Trainer Steve Waller works with one of his prize poodle-pointers. Yes, the perfect shed-hunting dog is a standard poodle-German pointer mix. Photo by Scott Haugen.

For hard-core deer hunters, there really is no off-season. In fact, if you want to gain insight to the caliber of bucks in your hunting area, now is prime time.

From mid-January through February, bucks will be shedding their antlers. Within each of those racks is a wealth of information that can improve your hunting success.

For years, hunting for shed antlers has been a common pastime for mule deer and whitetail hunters. But when it comes to hunting for the antler sheds of black-tailed deer and Roosevelt elk, the playing field changes. Just as with hunting the animals themselves, looking for their antlers is a true challenge.

Yes, shed antlers are a resource for the hunter, but they must be understood properly and utilized in order to be effective. For instance, if you hold an early-season deer tag, knowing where you find sheds each winter won't do you much good unless you're hunting lower-elevation homebody bucks.

But if the area that you hunt late in the season holds migratory deer, then you need to spend time searching for sheds amid their wintering grounds. It's crucial to correlate the time of season when you intend to hunt with the places where bucks are during the time they shed their antlers.

Some hunters think it's an accomplishment to find a few sheds a year. Others who have changed the dynamics of hunting sheds are finding up to two dozen shed antlers a day.

Some are doing it through hard work, on foot. Others are discovering how valuable dogs can be.

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The use of dogs to help find shed antlers is rapidly gaining in popularity.

Recently I visited with Steve Waller, owner of Cabin Creek Kennels in western Oregon. He's been training dogs since about 1970, and his level of knowledge and dedication to the sport is impressive. His work with dogs in hunting sheds has revolutionized how people are searching for antlers.

Many breeds of hunting dogs can be trained to retrieve antlers, said Waller, who first started working with Labradors. Labs work great when temperatures are cooler, in winter and early spring. But on warmer days, the rigor of running hillsides for hours tires them out.

It's important to get a pup from a breed that has a lot of desire for hunting and retrieving. And from what Waller's found, the poodle-pointer is a natural.

"When it comes to antler sheds, the Ferraris of hunting dogs are poodlepointers -- a standard poodle-German pointer mix," said Waller.

"These dogs are sleek, very athletic, and can really cover ground. Their level of stamina is exceptional, and they are willing to work hard -- exactly what's necessary in the rugged terrain of many deer habitats. They're made for serious deer and elk hunters.

"When upland dogs are working in the field," Waller said, "they generally get their heads up in the air, thus are able to scent things a long ways away."

Dogs hunting with their heads up will detect more scent, especially in brushy canyons where blacktails and Roosevelt elk live. Also, according to the trainer, they'll wind more mule deer sheds in sage country, as well as Rocky Mountain elk antlers in big country.