. There is no time limit and no set size to the playing field, RIGHT?? As long as you do not inflict harm on the deer, anything goes. Trying to put your values on someone else for this pastime is not allowed.. Now, continue with the fight.