Can You Pick Up Shed Antlers in Indiana? 2027 Rules

Q: Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in Indiana?

Indiana DNR properties are open to shed collecting without a permit, apart from dedicated Nature Preserves. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife puts it this way: "The collection of shed antlers without a permit is allowed, except on dedicated Nature Preserves."

Agency statement

Rule type

from Indiana Department of Natural Resources

4

Rules quoted

each linked to the agency page

None named

Course or permit

in the agency rules quoted below

September 21, 2026

Rules read

from the agency page

The rule

Shed antler rules in Indiana

Agency statement

Among the Game Bird Areas, Goose Creek and Pine Creek open seasonally for shed hunting, and the rest stay closed to the public outside written permission. Deer antlers are also one of the listed exceptions to Indiana's ban on selling wild animals.

DNR properties

Shed antlers may be collected without a permit on DNR properties, except on dedicated Nature Preserves.

The collection of shed antlers without a permit is allowed, except on dedicated Nature Preserves.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Goose Creek and Pine Creek Game Bird Areas

These two Game Bird Areas are seasonally open to the public for shed hunting, and shed antlers may be gathered there; other Game Bird Areas are closed to the public.

Mushrooms, berries, shed antlers, and nuts may be gathered; however, a written permit is required to remove plants, animals, rocks, and fossils.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Courses, sale and state land

More Indiana shed rules

Buying and selling sheds

Deer antlers are an exception to Indiana's ban on selling wild animals and may be sold if lawfully taken.

Protected or regulated wild animals, live, dead, or the meat therefrom, cannot be sold, traded or bartered. (Exceptions: furbearers; river otters; bobcats; squirrel tails & hides; deer hides, antlers & hooves; and cured pheasant, Northern bobwhite quail and turkey feathers may be sold. All must be lawfully taken.)

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

State wildlife land

Goose Creek and Pine Creek Game Bird Areas are seasonally open for shed hunting; the other Game Bird Areas are closed to the public except by written permission for hunting, trapping, volunteering or research.

Goose Creek GBA and Pine Creek GBA are seasonally open to the public for some activities, including bird watching, shed hunting, fishing, and nature hikes.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in Indiana

For white-tailed deer, Iowa Department of Natural Resources puts the drop at mid January to mid March.

Whitetail deer have about a two-month shedding period in Iowa, beginning mid-Jan. and ending mid-March.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Read it at the source

Mule deer standing and browsing on a snowy sagebrush slope — Mule deer on winter range in southwest Wyoming. Oregon closes several of its wildlife areas over winter to protect wintering big game, and Nevada and Wyoming close public land in their shed country from January 1. “Mule deer SW Wyoming on winter range (46257596142)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Indiana shed antler questions

Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in Indiana?

When is shed hunting season in Indiana?

Do I need a permit to collect sheds in Indiana?

Can you sell shed antlers in Indiana?

Deer antlers are an exception to Indiana's ban on selling wild animals and may be sold if lawfully taken. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife: "Protected or regulated wild animals, live, dead, or the meat therefrom, cannot be sold, traded or bartered. (Exceptions: furbearers; river otters; bobcats; squirrel tails & hides; deer hides, antlers & hooves; and cured pheasant, Northern bobwhite quail and turkey feathers may be sold. All must be lawfully taken.)"

Can I collect sheds on state wildlife land in Indiana?

Goose Creek and Pine Creek Game Bird Areas are seasonally open for shed hunting; the other Game Bird Areas are closed to the public except by written permission for hunting, trapping, volunteering or research. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife: "Goose Creek GBA and Pine Creek GBA are seasonally open to the public for some activities, including bird watching, shed hunting, fishing, and nature hikes."

When do deer shed antlers in Indiana?

Who sets the shed antler rules in Indiana?

Shed antler rules in other states

Indiana deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for Indiana, read from Indiana Department of Natural Resources.Indiana deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.

A bull moose with broad palmate antlers walking across a snowy flat — A bull moose near Soda Butte, Yellowstone. Colorado Parks and Wildlife dates the moose drop from November through January, the earliest of the antlered animals it names. Photo: Jacob W. Frank, NPS. “Bull moose near Soda Butte (b95e1acc-f297-4abd-8b01-bd4f25a9a6a5)”, Jacob W. Frank, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from Rule changes on DNR properties take effect, State of Indiana and the other Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.