SILVER CREEK TOWNSHIP, Minn. _ Joe Shead cringed when a visitor asked what he might do with some of the 1,000 deer antler sheds he's collected over the years. Maybe make them into a chandelier, or cribbage boards or candle holders?
"No way! I couldn't drill or saw into any of these. They're like my babies ... I think they are works of art just the way they are," Shead said while holding a few of his babies in his kitchen. "Some people you meet show you photos of their kids. I'll show you photos of my antlers."
For that matter, Shead doesn't even sell any sheds he finds, even as shed sales have become big business nationally. Large, matched elk antlers can begin at $1,000 for the pair. A single trophy whitetail shed can fetch $275 or more. A 22-inch "wreath" made of several real deer antlers sells for $350 on Etsy and a real antler chandelier goes for $2,798 online.
But Shead still has the first shed he ever found, back in 2001, and boxes and boxes full of others hunted and collected in eight states and Canada ever since.
Shead (yes, it's pronounced "shed") literally wrote the book on shed hunting, in 2006, "Shed Hunting: A Guide to Finding White-Tailed Deer Antlers." Since then he's become somewhat of a national star in the growing community of shed hunters, people who comb the woods and fields of deer country looking for antlers dropped by bucks over the winter.
"It's still selling pretty well. It's basically a guide book so, for newcomers to shed hunting, it really hasn't changed much. It's still relevant," Shead said.
A central Wisconsin native and former managing editor of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine, the book has helped him make a living in the outdoors _ as a fishing guide, outdoor writer, shed hunting expert and author. But it's also brought the curse of competition.
"Every time I go into the woods now, I see new boot prints in places I hadn't seen them before. I find more footprints from other people than I do sheds these days," Shead said.
Still, Shead, 41, who lives just up the North Shore from Two Harbors, is trying to keep up his image as a shed hunting guru. He's taken to Facebook and YouTube to "keep his name out there, to stay relevant" in the shed hunting world. He also writes regular shed hunting articles for local outdoor publications.
Shead says there's increased interest in retriever owners training their dogs to find sheds. But, so far, he hasn't made that move.
"I'm not really a dog person," he said.
And yes, he still gets pumped whenever he finds a shed. The antler doesn't even need to be from a big buck. He likens the sport to an addiction: Each antler he finds provides a quick shot of adrenaline. But then he needs another quick fix.
And this is the perfect time of year to get it.
