Weston Animal Control Tips For Shed Hunting

WESTON, MA — Weston Animal Control is offering tips on a new kind of hunting that doesn't harm any animals — shed hunting. Deer shed their antlers every year, usually from January through March. If you know what to look for you can find deer antlers right in your backyard.

Weston has abundant open space and forested areas and a healthy deer population, making it the perfect place for shed hunting. Male whitetail deer are called bucks and they grow antlers during the summer. The antler is a honeycomb, bone-like tissue they use to fight other bucks and also to “rub” trees to mark their territory.

While the antlers grow, they are covered in a velvet-like texture; however, high levels of testosterone during "rutting" season cause the velvet encasing to die off and bucks will also rub trees to help remove it. A drop in testosterone, after the rut, causes weakness in the connection tissue and the antlers fall off.

From spring through summer, the antlers grow back and are usually bigger than the previous year. From August through September, the antlers lose the velvet encasement in preparation for the whitetail breeding season. The breeding season is know as "rutting" and it occurs from October to early December. The cycle then repeats.

According to Weston's ACO, to find the sheds, you must first find deer signs. These indicate where there is deer activity and where there is most likely going to be a shed. Look for bedding areas, travel routes, and food plots as a starting place for your hunt.