Short starter

[Mike Mize]

I started working on my short stater today. I cut the crown off of a shed that my dogs found and brought home. I have a question. Do I need to let the shed dry for a period of time before I drill it out and mount my starter stick? Or is it ok to go ahead and drill it out and complete the work? Any help would be a appreciated.

Soonerhunter

 

[Goldhunter]

If it's a shed, it shouldn't have moisture in it. If it's an old shed, then it definately doesn't have moisture. I've used fresh sheds (meaning found within a few weeks of being dropped) and had no adverse effects.

 

[RonT]

Most likely it's dry enough for any of the cabinet glues. If you are using Gorilla, then I would guess any remaining moisture will work in your favor, JMHO.
R

 

[bob1961]

they say 60 days before ya can have it measured fer the record books, so i'd say if ya knows it 60 days old it should be fine :v .........bob

 

[Goldhunter]

Just curious but I thought the drying period was because the skull plate drys and shrinks. The horns have lost their moisture when the animal scraped off the velvet early fall. Don't they pretty much dry out by the time they drop in early srping? Not argueing, just my thoughts.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Since the deer are killed in the Fall, long before they drop their antlers in Feb. and March, your inquiry is not particularly relevant. However, even after an antler is shed, it continues to shrink. The reason that the 60 day rule exists is because of hundreds of years of experience, and a desire to compare current " champion " racks, to those that may have been taken more than 50 years earlier.

Sadly, every year, someone has a rack that seems like it will just barely break the prior record, only to have it shrink enough that it does not. I have friends who are B&C certified rack measurers, who do hundreds of deer racks each year. They have scored some record bucks in their days. But they have also scored hundreds of also- rans. They have dozens of stories about arguments with the owners who thought their racks were a new record, based on measurements taken before the 60 day drying required period.