Tom Jeffries, a regular contributor to Shed of the Week, emailed, “Been a little bit of a slow start before this weekend, but I have a combined shed(s) of the week submission.”
He found a matched pair of shed antlers. His brothers Jim and Bob also found sheds, all over the weekend in Will County.
Shed hunting is looking for the antlers that white-tailed deer (generally the bucks) shed antlers annually, generally in winter. The bell curve of shedding peaks around mid-February.
In Illinois, sheds may be collected on private land with permission. It’s prohibited at all forest preserves and park districts that I know. In Illinois, shed hunting is prohibited at state parks, nature preserves or where specifically prohibited, but allowed on Fish and Wildlife Areas, Conservation Areas, and Boat Access Areas, if open to the public.
Shed of the Week, the celebration of finding shed antlers and their stories around Chicago outdoors, runs when apt in the paper Sun-Times, usually on Wednesdays.
To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), X (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or Bluesky (@BowmanOutside.bsky.social).