How rare is it to find sheds off a 200 inch muley?

I have been in the field a lot in my 50 years in Idaho, and chased sheds for a lot of those. I have found one side that was 100"+, and got a couple hundred bucks in Jackson Hole at the antler sale. Not as easy as you might think!!
 
I have found 23 ninety inch non-typical sheds. Somewhere in the neighborhood of ten to twelve thousand mule deer antlers. You do the math.
 
antlerradar said:
pictures please
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IMG_0457.jpeg
 
I picked up a left side of a typical that was in the mid 80”, the next year I picked up his right side and it was in the mid 90” range. It’s been a few years sense I measured them and can’t remember exactly. Sure spent a lot of time looking for that deer in the summer but could never find him.
 
Both of these sets are better than 200 non typical. The set I am holding has a typical frame of around 190 and the extras bump it up to about 207. The set on the stump is the best set I have ever found, 200 inch typical frame and 17 inches of non typical. Both sets were found in the 90's. I will try to get some more posted up later.
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Those are incredible sheds.
antlerradar said:
Both of these sets are better than 200 non typical. The set I am holding has a typical frame of around 190 and the extras bump it up to about 207. The set on the stump is the best set I have ever found, 200 inch typical frame and 17 inches of non typical. Both sets were found in the 90's. I will try to get some more posted up later.View attachment 129759View attachment 129760
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Have you seen a huge decrease in big deer/big deer sheds in recent times?
 
HntHrdr said:
Do you think it’s from the increase or interest in shed “hunting” or lots of the bigger bucks are getting killed off therefore they can’t drop them?
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A little of the first and a lot of the second.
Where I live there are very few shed hunters targeting mule deer antlers. Most are looking for elk shed, and they pick up deer antlers if they find them. The reason few people look for deer is the number of big mule deer falls somewhere between unicorns and women that have level 10 looks and are level 5 or less crazy. We still produce a few nice bucks, most of them never get a chance to shed there antlers.
 
A few of the other 90 inchers I have found.
I found this antler in 89, scores around 92 inches. Never could find the other side.
DSCN4879.JPG

This one scores 101 inches. Best Non typical I ever found. It is real old and is likely the other side was not around when I found this one.
DSCN4873.JPG


This one is around 92 inches. 10 inch drops help with the score. Found 9 antlers form this buck and this is only one with the drop and I failed to find the match.
DSCN4870.JPG


This antler is better than 93 inches, another person found the other side. Would have easily been a 200 inch set if I had found it.
DSCN4877.JPG


This antler is just under 95 inches. Another person found the match. It is at least 10 inches smaller. buck would have likely fallen just short of 200 inches.
DSCN4875.JPG
 
antlerradar said:
A few of the other 90 inchers I have found.
I found this antler in 89, scores around 92 inches. Never could find the other side.View attachment 129978
This one scores 101 inches. Best Non typical I ever found. It is real old and is likely the other side was not around when I found this one.View attachment 129979

This one is around 92 inches. 10 inch drops help with the score. Found 9 antlers form this buck and this is only one with the drop and I failed to find the match.View attachment 129968

This antler is better than 93 inches, another person found the other side. Would have easily been a 200 inch set if I had found it.View attachment 129970

This antler is just under 95 inches. Another person found the match. It is at least 10 inches smaller. buck would have likely fallen just short of 200 inches.View attachment 129972
Click to expand...
Wow! Thanks for sharing!
 
antlerradar said:
A few of the other 90 inchers I have found.
I found this antler in 89, scores around 92 inches. Never could find the other side.View attachment 129978
This one scores 101 inches. Best Non typical I ever found. It is real old and is likely the other side was not around when I found this one.View attachment 129979

This one is around 92 inches. 10 inch drops help with the score. Found 9 antlers form this buck and this is only one with the drop and I failed to find the match.View attachment 129968

This antler is better than 93 inches, another person found the other side. Would have easily been a 200 inch set if I had found it.View attachment 129970

This antler is just under 95 inches. Another person found the match. It is at least 10 inches smaller. buck would have likely fallen just short of 200 inches.View attachment 129972
Click to expand...
Awesome finds, when you find one giant side, is the match typically close? Or do you start gridding a giant area?
 
HntHrdr said:
Awesome finds, when you find one giant side, is the match typically close? Or do you start gridding a giant area?
Click to expand...
Usually the match is within 300 to 400 yards, but I have found matches as far apart as a mile and I have spent close to 100 hours looking for the match to some big antlers and never found them.
The other side is always in one of two places, where the buck has been or where he is going. When I find a big antler I first try to determine those two places and search them first. Works more often than it doesn't.
Biggest mistake I ever made looking for the other side was with the set that took me 13 years to find that I posted above. Found the first one in the fall of 84, at the time it was the biggest antler I had ever found. I looked quite a bit but the place had lots of thick juniper to hide an antler. Then in 87 I found what I thought was the other side right on top of a ridge. I had walked that ridge in 85, but the antler was hidden and I just thought I had missed it. Reality was the antler was the same buck but likely dropped in 86. In 97 I was cutting through some of the thick juniper only 300 yards from the 84 antler and there was the match. I went back to where I found the antler in 87 and found the other side just off the side of the ridge in the juniper less than 70 yards from where I found the first, I had been within 20 yards of that antler several times. It is in tough shape. Had I realized I didn't find the match in 87 I likely would have found both antlers in good shape. Still bothers me.
 
antlerradar said:
Usually the match is within 300 to 400 yards, but I have found matches as far apart as a mile and I have spent close to 100 hours looking for the match to some big antlers and never found them.
The other side is always in one of two places, where the buck has been or where he is going. When I find a big antler I first try to determine those two places and search them first. Works more often than it doesn't.
Biggest mistake I ever made looking for the other side was with the set that took me 13 years to find that I posted above. Found the first one in the fall of 84, at the time it was the biggest antler I had ever found. I looked quite a bit but the place had lots of thick juniper to hide an antler. Then in 87 I found what I thought was the other side right on top of a ridge. I had walked that ridge in 85, but the antler was hidden and I just thought I had missed it. Reality was the antler was the same buck but likely dropped in 86. In 97 I was cutting through some of the thick juniper only 300 yards from the 84 antler and there was the match. I went back to where I found the antler in 87 and found the other side just off the side of the ridge in the juniper less than 70 yards from where I found the first, I had been within 20 yards of that antler several times. It is in tough shape. Had I realized I didn't find the match in 87 I likely would have found both antlers in good shape. Still bothers me.
Click to expand...
Good info thanks for sharing!
 
