Jim ‘Antlerman’ Phillips isn’t your typical hunter. That’s because when he goes out in search of a high-point rack, he doesn’t take a gun or a bow. He just goes out with a few supplies and the mission to find shed antlers.
Phillips has spent the past 59 years exploring the Montana countryside in search of deer, elk and moose antlers. As of today, he has collected over 16,000 antlers which he stores in a 60-foot-long, 30-foot-wide barn. It might look like he has nowhere else to store additional antlers, but he assures us he has it all figured out in his display pattern.
In his time collecting antlers, he’s had days where he has found up to 87 deer antlers and other days where he’s hiked 11 hours and not found a single antler.
For Phillips, it’s not about the kill. He says he isn’t much of a killer, but he is a hunter. It’s all about the hunt for him until he discovers his payoff. After nearly six-decades of shed hunting, he still says he gets the same thrill with every antler he finds so it doesn’t look like he has any intentions of letting up.
