sheds staying together

[WAmuleyHunter]

Ok shed guys, here is the question. during the shed seasons...and years, there are tons of sheds picked up, and year after year bucks come back to their wintering range, getting bigger and bigger every year. the goal is to always find those sheds, and find the sets. And i would think the sets should be together. So here are the questions, If you had a big single would you try to trade or make a deal for the other side or vice versa, if you knew a person that had the sets of antlers of a deer for a couple years and you found a side or both sides, would you give them to the person, or make deal with the person so the sets stay complete... or vice versa if you had the sets for years and another person got the sheds or one side one year and the other person got a side, would you give the shed to the guy?? What are your thoughts on this? what do you think, is there a right and wrong. Have you had any personal experience with a similar situation??

 

[MichaelJ]

Yeah I think whoever finds the first side should get the matched set if a 'friend' finds them. I think it's kind of an unwritten rule with my buddies. Last year I found a couple sheds from a buck in the same area, a friend had had 1 side for over a year and when I found the matching side, I gave it to him no questions asked.

Michael
"What I could do, I was doing, and that was simply putting my butt on the line for my country, the country that I loved, so that all the protestors and the academics and the liberal intelligentsia back home could enjoy the right to protest against people like me, the hated middleclass." --Gary R. Smith, US Special Forces

 

[zekers]

My friends and I do the same. Whoever finds the first shed, the second shed found is given to him. In my mind, you always keep matched sets together. We've had people try to say they weren't a matched set and they no longer shed hunt with us.

 

[dleonard3]

We do something similar. The person that finds the highest scoring side gets the smaller match. Also, if someone takes me to thier secret spot, every antler I find belongs to him. Sometimes they take them, and sometimes they let me keep a few. I was with a good friend when he found an 83" brown typical muley side with no brow tine and short forks. It was simply huge, had mass from hell and beautiful color. He was real excited. A year later I was with another friend when he found the other side. It scored 89" and was sun bleached. The first friend gave his side to the other guy for his birthday. What a present. I'm going back out there soon to see if I can find a set for me.

 

[231nontypicalmuledeer]

Ive been down this road TOO many times,,,, in 2001 I shot a 231nontyp buck that I had been watching a few years, I had 3 years of sheds off the buck EXCEPT ONE horn I couldnt find,,, a young teenager found the horn a few years later,,,my cost,,, was an artifical set of the sheds from the year he found... I kept the real ones and he got the fake 210" nontyp set....the next year a local guy shot a 216 buck and I had a shed off it,,,,in a chandelier I had made that was hanging in my living room,,,(DEJA'VU, MULEY CRAZY STORY 2004) his cost for me to take it out of my light..we horse traded some horns,,,And last year a lady shot a big buck that I had a set of sheds off of, her cost was to split the cost of a set of artifical horns and I got the fake ones (34" wide)....now yesterday ,2/18/2007 we found one more horn off her buck,,,Im not sure whats going to happen here!!!!!! I beleve they should always stay together>>>>>>
231

 

[Clyde Hollinger]

This is somewhat of a tough one. I have given up sheds to friends and my brother on occasions, but it seems the favor is never returned?? Two years ago I watched a buck morning and night for two months, that I really wanted the sheds off of. I finally found him one morning with only one side. He was a large non typical with double hook cheaters. I watched him for about 30 minutes, took pictures and video of him. I just happened to have my two boys with me. They were too young to leave in the truck, and to young to make any walks if I had to. So I reluctanly left the buck and took my boys back to town. I had not seen anyone else in the area, so I felt somewhat comfortable leaving him. I made it back up to the area where I had last seen the buck, and to my horror there was a truck parked right where I was stopped looking at him. There were two guys still sitting in the truck and there were no deer to be seen in the area. So I wasn't sure if they had seen the buck or not. I pulled up and looked through my binos, and not mot than five feet from where I left the buck I could see the antler he was packing laying in the snow. I was a nervous wreck. I played it cool and acted like nothing was up. The guys weren't glassing in the same area, so I hoped they would drive off. After about 10 minutes they finally left. I bailed out of the truck and started up the hill. As I got higher up I looked back and saw the guys watching me in the spotting scope. Not thinking much of it I went up picked up the antler and started looking for the other side. I looked back down at the guys and saw that they had got out of their truck and were working thier way up the hill in my direction. I got on the bucks tracks and followed them back to several beds. I could see the guys getting closer to me and working the oak brush over below me. I looked for about an hour, and gave up for the time being, and came back the next two days looking and looking but never could turn up the other side. I later foud out that the guys camer within 100 yards of me, picked up the match and hid it under their coat and took off out of the area. It took me a while to find out who the guys was that picked it up. I tried to make a deal with him to get it, but he refused. He would not even let me see it. He was very ignorant and did not want to even talk about a trade or anything. I still to this day have not seen the antler. I would love to make a deal with the guy, but, I doubt it will ever happen.
Same type of situation happed to me last year with my brother. I watched a buck for weeks wating for him to shed. I finaly found him one day without head gear. I waited several days for the deer to leave the area so I could go look. I went several times without luck. I finally called my brother and asked for his help. He had never seen the deer on the hoof, and had no idea what he looked like other than the pics I had shown him. We split up and covered one ridge in particular. I was going down one side along a draw, and stopped for a break, and he cut accross about 20 yards directly in front of me. All of a sudden he hollars out, "I found a big four point". Sure enough it was a side off the buck I was watching. To make a long story short, I found the five point side several days later. Which is a higher scoring antler. He to this day refuses to give up his side. I have given him several elk sheds and deer shed, matches over the years. And he refuses to return the favor.
What's your guys' opinion on these two scinerios? What should I do?

