Here in east central Illinois ( Champaign County and Vermillion County ) I start looking for sheds around the 20th of January usually. The bulk of the antlers I find are usually in February and the the 1st couple of weeks of March. I try to pattern the bucks in the areas that I shed hunt through the year, this helps to narrow my search areas down. I have to say my favorite place to find them is in bedding and stagging areas. I have also had good luck on field edges. Try starting at a food source and then start back tracking the deer tracks to find travel routes that lead to bedding areas. Just about anywhere the bucks travel you can find antlers. A fence line that a buck must jump over to cross and streams are good areas to look at also. I also recommend using binoculars for when you see something in the distance that looks like a antler, you can save yourself a lot of walking by using the binocs to see it is only a stick. I use a good pair of polarized glasses when shed hunting, this saves me from so much squinting and is much easier on the eyes if there is snow on the ground.I actually prefer to shed hunt on overcast days it just seems easier for me to see the sheds without the sun shining off everything in the woods. Take lots of water to drink, And have a good time <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>