Shed hunting tips?
 

hey guys im going to try to find some sheds have any tips for me??

Walk trails, bedding areas. Where they jump across (or go under) fences, logs, creeks, gates. Glass fields where they feed. A tip someone on this site mentioned a while back was look where you often see them get hit on the road. Alot of deer get hit, run into the woods a little bit and lay down and die. I havent gotten to try that yet, but makes sense.
-Jake

Why would you hunt only for the tips? I try to find the whole antler.

no tips on how to find them

Shed hunting tips
 

:lolabove:

Since I am in a great mood (Partly because the snow is melting, partly because my teething, 6mo. daughter is sleeping), I will share some pointers that I have learned over several years. Any veterans feel free to throw in anything in you want! ENJOY

#1: Look for 1-2" of antler (tines of course, but also main beams and bases) instead of the whole thing. You would be surprised at the ones that you walk right by. (And how stupid you feel when your buddy finds one BEHIND you:rant:)

#2: Search in bedding areas near food sources. These can be a 10 ft. wide filter strip or an 80 acre patch of pines. Many times the bucks will bed down, the chemicals will be released that cause them to drop, leaving the oh so beautiful set of sheds laying two feet apart.

#3: Search where other people don't. Put your time in. Pack a lunch and go all day, go remote, and go often. Try to avoid any competition. Consider taking a canoe.

#4: Food sources are a high priority. They are a high priority for deer, and should also be a high priority for you. Flat farm fields are easy to cover, especially from a vantage point with good optics. Cornfields are difficult to search, but when done right, they can yield amazing results.

#5: Get a decent pair of binoculars. They can save you hundreds of trips of walking 50-100 yards to check out that stick that looks like an antler.

#6: Don't put too much pressure on the deer before they have shed. Spread your efforts out to a larger area. If you see shredded bark on top of a fresh snow under a big rub that you find, you may be a little early.

#7: Get to know your local herd. Deer are usually fairly predictable. Even if you only see does, don't be discouraged. Pay attention to how they react to harsh winter weather. In my area (50-60 deer per sq. mi.), I have noticed that deer migrate out from their home areas towards late winter, mostly because the food has been eaten. Fence rows in Ag fields can be prime.

#8: Go squirrel hunting. Squirrels eat sheds faster than most people think. I have found antlers with blood on the base that are halfway gone. They taste good, and you can sell the tails to Mepps for free/discounted fishing lures.

#9: Don't be too hardcore. You should enjoy what you are doing, because 90% of the time, you will come back empty-handed, with a fresh mental image of an early spring sunset. If you enjoy going and not finding, you will never be disappointed.



Happy shedding!

Hang a trail camera and watch to see when the deer start shedding their antlers. then follow along the trailer and see if you can find the antler

Fences. If they go over or under, it's a good place. Anywhere the trail leads into cover that will contact the antlers.

Heres a couple more I thought about today.

#10 - VERY IMPORTANT - Go in the rain. It is amazing how well they glow when they are wet and it is overcast.

#11 - Get a good pair of polarized sunglasses if you are going to be hunting in bright conditions or snow. Check into shooting glasses with yellow lenses. They can help with picking out detail.

#12 - Always look near draws or ditches, especially small ones. When a buck crosses very small ditches they usually jump. The jarring can bust them loose.

I have found sheds along creek beds,behind fallen tree's and even in open Mowed CRP Fields...some times You just get lucky and step on them!When I got out walking I check all the different trails thru the tall barn grasses,then I walk a different path/trail back home..the next time I go out I follow along fence rows and take another path back home!I've seen pictures where guys have found sheds hanging on thicket branches or even around area's where the Bucks have made rubs on tree's.

