Burnt Horns

[GameHauler]

I was wondering what happens to sheds when there is a fire

I have been doing quit a bit of scouting and shed huntin in some of the fires and controll burn areas.

My thought was that with all the under brush burned away they should be easier to see.

I haven't found any old chalkies or anything. Are the Forest Circus boys finding them as they build the piles or are they burning up?

Mike

[Coues Sniper]

Interesting question. The horns will burn, i have seen that happen unfortunately when a guy left his skull in a boiling pot over the fire for too long . But i don't know if it was a quick fire that they would burn up completely. If i were those FS guys I'd be picking them up for sure though...

[Azlongears]

I found a horn last year that had survived a forest fire. It was an older antler to start out with, and the fire burnt through about half the mass of the horn on the part that was touching the ground. I'll try and get a picture of it.

[shortpants]

I would imagine even if you found them in a burn area they would be in very poor condition but what do I know.

[jim]

A friend of mine that runs our inmate fire crew said he saw crews bringing in horns at most fires he was at. Most of them were found as they hiked in and out from the fire.

[missedagain]

I found several burnt sheds after the willow springs fire, there were whities that had the tips burnt off, and fresher sheds in the burn area

[jgabler]

I can tell you that most of the time when people find horns that have been burned over from the main fire, the sheds usually become real brittle and will just fall apart when you pick them up or bump them just a little. Most of the time the fire guys will either pile them and leave them or just leave them period, unless the antler is in pretty good shape. In that case we usually carry them out.

[TLH]

Bone will not burn until it reached about 1800 degrees--that is why the crematoriums have to be so hot when they turn us to ash. The bones are very tough and can take an enormous amount of heat. I would say that most if not all antlers will survive a forest fire--there is just too much atmosphere to get that area that hot--or at least that is what i am thinking.

[az_shooter]

I've found a few really good horns after a fire and most of the time they aren't in too bad of shape, the really chalked ones don't hold up too well but otherwise burned areas are good places to look. But, as a firefighter for the forest service I do get a bit of an advantage at first picks!

[elkhunter]

Back when I attended NAU, all my forestry friends worked as forest fighters over the summer, they picked up quite a few sheds before and after fires. IT just depends if the antler is located in a grassy spot (which the antler will be just fine) or if it's under a shrub it can become a little brittle. I do have a few sheds that made it through fires and they're still hard but lost their color - more of a black/grey color.

[AZantlerhead]

Found alot of antlers last month in the burns while hunting...It just depends on where they lay....found browns and hard whites that didn't make it...and chalkies that did, and vise versa... salvaged 20 out of maybe 40 found. I'm sure the fire crews picked allot of the good ones too...The sad part is, most the good shed places that are off the beaten path/far from roads, burned the worst..Some sheds were bearly touched, even though all surrounding brush was gone. It's a crap shoot for sheds in the burns that's for sure. but you just never know anyway, it's different if anything.

I guess it reached 1800 in alot of places if that's what bone burns at- some sheds completely turned to ash, some seemed petrified too, where the choppers dumped water on them. I'd bet if say 70% of the land burned....so did 70% of the sheds??- theres still some good ones too be found as allways, the squirrels seem to be finding the horns now better than ever.. anything not burnt or chewed is pretty nice to find when you do...but most sheds I saw made me first happy to spot them and then kinda sad/ticked to see their condition...I thought critters and the weather are rough on antlers but fire is way worse.