19 shells and a nice rack!

SkyPirate · Feb 20, 2010

I detected an area today that is on it's way to being developed. It's a shame, the woods are beautiful and there are many deer and other wildlife roaming the area. I saw at least 25 deer and tracks of Racoon, Herron and Coyote. After finding my 19th shell and an old milk jug I gave up and just explored the area because I know it will be gone soon. I found some shed antlers as well as a skull with a huge 11 point rack. :icon_pirat:

kuger · Feb 20, 2010

Nice blanks! :thumbsup:

That is an awesome rack!!!

mlayers · Feb 20, 2010

Nice rack. But I only see 9 points. ow do they score them there. Here in Ohio the point hads to be 1/2 inch before it is counted...Matt

SkyPirate · Feb 20, 2010

mlayers said:
Nice rack. But I only see 9 points. ow do they score them there. Here in Ohio the point hads to be 1/2 inch before it is counted...Matt

I don't know anything about scoring. I counted the little points by the base of each antler as well as the one small point on the right side.

SkyPirate · Feb 20, 2010

Spooky said:
The ones on the bottom are 7.62 BLANKS...

I found all of them in the same area, I wonder why someone would shoot blanks? There were a lot more signals there but I got tired of digging the same thing.

fathead · Feb 21, 2010

I honestly expected to see pictures of a woman picking up mollusk houses on a beach.

You should have named this post

"Shooting blanks but still horny"

Fathead

HCW · Feb 21, 2010

fathead said:
I honestly expected to see pictures of a woman picking up mollusk houses on a beach.

You should have named this post

"Shooting blanks but still horny"

Fathead

That's good!

tuatara · Feb 21, 2010

I detected an area today that is on it's way to being developed. It's a shame, the woods are beautiful and there are many deer and other wildlife roaming the area.

We have the same problem here. Every little space is being developed. Where we, detectorists, and other wildlife will go?! :-[

ivan salis · Feb 21, 2010

its "humane" hunting

--you shoot blanks scaring the deer into a heart attack .

mainer · Feb 21, 2010

Sure is a nice rack. :icon_thumright:

DMN · Feb 21, 2010

I find antlers from time to time, but finding a whole rack and the skull...nice! I suppose maybe it was hit and the hunter couldn't find it and it expired? Or maybe a car hit that wandered off? Either way, that rack is mountable...in taxidermists terms only!

Hunter · Feb 21, 2010

Nice!

hikeinmts · Feb 21, 2010

My cousin and I were driving up near my grandfather's old homestead in Oregon. (I made my first trip to the U.S in
5 plus years.) Found the carcuses of 2 elk and one of them had a nice rack of horns.
My Dad and I used to set out timed charges on my Gramps farm. Keeps the deer and esp. the elk from staying and bedding
down. They can ruin a wheat field in short time. Was someone in the woods keeping the animals up and running for a reason?

SkyPirate · Feb 22, 2010

DMN said:
I find antlers from time to time, but finding a whole rack and the skull...nice! I suppose maybe it was hit and the hunter couldn't find it and it expired? Or maybe a car hit that wandered off? Either way, that rack is mountable...in taxidermists terms only!

This parcel of land is bordered on 2 sides by road and highway. I think this deer probably got hit by a car and wondered back into the field and laid down and died. What a shame. This was the largest rack I have found around this part of NC. They look like a mountain deer, muel deer. It was probably a very old deer who evaded cars and hunters for a very long time. It could have just died of old age. In the picture there is one antler that has a broken point, I am assuming that this one got hit. The other 2 smaller ones were dropped (found together)

Nashoba · Feb 22, 2010

Personally if it were me I would hang the rack and skull as is....I like the rustic look. If you don't like that sort of thing hanging around that is a very marketable piece. I am very glad you found it before the critters got to it. It certainly is a beautiful rack!
~Nash~

SkyPirate · Feb 22, 2010

Nashoba said:
Personally if it were me I would hang the rack and skull as is....I like the rustic look. If you don't like that sort of thing hanging around that is a very marketable piece. I am very glad you found it before the critters got to it. It certainly is a beautiful rack!
~Nash~

Thanks! I like it with the skull also. There is a little bit of green on it from some alge or moss? But I think a little bleach would take it off. My wife does not like it with the skull, it's up in the attic right now with my other dropped antlers. I have another small skull with a half rack. It has broken points, I am pretty sure it was hit by a car. Someday when I build my house I will hang them in the garage or barn. No nibble marks on it!

NaturalJWL · Feb 22, 2010

Really nice rack especially for that area. Years ago used to hunt around camp McCall? area, and all the deer were lots smaller. As for the blanks, military were all over the countryside training. We watched 30 guys stand up out in a scattered broom straw field, never knew they were there til then.

DigginThePast · Feb 22, 2010

fathead said:
I honestly expected to see pictures of a woman picking up mollusk houses on a beach.

You should have named this post

"Shooting blanks but still horny"

Fathead

SkyPirate · Feb 22, 2010

NaturalJWL said:
Really nice rack especially for that area. Years ago used to hunt around camp McCall? area, and all the deer were lots smaller. As for the blanks, military were all over the countryside training. We watched 30 guys stand up out in a scattered broom straw field, never knew they were there til then.

Where and what is camp McCall?

NaturalJWL · Feb 22, 2010

If I remember right it was north/east of rockingham, east of hwy 1. It was long ago and I was hunting as a guest. I quit going when one killed a "big" buck and lifted it out of the truck by himself. Little basket rack, not as big as a good great dane. Week before I had got a spike that took three of us to hang in my back yard. lol