Do you keep your antlers?

[Scout21]

As a child I recall having multiple large containers in the shed full of deer antlers from all of the bucks my father had shot over the years. I found it very interesting to see the sheer amount of antlers there were. Even more fascinating was my father's ability to recall a story about every set of antlers you pulled from the heap.

Recently, I helped my father clean out his shed and after going through each and every antler he disposed of most of them, either by giving them away or trashing them. Now that I'm older it was slightly depressing looking at the sad state the antlers were in. Most had lost all of their color and had turned a chalky white with some of them displaying rat damage. After some thought I questioned their usefulness and the reasoning behind keeping them all. Sure, they can be mementos and keepsakes of hunts gone by, but ultimately they just ended up in poor shape, taking up space in the shed, just to be discarded.

He's down to one container now, and he says he'll be giving them away to a local craftsman. He still hunts, but I'm curious if he'll be keeping his antlers in the future.

I've kept every set of my own antlers, but now that I'm questioning this practice I'm thinking about using them in my various buckskin projects. I figure this would be a better fate than simply decaying in a box stuffed deep in the recesses of my shed.

What says The Road? Do you keep your antlers(or tusks, tails, feet, claws, spurs, feathers, etc.)? Why do you keep them?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

All the antlers i have are finds. I shoot doe. Better meat. Im not a trophy hunter.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I have only a few of the antlers from deer we have shot.(Mostly cause I don't shoot a lot of antlered deer.. )
My first ,a 4 point mule deer, the wife's first, a fork horn Oklahoma white tail. (Which she got with a muzzle loader. ) The small fork/spikes from the two deer we got within a few minutes of each other down in Oklahoma. ( A fond memory...) And the one big white tail that I got here in Kansas a bunch of years ago. Others I have accumulated but I use them for knife handles and other "crafty" projects.

 

[LoonWulf]

Only the good ones..........

Im kidding none of those are mine. My father in law keeps the really nice ones on those racks, but tosses mediocre stuff in a pile for scrap or decomposition.

I hung onto a antlers when we still lived on Molokai, but since moving to the big island i usually toss em in my FILs not good enough pile IF i shoot any, and generally i try not to.

 

[25-5]

Just kept the first nice set for ratlin!

 

[Patocazador]

I keep them all. They remind me of each hunt and are a reminder of what I need to do to better the best ones.
I had them all hung around the periphery of my old garage. I had to take them down when the old garage started to collapse due to termites. They are now in my new barn but in boxes. I've just been hanging the ones I kill in Florida now.

I have given away some to people who wanted them for various projects but still have the vast majority.

 

[wbm]

Depends on if I drop them around the house or not.

 

[.308 Norma]

What says The Road? Do you keep your antlers(or tusks, tails, feet, claws, spurs, feathers, etc.)? Why do you keep them?

Seeing as how we’re restricted to “antlered deer only” (unless the hunter is 16 or under) here in Idaho, we have to keep the antlers until the dead deer is at the commercial processor or final place of storage or consumption. If the deer’s head and/or antlers are removed before, they have to accompany the carcass, and “evidence of sex” must be left attached.
I figure that’s not what you meant though. So, my answer is, “Yes, we do keep the antlers.” Exactly for what purpose(s) I don’t know. My wife and I probably have a half-dozen trophy size (including the one in the picture) mule deer racks sitting on a shelf in the basement, and I’ve probably made a half-dozen each candle holders, knife handles, hat racks and gun racks out of smaller sets of antlers.
BTW, this may sound like jealousy, but the deer’s rack in those pictures isn’t as tall as it might appear. My wife is only 5’2”, so everything looks tall compared to her.
Just kidding around. My wife shot that deer back in 2000 with the tang-safety Ruger 77, 7mm-08 she’s holding. He had a huge body to go along with that rack, and we were a long time dragging him just a quarter of a mile downhill to the truck. We would have had a heck of a time getting him loaded into the truck too if a couple of teenaged boys hadn’t shown up and helped us out.
Anyway - memories. The fact is the pictures brought back more memories than that set of antlers ever will. Besides, the pictures reminded me of how long my wife wore her hair 20 years ago. Of course, I had more hair back then too.

 

[22250Rem]

I have some mounted on those small wooden plaques that are sold for that purpose. The OP mentioned trashing some that are unwanted, and if they are unwanted, they can be easily recycled by just returning them to the woods. Then the mice, chipmunks, etc. will consume them as nature intended. I have heard that even coyotes will gnaw on antlers like a dog chewing a bone.

 

[Chuck R.]

I usually keep the 8pt or better racks, although I stopped mounting them and now they're just laying around. The smaller stuff my wife wants as they make great dog chew toys and are quite expensive when you buy them.

 

[entropy]

The best way is to keep them attached to the hide so you can stalk more deer.

I had my 6pt. rack stolen from my apartment balcony, (guy must have wanted real bad!) I gave the few others I had to my oldest son when he was about 12. He helped me get one of them.

 

[Glockula]

I always keep antlers from any buck I kill. The dogs love antlers so if I don't want to display them the pups will chew them up.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Yes I keep them all.
If they're not worth keeping, I don't shoot them.
If my main goal is meat, I'll shoot a doe. I'm not shooting a small buck for meat. I'd rather him grow and get a chance at him later.

