clusters

[bucklover]

More than once I've come across a bunch of sheds in a very small area. After looking around I would sometimes find a dead buck that had shed before it died. My theory is that these bucks are, to some degree clustering in a loose bachelor group. One buck will shed and shedding is probably kind of a shock to the system. If the buck is weakened for whatever reason, it ends up sick for a while before it dies. It may take days for it to die, but it is too weak to move around. The other deer hang around, just because they like being in a group, or for protection??? Anyway, the other bucks end up shedding very close to the sick buck. I think bucks also hang with the does that time of year, because after they shed they are very vulnerable to predators, and they instinctively know that when the horns are gone they look more like a doe and can blend into the group better. Has anyone else found clusters of horn in very close proximity?

 

[c3]

I've found them in clusters too, but only because no one else would be dumb enough to climb the rock pile to get to that spot and they just haven't been picked up yet

Cheers,
Pete

 

[bern]

have found 10 or more sheds in places sheltered from the wind many times.

 

[massNtrash]

ya i have found these quite a bit found three sets and two singles within forty yards once one day but didn't find a dead one. Don't know interesting to think about.

 

[BreederBuck]

+ 1 Bern.
I agree with the wind break theory, I stumbled upon a small cluster in a tight little canyon once and suspected it being a nice cozy little wind break for the bucks.

 

[bonepicker]

There have been several times that I have found clusters of horns (I would consider a cluster antlers from 4 or more bucks from the same year) part of it seems to be the geography (south slopes with good food, water, hiding cover and thermal cover) but it seems that weather is a bigger factor in determining whether the deer will pocket up or stay spread out. Last year I found a ridge that had been a wintering pocket 2 years before. I found 15 2-year old horns, but only 2 whites and 2 browns. This corresponds with the snowpack in my area. The year that the 15 horns dropped, we had a long winter with alot of snow. the 2 following years were average and then this year again we have had a cold winter with alot more than average snow in November and December. Not surprising that when I scouted this year there have been 16 bucks wintering on that ridge. When the snow is average or below average, I find horns scattered for miles but when it is a harder winter it seems that the deer are pocketed up on this ridge.