Here is the shed off the fist buck I wrote about.

Hope ya'll have better luck than I have!

Elk

 

[WAstickslinger]

I learned a long time ago that you cant expect your friends to give you horns they find in your secret spots. All I can say is shed hunt alone if you dont want your buddies finding your sheds. Me personally, I still take friends to look at big bucks I find. What fun is it with out someone to share it with. I just don't like shed hunting alone. Just my 2 cents. I do keep a few honey holes to myself, but not many.

 

[everbrownshed]

Hey Elkster, Thats a bunch of BS that you took your brother sheddin and you have even given him sheds and he won't give up that side. If it were my brother I'd kick his ass and take it.

 

[dleonard3]

I've always said that 90% of the people in this world are idiots and a**holes. No shed antler is worth ruining a relationship over. But if it is that important to you, I would escalate the disagreement to the point where he gets the point. I would start out by telling him that you would really like to get those two sheds back together and offer another trade or money. If he refuses, play the brother card. Tell him that you would settle for joint ownership if he will let you keep them for a while. If he still won't budge, get mad and tell him about everything you've done for him in the past, that you will NEVER take him shed hunting again, and if he's going to be such a jacka**, you don't even want to associate with him. Ask him if that stupid shed is really worth losing a brother over. If it is, write him off for a few years. Who knows, he might cave in, or you might decide it's not worth it.

 

[Mule_Deer_Crazy]

Lay the ground rules down from the start. I found a nice shed down in NV and a few days later my buddy was telling me he'd glassed a nice shed about 100 yards from where I found mine (although he didn't know where I'd picked mine up). I sort of baited/trapped him when I asked if someone found a nice shed and then someone else found the match how he views it. He said that the first finder gets the set, but trades the second finder an antler of similar caliber in exchange. He wasn't smiling so much when I pulled my antler out of the backseat, but he was a good sport about it and gave it to me in exchange for a similar size antler.

I find it works much better if everyone lays out the rules ahead of time though!

 

[Clyde Hollinger]

I have tried all of those suggestions. Seems nothing will make him budge. I offered him a 96" typical single and a 80" five point single as well as a set of elk sheds and he still wouldn't give it up! Freak, I would give up an 80" horn for a 96" typical in a second, but hey, that's just me.... What are your guys' thoughts on the first scinerio???


Elk

 

[dleonard3]

If your brother doesn't want the 96" typical, I would love to buy it from you. Send me a PM and let me know how much money it would take to get it from you.

 

[BigDHornHunter]

i would say screw trading the white mans way is to give the second side to the rightful owner as far as different years i say finders keepers

 

[Clyde Hollinger]

D3

I'm not sure if I would sell the 96 incher. I may need it someday as another bargining tool??? lol... May not work though. Guess my bro just doesn't realize how big it really is!

Elk

 

[dleonard3]

I'll tell you what. If you ever need it back, just let me know and I'll sell it back to you for the same amount. And I'll pay shipping and insurance both ways. Now isnt' that a great deal?

 

[browtine]

another option would be to replicate the buck so you both have a full set and make extras to sell on ebay. You might make your money back if the buck is big enough.. Just an option. Thats a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig shed.

Later, Brandon

 

[YELUM]

Elkster
I feel your pain on both accounts. Sad to not match up that big shed. But your brother is in the wrong plan and simple.

I have one for you. My friends have helped me pick up 7 straight sheds(3 1/2 sets)off a nice typical buck. He's always been tucked away in a canyon where you just wouldn't know he was there. In fact, I've only seen him during the 2004 winter. Well, this year he mosey's out of the canyon and gets himself spotted by a shed hunting fool that I did not know and he snags him up within a day of shedding.

As luck would have it a friend let me know who he was and I contacted him. He was excited to see previous sheds from the buck and we put them together for pictures. Unfortunatley he has no interest in parting with them, but at least I got to see em.

Heres pics of 9 sheds from the same buck. The last three sets are al over 190.

Yelum

 

[Clyde Hollinger]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-07-07 AT 06:00PM (MST)[p]Way cool Larry! Too bad you can't get the set from him. That many years off the same buck, that's just way too cool! A bit of an update on one of the shed stories from above. I am in the process of building a new house. I have all my antlers stashed at my Dad's house until I get donw. Well, after typing the story on the 4X5, I thought it would be fun to go check out the antler. Well, to make a long story short, I couldn't find it anywhere. Funny thing is that's the ONLY one missing. I have several other bigger ones that are there. So that takes the idea of someone random comig in and taking it. So that points the finger at one person. I guess I can't say for sure, but???? He calims he doesn't have it. What do I do now??

Here is a pic of the sheds:

Elk

 

[YELUM]

Elk
Man that sucks again. Go ahead my bother, twist the knife while yo got it stabbed in my back. I hope your folks disown him.

Yelum

 

[Muleyslyr]

YELUM.....those are coupla' coolist pictures I've seen on here.

 

[YELUM]

Thanks Slyr
Just another update. We won't be picking up anymore set from this great buck. The kid who found the last set called me to say he found a dead buck with huge pedicals close to where he found the set. He brought the skull home and the sheds fit perfectly. Way bumbed. Was thinking he would break 200 next year.

Yelum