thanks for all the tips every1

Habitat brings up alot of good points,although I've never thought of useing a canoe but it does peak my interest.
This yr was a very large mast crop in the areas I hunt so the 1st places I'm going to search is acorn flats all the trails going to and coming from however I dont believe the deer will be bedded very far from the food source so your going to bump them as long as you dont chase them everything will be alright but keep in mind they are very stressed this time of yr.
I'm also going to concentrate on the areas that get the most sunlight edges of clearcuts,gas line,powerline right of ways the north side gets the most light take acompass& good binos.Dont look for the whole antler look for parts of it.Walk slow turn around often and search your back trail.
If you find a shed especially a big 1 start circleing around it in ever larger circles you might find the other side.When a buck loose 1 side its head feels lop sided and it will try to knock the other side off.Over the yrs I hav'nt found very many sheds at fence crossings thats not to say I
dont still check them I do just hav'nt had a lot of luck there.
Try and think like a big ole buck.You've been chaseing does hard ,people have been trying to kill you.Your worn out and exhausted ,your half starved now all you want to do is eat, rest, lick your wounds ,stay as warm as possible and use as little energy as possible.
sure hope this helps

Oldshedhunter35, you hit the nail on the head. An important key is to think like a big buck.

I love to look in tallgrass prairie. Switchgrass, bluestems, and other thermal cover has been great to me over the years. By "thermal cover", I mean cover that gives off heat and blocks wind on a sunny day, especially if there is snow on the ground.

Deer also seem to like to die in prairie habitat. I found one a week ago(pics are in another thread).:sad0064: Looks like I can finally cross "crab claw ten" off the hit list. Bad deal, just glad to know where he went. Ironically, he was dead in an old pioneer cemetery, which is less than 1/8th of an acre. It is one of the nicest prairies that I know of, just small. Probably some of the best thermal cover in five miles. Looked fairly fresh (within two months).

Good luck, and get out there! There are some sheds on the ground. We have found several in the past week. There are a few still packing. So far the ratio of antlers/antlerless for me is around 4/200 (including does).

Happy shedding!

good thread! I'm hoping to get out this year and do some shed hunting as well. never knew that squirrels eat the antlers. always wondered why i had never come across sheds when i've been out and about. there are some great tips here. now all I need is the snow to melt.

Put some time into this thread, and I know it is the time of year that people will be looking for advise. Therefore I will give a recent tip and bump this thread up.


#13 - Look in thickets. Look for browsing on sapling buds. Thickets seem to be a hotspot this year between me and a few buddies.

So far, we have collectively found over 40, not counting dead bucks. They are/were browsing on any buds they can reach. Im guessing because of the snow/ice covering the ag fields for a month before it thawed a couple of weeks ago. Still a few packing, but it seems like many have dropped.

So hit the local thick spots and walk slow!

Happy shedding and Good luck!

P.S. Attached - picture of the crab claw 10 in 2009 (3 1/2) and picture of him dead in late Feb. 2011 (4 1/2)
Was a 6x5 las season, broke off 4 tines. With the tines I would guess him in the upper 160s. Cant get my fingers around the bases.

Thnaks for the tips, Im planning on going this weekend.

FYI - I went hunting for sheds in NOVA sunday in a park where I have seen a lot of bucks; I did see one pair of 8 point antlers - they were still on the deers head as he was running away.

Wow Habitat86...that was a very nice Buck...its a shame to find them dead like that! :(



I found a nice 10-Pointer dead on our Farm last year,I had a long history with him of trail camera pictures and had Bow Hunted him for 2 years.I ended up taking the head/rack into my Taxidermist and he Re-Caped him and mounted him in his former Glory...he's hanging on my Log wall right now! ;)


As a Member mentioned in an earlier reply....put out a trail camera and by watching and checking it You know for sure that the Bucks have dropped their Antlers and You don't end up chasing them onto the Neighbors Property by leaving Your scent all around looking for antlers when they are in fact.....still on the Deer! I have been keeping my Trail Camera's out year round,the Bucks still had the Antlers as of Feb 26 so I have an idea that they should be dropping any time within the month of March!