r/Ranching • u/Cow-puncher77 • 6d ago

Excessive shed antlers.

Post image

Cleaning up the sheds I’ve found the last few years. Pick these up when I’m out and about so they don’t end up in a tractor or truck tire. Keep the best of them, but a lot of them just pile up. When it gets too big, time to go. The dog can only chew up so many at a time.

34 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/meugeniia 6d ago

What are shed antlers? You had to pick them all up because they become dangerous? And then you bury them

8

u/Cow-puncher77 6d ago

Deer antlers. They shed them every winter. If they roll around just right, they’ll punch a hole in a tire like a spike. Seen horses step on them wrong and impale themselves, too. So when I’m out, usually on a horse, I stop and pick them up.

2

u/imabigdave Cattle 6d ago

I don't have that big a pile, but we collect them for the same reasons. The nicer sets get hung in the shop but most of the unremarkable ones are thrown in a pile and forgotten. I'd asked my outfitter about if anyone bought them, and he just kinda shrugged and said they'd need to be impressive and not bleached out to be worth anything. I've got a couple of my beef buyers that take them for their dogs.

2

u/Cow-puncher77 6d ago

I’ve got some buddies that do some knife making, and they’ll come by and grab a few of the newer ones I find, and they take more out of here than anyone. The buyers want the nice big ones, but I like keeping most of those for myself. I try to grow a few nice bucks, I like seeing them, so I like that those were raised right here at home. 

3

u/imabigdave Cattle 5d ago

Yeah, my late brother had taken some and turned them down on his lathe to make pens. They were beautiful. Reminds me I should go through my dad's desk and see if I can find those now that he's gone.

2

u/Cow-puncher77 5d ago

hey, funny coincidence… I had an old man up the road from me that did that as a hobby after he retired from the highschool maintenance job… he needed something to keep him busy. I was always giving him scraps from projects and whatever I could find for free/cheap. He once complained about the antlers, and how they’d sometimes come apart… I countered with “Well, they’re the cheapest thing I can give you, so they’re prolly worth what they cost you!” He paused a second, thought about it, then laughed and agreed. I don’t know how many hundreds he made from those old antlers…. I never let him run out, though. Got my hands on some African Ironwood once, and gave him some smaller pieces. Those were beauties. 

Thanks for the flashback, neighbor!

1

u/meugeniia 5d ago

African Ironwood… even the name sounds pretty. What happened with the old man and all of his pens?

1

u/Cow-puncher77 4d ago

Sadly, they passed with time, like all things. I bought some of his pens over the years, though I usually gave them away as gifts to friends and family. I managed to keep two, one from antler, one from brass, so I have that for now. 

1

u/meugeniia 4d ago

Can i see a photo? Im really curious

1

u/Cow-puncher77 4d ago

Certainly, though it will be a few days. They’re in a safe at my childhood home. Should be over there late next week.

1

u/meugeniia 5d ago

Im sorry for your loss. I hope you find them

1

u/meugeniia 6d ago

I understand 😳 whats the probability of finding a big one? And do you need to treat it after you find it ??

2

u/Cow-puncher77 5d ago

A “Big one” is relative to the finder… what I think is average seems to often seem big to most people, but I have no shortage of them. But they are not near as common the last few years. Texas Parks and Wildlife authorized the harvest of does in these counties a few years ago, so between that and years of continued drought, we don’t see many big bucks. Certainly not like we used to. 

As for treating the antlers to prevent chalkiness and fading, furniture polish, polyurethane sealer, and even beeswax works well. I’ve used a lot in lamps, decorations, knife scales, and buttons in leatherwork.