I also understand that everyone doesn't have that luxury, and I don't fault anyone for putting meat on their table by the means that are legal where they hunt.
But we can shoot does year around, and they are plentiful.
If I lived in a bucks only area, I would be less picky in order to put meat in the freezer.

 

[.308 Norma]

I also understand that everyone doesn't have that luxury, and I don't fault anyone for putting meat on their table by the means that are legal where they hunt.
But we can shoot does year around, and they are plentiful.
If I lived in a bucks only area, I would be less picky in order to put meat in the freezer.

Yep, that's exactly it. The whole danged state of Idaho is "bucks only" unless you're 16 or younger. And as I've posted several times before, only about 1 in 3 Idaho deer hunters even get a deer these days.
Consequently, my wife and I shoot any deer that's legal - which means forked horn or greater. Our daughter and grandsons do the same thing.
One of us does manage to kill a nice trophy buck every once in a while, but a trophy mule deer buck's meat is no better (or worse, IMO) than a decent 2-point's meat. There's usually just more of it.
As luck would have it, I drew a deer tag in the hunting unit where our friend's ranch is located this year. My wife and I have been driving around over by their ranch in the evenings lately, and we're seeing a lot of deer - mostly does and young bucks (spikes maybe) though. However, we have spotted a few decent 2 and 3 point bucks. So, I might be eating my wife's chicken fried venison steaks with biscuits and gravy in a couple of weeks, and she'll be eating her beloved fresh venison liver and onions again - for the first time in 2 years.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Yep, that's exactly it. The whole danged state of Idaho is "bucks only" unless you're 16 or younger.

How often do you go and see a lot of deer, but nothing that is legal to shoot?
That would be extremely frustrating.

We have a 3 day doe only hunt after Christmas. I've never seen a big buck during those 3 days, but have heard a lot of grumbling from friends who saw them during the doe only.

 

[.308 Norma]

How often do you go and see a lot of deer, but nothing that is legal to shoot?
That would be extremely frustrating.

Oh man, that happens all the time - every year since Idaho has gone to "antlered deer only" hunts.
And something that adds to that frustration is what our rancher friend told me after church this morning. As I said, I drew a tag this year in the hunting unit where our rancher friend and his wife's ranch is located. We were driving around looking for deer over there yesterday evening, and our friend asked me this morning if we saw any big bucks on their place. I told him, "No, but we saw a couple of does, and a couple of this year's fawns (maybe spikes) out by your haystack in the field right behind your house."
His response was, "You know, those two does and fawns will be into my haystack come this winter, and they eat as much hay as bucks eat!"
I guess there's not much use gripping about it. I'm just glad I've got a little better than average chance of getting a deer this year. Like I said earlier, we have seen a few decent deer over on our friend's ranch. They're not huge bucks, but they're legal.

 

[DM~]

Although I've gifted some moose and caribou antlers to others, I still have quite a few around, also a lot of deer antlers around too...

DM

 

[FL-NC]

If its not worthy of some type of mount, I saw them off and hang them up in various locations in the man cave. The only exception was the buck with 6" spikes that kamikazed into the door of my jeep a few years back about 1/2 mile from my house one night- I found about 2" of one of the tips, drilled a hole in it, and hung it from the rear view mirror. And yes, I kept the deer. Turkey fans all get mounted- they are easy and cheap to do myself and don't take that much room on the walls.

 

[Speedo66]

All the antlers i have are finds. I shoot doe. Better meat. Im not a trophy hunter.

Same, I would rather a tender doe than an old buck. Any horns I've taken weren't very big, the largest I have were a pair of sheds I found on my property in NY.

I kept a pair for rattling, never had luck with that, though.

My wife was knitting a sweater for her grand niece and was looking for something interesting for buttons. A small antler and few minutes on a little band saw followed by a minute or two with a drill press and she had her buttons.

 

[Sawdust1]

4 point or larger unless it's an odd rack I cut the antlers off the skull plate and drill holes to put a cord through. I then hang them on a nail

 

[H&Hhunter]

I love antlers, horns, tusks, teeth, claws etc. I’m a pack rat so I tend to keep them, but I’ll give them away if somebody wants them bad enough.

 

[PWC]

To be clear, I've never hunted big game, never had the desire to hang heads or fish on a wall. Cost of an elk hunt puts elk burger about $40 lb. When grocery store h'burger approaches that, then I'll take back up hunting.

I did have my K Bar with dried out leather washers and loose handle. I had a friend that was a Boy Scout leader whose kids were gathering elk "sheds" for projects. He took the knife and his kids made a perfect elk horn handle. I epoxied it on and reground the pommel washer to shape. Fits my hand better than a stock knife.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Some antlers I've mounted and hung in the shop, a couple in the house[elk and pronghorn]. Some I've made into rifle holders and handgun holders. Hat hangers too.
The dog keeps eyeing the couple of loose ones in the shop. He might just get 'em!

 

[.45Coltguy]

.308 Norma, I'll be in your neck of the woods next week helping a buddy with a deer hunt. Good luck to you!

 

[Mauser fan]

You bet!!! I keep the ones that are special and what I don't I use as trading material for knife makers or scrimshaw artists. The ones that have any real use are given to the dogs as chew toys.