Want to know more about shed hunting? Here are some facts:

• Blood vessels shrink and eventually cut off at the base of antlers, leading to their "shedding." But don't think that the process isn't without some blood loss. State conservation officer Mike Borkovich, responding to a call about a "poached" deer one winter, followed a spotty blood trail at a bird feeder near Perrins Landing for a half day before sneaking up on a buck who had just dropped his antlers.

"It was a huge deer, must of weighed 200 pounds, and it stood up right in front of me," he said.

• While you don't need a license to search for shed antlers, you do need permission to search on private property. Wander all you want on public lands.

• You'll know when you have become an expert on sheds. The best shed hunters can tell how long the antler has been detached from a buck by examining a wax ring at the base of the bone.

• Some basics. Antlers are actually fast-growing bones that return each year. "Horns," such as the headgear found on big-horned sheep, are not shed in winter.

• Where to look? Where ever deer hang out. Cedar farmer Jim Panek's granddaughter found a trophy shed this winter in an open field not far off a public road. In short, sheds are found where they are, somewhat like morel mushrooms.

• Shed antler hunting is the "safest non-consumptive hunting sport anywhere in the world," and is "natural, renewable and recyclable each season," according to the North American Shed Hunters Club. The non-profit group is planning its national convention April 21-22 in Mauston, Wis. Call 608-669-2071 for more information, or visit shedantlers.org.