when and how to shed hunt

[HandGunner]

I plan to stop by some of the WMA's around me and try looking for sheds. im not sure how to look for them and were to look and begin. also im not even sure if other people have already found them b4 me. When should i start going out, were should i look, and should i even bother since i will be on WMA land??

[Muskie456]

People may have picked them up before you (people leave tracks too if you are wondering if there are other guys out there looking), that's just part of it. Look for deer sign, Start now and you should bother if you ever want to find any. It takes time and the more you put in the better your chances are of finding some.

[matchset]

there is a great book/DVD by Joe Shead (shed). its very entertaining and information packed.

i know him personally, and he's a great guy! check it out, he's got a HSOforum....

g0shedhunting.commmmm

best of luck to you!

[BLACKJACK]

Walk the trails between feeding and bedding areas, check the spots where deer hang out, like south facing slopes and wood lots, check where they jump fences and ditches. This spring when it warms up, and the snow starts to melt, be the first to check out those bedding and feeding areas. Good luck.

[Shoot2Kill]

The biggest key to success this time of year is to find where they are wintering and monitor it closely if you can. Where you saw deer in November may not be at all where they shed their antlers.

Other tips..

-walk the thickest bedding areas you can find

-look for parts of the antler, not the whole thing

-walk every trail you find

-walk the ground you are on from multiple angles...you may think you covered it and not found anything but seeing it from a different perspective sometimes uncovers bone that you missed!

-creek crossings, fences, etc...

-walk until your hips bleed! No substitue for putting on the miles and covering ground.

[Shoot2Kill]

Oh...and you asked when....start now if you want - at least start watching for where they are wintering. Bucks shed from December to March...never know when you'll stumble onto one. And who cares if somebody else walked it first - not everyone can find them all...all it takes is for someone to be looking the wrong way and walk right by one. Sure they might pick up the easy ones laying right in a trial but they don't all drop in the wide open.

You never know when the next turn may reveal a big 80"er that makes your heart skip a beat so keep walking!

[B. Amish]

sometimes you have to get lucky too.

i've found more than one shed by stepping on something "hard" in the snow and looking down to see what it was.

i was out looking with two friends once. we were all covering trails within sight of each other when the trails merged into one staging area. we were all standing there [PoorWordUsage]'in within arms length of each other when i looked down and found a shed right at our feet in some snow and slough grass. i picked it up and we all talked about it for a minute, then i looked down again and found the other side.

[matchset]

sometimes you have to get lucky too.

i've found more than one shed by stepping on something "hard" in the snow and looking down to see what it was.

i was out looking with two friends once. we were all covering trails within sight of each other when the trails merged into one staging area. we were all standing there [PoorWordUsage]'in within arms length of each other when i looked down and found a shed right at our feet in some snow and slough grass. i picked it up and we all talked about it for a minute, then i looked down again and found the other side.

i spotted a shed in the backyard of a house near my home...i got permission to retrieve the shed. as i was pulling the shed out of the crusted snow, i spotted its match right next to it!

the crazy thing about this is....they were a year old match set. they laid in my neighbors yard for an entire year!!! if you're NOT looking for them, they are increasingly hard to spot!

[Musky Buck]

Be careful also, meaning if the deer are stressed in your area don't push em around too much, no shed is worth stressing the deer if this winter is kicking their but. Last year with hundreds of acres of standing corn around not a problem, this year little to no crops available, hench the better racks many saw this season plus ideal spring summer conditions, My area mid-march to april pending snow depth or melting is prime time, had like 15 bucks on t-cam most of the winter into March, 11 had both sides on yet in late February early march so no need in some areas to go look prior to March 1st, a few in April had a side yet, areas are different, good luck.

[Bear55]

Be careful also, meaning if the deer are stressed in your area don't push em around too much, no shed is worth stressing the deer if this winter is kicking their but. Last year with hundreds of acres of standing corn around not a problem, this year little to no crops available, hench the better racks many saw this season plus ideal spring summer conditions, My area mid-march to april pending snow depth or melting is prime time, had like 15 bucks on t-cam most of the winter into March, 11 had both sides on yet in late February early march so no need in some areas to go look prior to March 1st, a few in April had a side yet, areas are different, good luck.

You farm country guys worry too much, my northern bigwoods deer don't have any crops plus they have wolves on their heels year round. Stress? No way they are cool as cucumbers, well unless they get caught.

[Musky Buck]

lol Bear, but the farm country they are used to is black dirt this year, frozen black dirt, thousands of acres of of dirt, they will be forced to be bigwoods deer this winter, browse it is, these area crop farmers are so efficient there isn't enough to feed a mouse, the deer prior to the snow had already scavenged what was left after dark, it's December 8th, they have a long haul ahead of them, tallest deer survives : Needed 1 3.5 year old buck to survive winter shed headgear and find me next November !

[Bear55]

I hear you musky, just giving you farm guys a hard time. Those old dogs have been around the block, they will find a way.

They probably have a little old lady lined up about 5-10 miles away filling their belly's.

I also think there is more food out there than we realize. We might look at a swamp and see zero food but there could be a couple months worth of food in there if you are a deer. The further I get out into these nasty swamps I hunt the more I find deer feeding on just about everything in front of them.

[Musky Buck]

True enough Bear, I might drop a few adult poplars this winter that canopy wise just need to go and the deer love that browse, good winter to cut some firewood right in my hunting area, here's to hoping I can get to it and the snow depth is ok to get through, plus I can get a deer update while doing it, plus grab t-cam to check headgear status and steer clear of their main bedding grounds unless things are decent, and maybe find one of these nocturnal beasts rackola's.