Shed-Antler Dogs: Which Breed, How Much?
Beth emailed: “Hi Mike, we are looking at getting a shed hunting dog, just wondering how much they cost?”
Shedding season is fixing to crank up, so let’s help Beth out. Which breeds are best (most guys I know use Labs, like Robert’s pup pictured here, but I’m sure other dogs are popular)? How much would a pup from shed-hunting stock cost? Is there any such thing as shed-antler stock, or can you train any dog from good hunting stock to find and retrieve bone?
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The BIG DEER blog/website officially turns 1 tomorrow. Thanks for your awesome support, and we have big plans for 2009—contests, gear giveaways, more weekly debate topics, possible formation of a BIG DEER Hunt Team, more videos, etc. Tell us how to make the site bigger and better.
Finally some good news out of Washington for hunters and shooters.
Cody blogged the other day: “Haven't found any sheds but a guy doing drives with us the other day shot what appeared to be a doe but when we got to the deer it was obviously a buck that had already dropped his antlers.”
Thanks to Robert from MO for sending along his shed-antler Christmas tree. It has become an annual tradition on BIG DEER. I posted his bone tree last year, but this one is bigger and heavier:
Mike: I'm not gonna lie, I am very proud and impressed with my home state this year. Big bucks just seem to be everywhere. Well, here's another for ya. Shot in Jefferson Co. during second shotgun season. I guess the landowner (maybe the girl’s dad?) passed on it last year during bow season because the left side was damaged. Props to him. What a buck! Good hunting, Jordan
Thanks to Rob Burnett, who works at Cabela’s and hunts along the North Platte River, for this guest blog about his totally wild 2008 Nebraska bow buck: 
Rob is trying to get more information from the Fish and Game about what the purpose of the study was and how old the deer actually was. He believes he was 2½ when they first saw him with the collar.