What is a antler trap?

What is a antler trap?

It’s the time of year when bucks are beginning to shed their antlers and hunters are beginning to grow impatient to go hunt those shed antlers. They devise what are known as “antler traps” — devices designed to snare and pull off the antlers of bucks attracted to a feed source.

Do shed traps work?

There’s a simple reason people like to use shed antler traps, especially around supplemental feeders: they work. In fact, that combination can be a dynamite shed antler producer. They may bump them while eating, but they aren’t very likely to knock their antlers off, the reason why will be explained later.

How do you harvest deer antlers?

Velveting: Harvesting Elk Antler Velvet The animal is sedated, restrained, and given an appropriate local anesthetic to prevent pain. After an appropriate time delay that allows the anesthetic to take effect, a rubber tourniquet is applied to the base of each antler, and the antler is surgically removed.

Do deer knock off their antlers?

All deer species shed their antlers in winter, after a sustained drop in testosterone ends their life cycle. Several months later, the animals regrow their antlers from spring through late summer. The new antlers are usually complete by early September, well before the rut, the deer family’s breeding season.

Why shed traps are bad?

When hunters use shed traps, they risk damaging the buck’s pedicle. If you damage a pedicle, it is literally like ripping away part of the buck’s skull. When a pedicle is damaged, the best-case scenario is a deformed antler for a few years. The worst case is a brain abscess, which can be deadly.

Why do people buy antler sheds?

People hunt shed antlers for three main reasons: Some people enjoy the hunt itself and the reward of admiring a fresh shed antler. Deer and big game hunters acquire valuable information about animal behavior by finding their prey’s shed antlers.

How do they get deer antler velvet extract?

How Is Velvet Antler Harvested? Once the anesthesia has had time to take effect, an experienced veterinarian surgically removes the majority of the antlers that have grown. This process is repeated each spring until the deer have reached an age where their antlers don’t grow as quickly anymore.

Is deer antler velvet cruel?

The production and use of velvet antler to potentially alleviate human disease appears to be a win-win situation with both the human population as well as that of deer. Together they have developed a velveting code to ensure deer are velveted humanely. …

What do you put in an antler trap for deer?

A lot of deer hunters will refer to these devices as antler traps or shed antler traps, but they are talking about the same thing. The most common type of rack trap consists of bait, usually corn, and either netwire or some type of elastic cord that a buck gets his antlers caught in while feeding.

Why do people like to use shed antler traps?

There’s a simple reason people like to use shed antler traps, especially around supplemental feeders: they work. In fact, that combination can be a dynamite shed antler producer. The feeder pulls them in to eat very regularly each evening. The more time they spend there, the more likely they are to drop an antler.

Why are people drawn to antler trap feeders?

Since feeders are often located in areas where you could simply drive your Bad Boy Buggies ® ATV or side by side up to, this is infinitely easier than walking miles of hills in the snowy terrain. It’s easy to see why people might be drawn to an antler trap feeder.

How does a whitetail deer get its antlers?

Bucks have two pedicles on their skull – think of them like the bases or seeds that grow a new antler each year. When whitetails eat your nutritious food plots and consume those wonderful minerals you place at mineral sites, their antlers grow and harden throughout the summer.