Picked up one set over 200. About 150 yards apart. A couple singles in the 90’s that I’ve made many many circles around the area with no luck.
8AA2A3DF-6FE4-47AA-8EF5-02001DA14B08.jpeg
Had the antlers put on fake skull. Right side went 104 left side was 85
57715785-CF87-4E46-9FF3-9EB53D1CDEEE.jpeg
The other side of this buck will forever haunt me. 98 inches
EF262BB2-35A4-4FBC-A168-5A2692E579A1.jpeg
92 inch.Found in a hell hole along with the binos.
A61772AF-6EE0-426F-9F0A-461A1FC263A5.jpeg

Doesn’t quite make 90 but never could match it up. Makes ya wonder what the other side could be. 88 inches
660D2734-FDD5-4EFD-A593-29F6F002054C.jpeg
98 92 88
 
HghCntry said:
Picked up one set over 200. About 150 yards apart. A couple singles in the 90’s that I’ve made many many circles around the area with no luck.View attachment 130098Had the antlers put on fake skull. Right side went 104 left side was 85View attachment 130100The other side of this buck will forever haunt me. 98 inches View attachment 13010192 inch.Found in a hell hole along with the binos.
View attachment 130102
Doesn’t quite make 90 but never could match it up. Makes ya wonder what the other side could be. 88 inchesView attachment 13010398 92 88
Click to expand...
Those are great! That dropper club buck is amazing!
 
HghCntry said:
Picked up one set over 200. About 150 yards apart. A couple singles in the 90’s that I’ve made many many circles around the area with no luck.View attachment 130098Had the antlers put on fake skull. Right side went 104 left side was 85View attachment 130100The other side of this buck will forever haunt me. 98 inches View attachment 13010192 inch.Found in a hell hole along with the binos.
View attachment 130102
Doesn’t quite make 90 but never could match it up. Makes ya wonder what the other side could be. 88 inchesView attachment 13010398 92 88
Click to expand...
Great antlers
 
Well if you dont find the set I would say you are limited to "most likely" a 200" deer, since who knows what broke on the other side or just never grew. That being said after many thousands of sheds the > 200" typpy pile is pretty easy to hold.

The >200" N-typpy requires a bit more effort.

The singles pile of "most likely" >200" is substantial especially if you keep the older ones, I sometimes wish I would have kept all the HUGE old piece of crap sheds mostly missing rotted points or at least tips. Some of those giants required digging like in jurassic park to un-earth the lower parts.

One of the biggest typpy sets I ever found was just a few feet apart but one was rotted almost to the breaking point. I made a table lamp from the set and put it in a consignment shop where a customer knocked it off the display and it shattered the rotten antler when it hit the floor. Im quite certain I still have the remaining antler. He was a giant.
 
To many retards shooting 140-150's that they think are 190+ so it's rare that they ever get that big.. Wish I knew what the percentage of deer that get to 200" is.

Too those that found them awesome job guys/girls 👍
 
Did That Used To Be Where Your Wife Stored Her Shoes?:D


antlerradar said:
Both of these sets are better than 200 non typical. The set I am holding has a typical frame of around 190 and the extras bump it up to about 207. The set on the stump is the best set I have ever found, 200 inch typical frame and 17 inches of non typical. Both sets were found in the 90's. I will try to get some more posted up later.View attachment 129759View attachment 129760
Click to expand...
 
Made a double tier chandelier from >200" sets, all grade 2. Bottom tier was the big ones, 3 sets. My boss saw it and bought it for a good price (for him) then the SOB fired me... a pox be upon him!!
 
I had a old friend who lived in alberta that had property in south east and he would feed the deer through winter, He did have many sheds, and alberta can grow them. He did tell me of a study he was aware of that suggested it takes up to 100,000 bucks to get one super giant, so even if they don't get shot early most will never get to 200". He is gone now, and if he took you deer hunting he would keep your ammo until the right one. I once watched a giant in his backyard and his daughter had a tag that year, I said she wont have to drag it far, he said she would never shoot one that small. that deer was not maybe 200 but a couple more inches it would have been.
 
Picked up a decent pile of muley sheds and this one would be the only one that would fit the bill, as a typical. 92-2/8” spent a lot of time searching for the match and never picked it up. As others have mentioned who knows what his other side was.

Spend a lot of time in quality mule deer winter range. Dream of picking up a 200”+ set someday.

6BAF749B-9BD2-4B12-830C-8AD776D9F2AB.jpeg
 
Some of the ones I have that go over 200". I have a few more in my piles that'll fall into the 190" category. I measured the first set a long time ago but don't remember the individual antler measurements but I always remember the gross measurement! 30+" of extras on that one!

Screenshot_20240113_130253_Gallery.jpg


Screenshot_20240113_125659_Gallery.jpg


Screenshot_20240113_125335_Gallery.jpg


Screenshot_20240113_125331_Gallery.jpg
 

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