Shed hunting basics 101

[Brad]

I am ashamed to say it, but I have NEVER found a shed antler yet, never really looked and I was not a big scouter until recently, but even I should have stumbled up on some by now. I am not going to look until I am happier with my scouting results, but what are the basics for finding sheds? Where do you normally start looking, on the edge of food leading to beds? I know nothing about it and would like to find some sometime soon. Any tips are appreciated no matter how simple or complex.

[Brad]

This shows how much of a rookie I am, I know so little about sheds I didnt even realise HB had a shed antler forum, could a mod please repost this in the correct spot

[Jackson Marsh]

I've never found one either .........I must really suck
I cover a lot of ground too, you would think just by dumb luck I would stumble on one. Apparently it is much easier to kill a buck on public land than to find an elusive shed.

I think "sheds" are a myth, perhaps a government conspiracy to keep deranged hunters wandering around in the woods, and not marching on Washington.

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[Dewey]

Believe it or not my biggest sheds by far were found in the northwoods where I have seen the least of my big buck sightings.

Around my home area most of the sheds are swallowed up by the cattail marshes. I found a few but they are really hard to find. The few I have found were on islands.

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[kenn1320]

I have found 3 in all these years, but just found 1 today. Small 8 but with extra kicker by G3. I only found the one side and it was half covered with oak leaves. I found it on a run by some bedding area. Looked to be doe bedding, so he was either passing through, or was bedding around them. Another one I found one time was in a bed and the other 2 were just noticed as I was walking. Guess I dont know where to look either, but a late season food source would be my first place to look.

[gjs4]

you have to be where deer are in late winter....sounds simple but easy to overlook. IE- you may find more sheds i spots where hunting is pi$$ poor. Think thick areas that block wind but recieve ample sun and area near a food source or offer browse.

the first place i looks on the farm is the dw corner of food sources and overgrown grass fields.

carry binos, i like days with some sun and ground moisture...they pop a bit more.....yellow safety glasses help a bit but shape recognition (similar to spotting bedding deer) is the key.

if youre going public access areas go often and youre way better off in non hunting nieghborhoods with limited cover than vast deer habitat

dont give up...may find none in two walks and 5 the third...its wierd how it goes per my experience

[lungbuster]

Find a good food source with alot of tracks on it and cover the entire area...........Then find the trails leading back to cover from the food, follow those trails back to beds. I find most sheds on corn or soybean fields, but usually find bigger matching sets back in cover. Just remember everytime you go into bedding could cause those bucks to change areas, so I would recommend not hitting those spots until you are sure most if not all bucks have shed and only hit them once or twice. I normally don't start shed hunting until late March when I know most of our bucks have dropped, the only problem with that is sheds dropped in cover will most likely be chewed on by squirrels.........But at least I know I'm not bumping antler holding deer off my land at that time.

[xpauliber]

You would think sheds would be easy to find considering they don't run even if you get upwind of them.

Shed hunting is my brother's #1 hobby and he has found probably close to 300 sheds in his lifetime. The last few years he has averaged around 50ish sheds per year and he also tracks the miles he walks with his GPS. He told me that he figures he finds one shed for every 10 miles he walks in the woods. Now granted, sometimes he will pick a couple up in a few miles but then he knows based on his experience that it could be awhile until he finds another. Basically, don't get discouraged though. There is ALOT of area out there and for you to stand at the exact spot where a buck's antler fell off....that's pretty cool.

Now you have to keep in mind that this is a guy going out specifically with his eyes on the ground looking for sheds. He isn't the least bit interested in scouting like most of us are when we're out there. It's almost impossible to shed-hunt and effectively scout at the same time. I'm not surprised that I don't find that many sheds when I'm out there scouting. I'm sure I've probably walked right past some. When you're scouting, you should be in the zone and paying attention to all of the little details that will make you successful in hunting season, not straining your eyes at the ground wondering if that's a stick or the main beam of a shed. For this reason alone, I usually only shed-hunt in areas that I've hunted in the past and mostly know the deer behavior.

