If you need some antler trap ideas, we've got you covered.
If you love collecting shed antlers, walking around the woods once the snow melts is a great time to find them. However, if you're like most, you've often wondered if there wasn't an easier way to find these hard-to-find treasures. Luckily, we compiled a list of some of the best antler trap ideas we could find to make the whole process a little bit easier.
Some of these ideas are very sound and functional and probably work.
The others, well... you be the judge.
1. It's the "wrap some chicken wire around some trees and bait it" trick!
First up is an idea that would probably work. Just as the title suggests, it's really just this simple. Find a couple trees pretty close together, wrap some chicken wire around them, then bait the hell out of it. When bucks come up to eat the corn as their sheds are nearing drop time, the wire will pull them right off.
2. Yep...the old brush pile and bait trap.
So, maybe the deer around your woods are little more educated. Perhaps the chicken wire is a little too aggressive. That's where a brush pile trap comes into play. It's the same concept as the chicken wire, except you just make a brush pile, bait the hell out of it, and wait for bucks to stick their heads in to eat the bait. It's genius!
3. Here's an antler trap for the DIY specialist.
Okay, strike two maybe. Perhaps the chicken wire is overboard and the brush piles just don't cut it. So, why not make your own feeding trough out in the middle of woods with some bungee cords? See, now this concept is pretty simple as well. However, you've got to find four trees in close proximity. Once you do, box those trees in with some bungee cords, bait the hell out of it, and wait for the bucks to get their antlers caught. It's so simple it's scary.
4. No trees? No problem. This one will make it happen.
We have three great ideas so far. Now it's time to get inventive. You can tell this is one of those antler trap ideas that had some serious thought put behind it. For this one, get yourself some metal gardening stakes and chicken wire. From there, make an triangle with stakes, wrap the chicken wire around it (or metal fencing), bait the hell out of it, and wait for the magic to happen.
5. No metal fencing and gardening spikes? Just use a tire.
This is one of those antler trap ideas that had to involve a case of beer. However, the premise behind this one is pretty simple, too. Perhaps this might be one of the easier antler trap ideas we've seen, and appear to be awfully effective. As the picture shows, just get yourself a tire, tie it to a tree in the woods, bait the hell out of it, and hope your bucks are hungry.
6. Is the tire too much? Okay, just get some hay bails.
I sort of agree. I would like to think there is more mystery and skill to effective shed hunting than just piling up some corn around a tire. Regardless how effective that idea might be, hay bales shaped into a V are pretty legit, too. With this, just find yourself some hay bales, shape them, lay down lots of bait and wait for the deer to stick their antlers in the hay. Yeah, that could work...
7. Let's get back to the bungee cords.
All these antler trap ideas so far are pretty slick. Some could be better than others. However, one pattern sure has been emerging; shed hunters love bungee cords. With this trap, go buy some hook screws, screw in one main point in a tree, pile up some logs around it, screw in some other hooks in those logs, then connect them all with bungee cords. This way, if the buck isn't ready to shed yet, it'll pull right out. Oh yeah, don't forget to bait the hell out of it.
8. No spare logs? No problem.
So maybe you aren't so handy in the garage. Maybe all this work seems like it's just a bit too much to actually collect sheds. Thankfully for you, all you really need is a bucket, a whole bunch of corn to use as bait, a screw, and some bungee cords. Attach the cords to the bucket like in the picture and fill it up with corn. Boom. You're collecting sheds in no time.
So what do you think? Do some of these antler trap ideas have some potential? Do you have something that is better? I still tend to think that no trap is as good as just getting out and walking the woods. That's what I'll be doing here really shortly.
NEXT: WOULD YOU BE THIS CALM DURING A STAREDOWN WITH A GRIZZLY?
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