Josh McIntosh, of Canton, 33, holds the massive 10 point antler that measures about 90 inches along it contours, and the other half that his father, Kyle Shannon which is a little bigger. McIntosh has been collecting antlers for more than 10 years and has amassed a collection of more than 120 antlers over the years. | H-W Photo/Michael Kipley

Posted: Jun. 3, 2017 10:10 pm

CANTON, Mo. -- Josh McIntosh of rural Canton loves the great outdoors and the many gifts it has to offer.

Not only does nature provide an array of picturesque landscapes, awe-inspiring sunrises and sunsets and countless images of beauty throughout the seasons, but it also offers treasures for the taking.

One such gift involves antlers shed each year by Missouri's enormous herd of white-tailed deer.

Male deer, known as bucks, shed their antlers each spring, when bigger antlers begin to grow in the fall and winter before the shedding/regrowing process repeats the following year.

As a result of this natural process, thousands of abandoned antlers become scattered across the state. They can be found in farm fields, forests, ravines -- anywhere deer tend to travel.

McIntosh knows all about antler sheds. He's been collecting them for more than 10 years and has amassed more than 120 antlers of various shapes and sizes.

"I've got some monster ones, too," he said.

Two of the biggest antlers are believed to have been shed by the same massive buck. McIntosh found one of the antlers, and his father, Kyle Shannon, found the other rack not far away.

"Mine's a little chewed up because I found it in the timber," McIntosh said. "His was laying in a hay field."

The antler McIntosh found has 10 points, while his father's side has 11. McIntosh said his antler -- when measured from the base and along the contours of each point -- totals around 90 inches in length.

McIntosh has found many antlers on his farm about five miles north of Canton. But he finds them in other places in Lewis County and neighboring Clark County where he's been given permission to go shed hunting, including a 360-acre farm somewhere "up north," he said.

"Sometimes we even find them on public land," he said.

Shed season

McIntosh said he typically finds antlers from February through April -- the time of year when bucks usually shed their antlers.

"I've found quite a few matching sets," he said. "I've found them laying on top of each other. I've found them five feet apart. Sometimes you find them miles apart. I mean, a deer could drop one side and then drop the other side five days later."

McIntosh, 33, said he first started collecting antlers a little over 10 years ago.

"I found the first one by accident while I was fishing," he said.

McIntosh, who has been deer hunting since he was 13, saved that first antler because he thought it was beautiful. Then as he kept finding more in different parts of Northeast Missouri, his collection quickly grew.

While hunting for sheds, McIntosh will walk miles through fields and timber to see what he can find. His success rate, he said, depends in part "on how much snow is on the ground."

McIntosh said several farmers told him they're glad to have him pick up sheds he finds because antlers can easily puncture the tires on farm implements. Earlier this year, for example, a farmer who lives down the road offered McIntosh a newly found antler.

"He had one stuck in his tire and he asked if I wanted it," he said. "It had gone all the way through it."

McIntosh, who works in Quincy setting up dies at Titan Wheel, displays some of his antler collection in his home and stores the rest in a big box.

Family affair

Other members of his family also get in on the shed-hunting action. His son, Noah, 10, and his daughter, Marissa, 7, occasionally accompany McIntosh on his shed-hunting excursions.

"They even have their own that they've found," he said. "My wife (Morgan) goes, too, but she never finds one."

McIntosh said he enjoys the thrill of finding a large antler because the size of the rack tells him something about the size of the deer population that may be found in a particular location.

"You might find sheds from a deer that no one's ever seen before," he said. "If he's hiding out and you find his antlers, you know he's got to be there somewhere."

Joe Jerek, statewide news coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said shed hunting is a popular activity in Missouri. He said it is perfectly legal to find, keep or even sell antlers that are found on the ground, and no permit is needed.

The only exception, Jerek said, is if one or both antlers are still attached to the skull of a deer that was found dead. In that case, he said, whoever finds the antlers -- and wants to keep them -- needs to report the find to a local conservation agent or a regional DOC office. This is to assure the antlers did not come from an illegally poached deer.