As for some tips though:

-Focus on south-facing slopes. These slopes receive the most sunlight and therefore melt off the quickest and are the warmest, so deer tend to bed on them.

-Bucks can potentially shed from December-April (with the majority shedding in Jan/Feb.). If you get into an area that has fresh sign along with sign that is a couple months old, curry-comb this area. This means that deer have been spending a significant amount of time here and you should too. Don't just make one pass through. Walk through scanning a 30-foot section in front of you, then move to the edge of where you just scanned and walk back through doing the same thing until you've covered all of the area with sign. You would be surprised how many sheds you think you would be able to see from a distance, but you don't until you dang near step on them.

-If you notice a blowdown from last fall laying with brown leaves on it, make sure you go and take a peek around it. The top of the tree that is now laying on the ground will have browse that the deer couldn't reach but now they can. This is such a good place to find a shed because in the fall when the tree blew over, the deer had an abundance of food, so they didn't pay any attention to it. However, in January/February when bucks shed, their options for food are much more limited, so these types of browse become very attractive.

-When you're out walking for sheds, about every 50 yards or so, stop and just look back from where you came. You would be surprised how many times you walk past a shed, but then when you look back at a different angle, you see a tine or the curve of a main beam that you didn't see from the other angle.

-I personally like overcast days for looking for sheds because on sunny days, light hitting the forest floor creates shadows which strain your eyes, plus it's alot easier to see white antlers when the sunlight isn't creating light & dark areas.

Every time my brother brings home another shed, I ask him how he does it and he says: "walk, walk, walk, and then when you're sick & tired from not having found anything, walk some more"

[UntouchableNess]

you have to be where deer are in late winter....sounds simple but easy to overlook.

I'm not a very devout shed hunter. Mostly because the properties I have permission for don't hold many late season deer.

I do have an SE facing hillside that usually has a shed or two on it. The bucks bed 2/3 of the way up next to some thicker escape cover.

The rest of the sheds I find is sheer luck, covering lots of ground, hoping to stumble across them.

Pulled trail cam card this morning and quite a few bucks still carrying.

[BigHills BuckHunter]

1. Look wherever the winter food source is. This is where the majority will be. In and around the food source within 200 yards.

2. Creek crossings are my favorite place to look. I have found so many this way. They must jump and the pressure from when they land knocks off the antler.

3. Beds....but I personally havnt had the greatest luck this way. Found some though.

4. Cedars and pines. They love bedding in these areas in the winter months.

5. If you have hills by you I suggest looking on that 2/3 elevation line and following the line. It will take you from bedding area to bedding area.

6. Fence jumps

7. TAKE BINOCULARS.....this will save you from walking 200 yards in deep snow to find a stick which you thought was a big shed. Also helps to just randomly glass south facing slopes where there isnt as much snow. I have found several sheds by just randomly searching through my binoculars.

Good luck hope you find one!

[UPbowhunter]

I made a few video shed tips last year. Here is the first one the rest are in the woods. If you want to look around on my youtube page. Most guys dont comment on here about my vids so look if you want and good luck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gAn2-6P ... ata_player

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[Edcyclopedia]

1st and only shed to date from last Feb
Although I only glanced my hunting areas the last decade or so but they are certainly hard to come by!
I find more Moose sheds...

[Haus86]

If you guys aren't finding sheds already, it's probably because they aren't there. There really aren't any tricks that are going to allow you to pile up sheds like some people that you see on the internet. Some areas and states are easier than others. It's like fishing, you can't catch what's not there. The tips might help you find a couple, and you just have to put on the miles. Focus on all of the tips posted above, and walk your but off.

[Haus86]

I average about one shed for every three hours, and I live in Iowa .

[BigHills BuckHunter]

I average about one shed for every three hours, and I live in Iowa .

This year I have two sheds for 30 hours of walking. Ouch. Usually isnt like this. I remember averaging about one shed every 3 or 4 hours in past years. I really do think some are still holding. checked a trail cam 2 days ago and had 2 half racks yet.

Random Vent: I just want to say how frusterating this weather is for looking for sheds!!!