shed hunting

[jlm]

Wow. I suspect that is not MN? Or is it? If so, must be very private or fenced?

[shedfreak]

I picked up a couple more today... one good one, and another 2 year old 4 point side... ill get some pics up sometime this weekend

[fsh4trout]

Shedfreak, do you just wander around the woods looking at the ground or do you look in certain places. How does one increase their chances at finding a shed?

[LOTWSvirgin]

I am sure someone can help more but I look for sheds on South faceing hills bedding areas feeding areas and trails in between

[shedfreak]

Well as broken down as it can be, LOTWSvirgin is right. There are alot of factors on where I determine to look for sheds, but the basic components are listed right there. Not all the

"good" spots will have a shed, but by eliminating the "bad" spots, youve just increased your chances right there. I highly reccomend reading Joe Shead's Book, Go Shed Hunting. Great Tips, and he also put out a DVD last year. [Note From Admin: Please Read Forum Policy Before Reading Again] I wander around the woods early and mark on my GPS where the bedding areas are, trails leading to food sources, south slopes, and I focus on those areas all winter long.

[shedfreak]

I went out looking for some of the matches to the ones ive picked up lately, and although THAT search came up short, I did manage to scoop up a couple more. One good one, and one 2 year old 4 point.....My camera was too cold to get an ATL of the second. It was so fresh, it dripped blood on my kitchen counter for a good couple hours after I got it home! The wife LOVED it!

And an early grop shot from the year so far...........

[lovebigbluegills]

That's awesome Shedfreak...you're the man!!! I wish I could find half that many

[shedfreak]

After being stuck indoors yesterday and finding out 21 sheds were picked up by a group of buddies, I didnt like my chances for today. I stayed awake all night figuring out where I wanted to go with limited time to walk..1.5 hours...... Well I guess I only needed 10 minutes...I walked down the first trail I found and BAM, a nice 5 point side.. and 15 yards in front of it I saw tines in the snow..gotta be the match, right? nope, small 4 point side... I got an ATL of the bigger one, but my camera wasnt lettin me get any of the smaller one... Id really like to match the 5 up!! Up into the double digits now.... Best start ever for me.

[lungdeflator]

wow! its barely even begun and you have an awesome collection already! I havent had a chance to get out yet but very soon

[certified jumbo]

Wow, Very nice sheds - Shed freak!!! You are finding some really nice antlers.

I ended up going up to the shack on Sunday. Went to spot 1 where I know there are plenty of bucks and looked for 3.5 hours and never touched a shed. Bummer!! Go to spot 2 and look for 1.5 hours. Some sign, not super heavy though and still no antlers in hand. Its now getting to be a long day!!! I go to my 3rd spot which is a lease we have where they are presently logging 20 acres of it. Yes, lots of sign and deer running around eating the tops of the popals. Maybe, this is my opportunity!!! Tons of sign everywhere, 1.5 hours of looking no antlers yet. Then boom.........is that an antler sticking out of that bed......yes, finally antler one in hand. A rather large 2 pt shed. Sweet, I look for the match.....go to the next bed 10 feet away and boom, a matching set laying 3 inches from each other!!! a small, fresh 5 pointer. I'll take it. I then spent the last hour looking on the flat where they are logging, tons of deer sign.....but everything looks like an antler.....getting a head ache from all the sticks. Walking on the logging road on the way out and step on a 4 pt side from a 2.5 year old. A good way to finish. What a day and sore feet.

Up to 8 sheds on the year!!! I'm happy about that, just haven't found much for size yet. Lots of many friends are also having good luck right now, it seems the antlers are dropping like flies right now. I hope we can make it another 2 weeks before measureable snow.....cause if we get a big snow now, i fear with all the early drops, february and march could be slow until the snow melts.

Get out and look now, conditions are good, trails are defined!! Good luck,

CJ

[pinkfloyd4ever]

i clearly need to get out looking, I normally see the guy that got me asking about drops once a week but have not seen him in 2 weeks, maybe the weather changed his routine or something

[Fishin=Easy]

Been out looking a few times this year with nothing to show. Until this morning when i dang near rolled my ankle on this guy, under all the snow. I was so excited I dug it out like a dog and yanked it from the frozen swamp like it was a buried treasure.Well I guess it was a buried treasure. It's not a fresh drop but it's a good start, and one of my better finds.

[lungdeflator]

thats a good find. It makes you wonder how you can walk by sheds like that after the snow melts, when they are pretty open and not covered up with the snow we have had so far this year

[LOTWSvirgin]

Finally on the board Just a decent 4 pt side

Still got a few with future sheds.

Same buck??

[stompinaround]

man thats a great feeling when you come upon a good shed, nice find. I cant believe how early people are finding them this year, I

promised myself I wouldn't start looking until february but thats definitely not going to happen.

[RuttenBuck]

LOTWSvirgin -

What do you have planted that is drawing that many deer to it? Just wondering - thanks.

[certified jumbo]

Great pics guys. I love looking at them!!! Keep them coming. Looked for about 2 hours this week, no dice. We are heading to the boundary waters tonight for some trout action, so probably won't get much looking in this wkd. Who knows, maybe i'll stumble across a moose antler!!!

Good luck,

CJ

[shedfreak]

Nice pics, glad to see you guys pickin some up! I got out today for one of my longer walks of the year, 3 hours... I came home with 3 sheds, a matched 8 point set, and small 3 pt. My camera was froze again, so no ATLS, which sucks because the side by side set was SAWEET!!!... Ill get some pics up this weekend! # 11, 12, and 13 on the year so far. Itll slow down here shortly.. its got to!

[jkcmj]

Went with a friend on my 1st shed hunt of the year in Northern Iowa. He picked up one real nice shed, I was skunked. The antler was under the crusted snow, so would have been on the ground since late December. The buck broke off his G3, but still should score 70 inches.

[onlydrakes4me]

nice shed

[frogtosser]

makes me want to get out now. I still have never found a shed. I didnt realize so many deer were dropping so soon. gonna have to start looking.

[gonefishing70]

Boy there are some nice shed so far good job guys. I have been out a few times since the last week of december. Here are some pic's of what I have found so far.

Good luck finding more, Its alot of work I have put on about 10 miles looking.

[LOTWSvirgin]

Spent the whole day shed hunting I found 4 today nothing big but there still sheds. Up to five this year in about 20hours looking

3 pt side

small 3 pt side

A 2pt side

forgot the camera in the car when I found the 4 pt side nothing big though top leftside

And a few future sheds sure hope they fall real soon or hold them till after the next storm

Sure hope the deer are doing better then it looked today I found 6 dead fawns and a buck that had already sheded today

[hockeybc69]

Nothing for me again...Hrrrumph...

Although, I have yet to see a deer on cam that has lost antlers. Seeing what the rest of you have found its got to be soon.

[Musky Buck]

hockeybc, I think you are in my area. I won't start looking until mid-march, doesn't hurt to look now but after 30 years of shed hunting the earliest we've found an antler was Valentine's day and that's still almost a month away. Last years trailcam had about 15 bucks on it, full racks, and the earliest trail cam picture of a 1 horned buck was March 4th and some still had a full rack at thaw time making it nearly impossible to predict where the bucks would be as they left the winter range and spread out to who knows where eventually dropping them.