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 1. Bowhunting Blog


ANTLER TRAPS: SHOULD YOU USE THEM?

By Bow StaffFebruary 8, 20194 Comments

Shed hunting has grown so much in recent years that avid antler hunters now go
to great lengths to pick up the bone when hunting seasons come to a close. One
such tactic is the use of antler traps. There’s a variety of homemade traps, as
well as those sold by manufacturers, designed to knock a buck’s antler loose as
he feeds or uses an attractant. But are these traps good for the overall health
of the bucks we pursue? Should you even be using them? Our friends at QDMA offer
some insight on why you should think twice about using antler traps this season.
Check it out…

by Lindsay Thomas Jr.

It’s the time of year when bucks are beginning to shed their antlers and hunters
are beginning to grow impatient to go hunt those shed antlers. In late 2018 and
into the New Year, we’ve even heard a lot of reports of early antler shedding,
which has jumpstarted early talk of shed hunting. And every year as talk of shed
hunting begins, we also encounter hunters who just don’t have much patience and
want the bucks to bring the sheds to them. They devise what are known as “antler
traps” — devices designed to snare and pull off the antlers of bucks attracted
to a feed source.

I’m not here to tell you how to design an antler trap. In fact, I’m here to
discourage it. QDMA does not recommend the use of shed antler traps, and here
are our reasons.



What are the risks of using an antler trap?


RISK OF PEDICLE DAMAGE

With antler traps, there’s an increased risk that part of the antler pedicle
(the base from which antlers grow) will break off with the antler, as happened
with the shed seen above.

Antlers shed when buck testosterone levels drop and trigger the connective layer
between antler and skull to dissolve. Sometimes, antlers fall or break off
before this layer has completely dissolved, and a portion of the antler pedicle
also breaks off with the shed. If you’ve ever found a shed antler with a little
spike of extra bone at the base, you’ve seen the results. Researcher Dr. Gabe
Karns, who has studied the causes of abnormal antlers, calls these “dirty
sheds.” Gabe has found a link between “dirty sheds” and abnormal antlers. When
portions of the antler pedicle or skull break off with a shed antler, next
year’s antler on that side is very likely to be deformed.

 

This antler did not shed cleanly, and a small piece of the antler pedicle came
off with it. This will likely lead to abnormal antler growth the following year
and possibly a cranial infection.




There also may be a link between “dirty sheds” and brain abscesses in bucks. In
some cases the damaged area of the pedicle, which is essentially an open wound
for a short time, can become infected with bacteria that are naturally present
on a deer’s skin, and the result can be a fatal brain abscess.

When a buck sticks his head in a bait pile and snags his antlers on wire,
fencing, ropes, bungee cords, or whatever material is used in the shed-antler
trap – especially at a time when the connective layer is partially but not fully
dissolved – there’s an increased possibility that antlers will be prematurely
pulled off and that part of the pedicle will break off as well.

This alone is reason enough not to construct antler traps. But there are other
less critical reasons.


ADDED STRESS AT A STRESSFUL TIME OF YEAR

I’ve seen some trap styles that could easily tangle a buck that isn’t ready to
shed. Bucks get tangled in ropes and other trash people have thrown in the woods
even when the people didn’t intend to snag a buck! I’m sure the few bucks that
get tangled will escape antler traps after a struggle, but the stress of such a
struggle would be hard on a deer that is already under stress from weather,
post-rut fatigue, and winter’s limited food supply. Conserving limited fat
stores and energy supplies is the key to winter survival for deer. In a tough
winter, the fight to escape entanglement in an antler trap could make the
difference.




MISSING THE ADVANTAGES OF SHED HUNTING

Antler traps put all the value on possessing the bone. How and where you find it
doesn’t matter as long as you get the antler and add it to your collection.
Personally, I get a lot of value out of hunting for shed antlers. It’s fun and
challenging. I also notice a lot of other things about my hunting area while I’m
out there, such as rubs, trails, bedding cover, or food sources like oaks or
fruit trees I didn’t know about. I find things like deer that died of unknown
causes and signs of trespassing. I pick up all of this valuable “intel” and more
while hunting sheds.

There’s also information in where you find the shed antler. It’s another piece
in that big puzzle of buck movements that we’re always trying to assemble.
Concentrations of shed antlers in specific areas in one year, or across years,
is valuable information. But if the buck is drawn to an antler trap by corn, you
learn little about the buck’s natural movements.


IT’S ILLEGAL IN SOME STATES

There are a few states – Virginia and Kentucky are two of them – that have
outlawed antler traps. I don’t have a comprehensive list of them, but it doesn’t
really matter. Just assume it’s all of them. Even where they are not
specifically outlawed, we still don’t recommend them for the reasons listed
above.




If you want to trap something: Coyotes. Meanwhile let the bucks drop their
antlers when it’s time, and enjoy all the benefits of getting outdoors and
searching for them.

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