Turns out - You can eat antlers.

[disengaged]

Harvested a 7pnt buck with my muzzleloader from Mascatatuck this year. A lot of flooding, but good hunting none the less. Here's a picture of my pup Gage enjoying one of the antlers.

 

[ekbarnes]

my puppy would love that!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Animals LOVE them!

Just about anything that can get a whiff / taste of 'em will gnaw.

They're absolutely chock full of nutrients.

-J-

 

[Yeah]

Mice will decimate the things.

I also recently learned from a neighbor that you can polish your shoes with deer bones. It is apparently big in the haberdashery business. I wince at the thought of all the $36 sales I've missed by leaving bones behind.

 

[disengaged]

Mice will decimate the things.

I also recently learned from a neighbor that you can polish your shoes with deer bones. It is apparently big in the haberdashery business. I wince at the thought of all the $36 sales I've missed by leaving bones behind.

I wish that I would have posted sooner - I'll have to try it out with the next one. Good to know! Thank you!

 

[pinshooter45]

Antlers are on a squirrels list of tasty treats!

 

[Cerberus]

They are just bone. I would used them to make something with though.

 

[disengaged]

They are just bone. I would used them to make something with though.

Very good for the dog's teeth and solid so they last a very long time - over a year on the last set. Much cheaper than buying bones or paying for a vet dental.

I've read a bit on making knives from them, and woud like to try it some time. I have a few, but would be nice to make my own...not sure this set would have been thick enough.

 

[DocIndy]

I recieved a bag of shed antlers from my step dads brother in Wyoming. You can use a hack saw/ sawz-all to cut the larger antlers into pieces so your pup doesn't walk around poking you or furniture with the whole antler. (I can thank the wife for giving the girls whole ones and getting stabbed in the leg.) My chocolate labs love chewing them to nubs. I've found small bucks that coyotes have eaten and brought the antlers home for the girls.

 

[Mgderf]

I've been on my countys' "road-kill" list for more than 20 years. My freezer always has venison for me to eat (whether I have a successful hunting season or not!), and it always has "deer-cicles" for my "kids". I have a yellow lab about 130lbs that will tear a white-tail hind leg bone to nothing in a matter of hours. Antlers are a bit more to work on, but that doesn't slow him down.

My other two "kids" are not nearly as big, but they are every bit as eager for a treat. My property, house and yard, are strewn with white-tail remains. It is common knowledge that you need to be aware of "shards" of bone and antler here and there.

I read somewhere years ago that your freezer doesn't have to work as hard if it's full.
Toward the end of the hunting season I make a trip to my friendly neighborhood butcher, and I pick up as many deer bones and antlers as will fit in my freezer.
Dogs have plenty of "snacks" that I can dole out over the course of the year.

I have turned a few antlers into different objects, including knife handles. Cutting the antler is the EASY part. Yes, a hack-saw, or saw-z-all does fine to cut it, but drilling it out to accept a tang is another proposition. The drilling itself isn't bad*, as the center of the antler is a little softer than the outer half. The problem is holding onto an object that is not round, or square, or even oblong.
Also, the "fresher" the antler the better, but it still causes problems.

Antlers will dry-out over time. If you try to use an antler that is too old, it will crumble away inside when you drill. If you use one that's really fresh (this season) it will work pretty easy, but the oils inside play havoc with some adhesives. You need to dry-out a very fresh antler by cleaning the oils out.
I've accomplished this using isopropyl alcohol.

If you use a smooth section of antler, buffing it will bring it to a glass-like shine. It just takes a LOT of buffing.

I have not purchased beef for my freezer for more than 20 years!

* WEAR EYE PROTECTION when attempting to drill into antler. They can shatter into VERY sharp shards and go flying EVERYWHERE!