Walking around yesterday I found tons of beds but no sheds. Here is where I found the beds. The big clusters were located on the tops of big flat ridges. The smaller clusters are on small fingers that run off of the big ridges into the ravines. And there was a line of beds on the lip of a steep drop off. There were a few rubs next to a couple of spots, but nothing screaming buck bedding area although some of the beds were pretty darn big. Three beds around a small brush pile. A bed right in the tracks of an old skidder trail. The view from a bed on a small finger ridge. A couple right out in the open. And the turkeys are still there too.
About 50% of the bucks I've been getting on camera were shed by this past weekend. Didn't find any yet, a lot of snow.
I walked for 3.5 hours the other day, and just like you, I found a ton of beds, but didn't find a single shed. Talked to the landowner's neighbor once I got back up to the house and he told me that he had still been seeing bucks with full racks. I think they're yet to drop here.
I would wait til the end of Feb. to go back in unless other people have access to that property. I dont get really serious about looking til end of Feb. The snow we are getting here in the east is working right into a good shed season for me. We got 28" last weekend and another 20" coming tonight. To me this keeps alot of folks out of some of the public land I hunt, gives the deer time to drop and cocentrates the deer into smaller areas to drop. I pulled my last camera a week ago and most of the bucks still hard bone on their heads. I like your pics buckhunter, most seem to show a real winter pattern of south facing slopes, a real magnet for winter deer. My best areas to find sheds are thermo cover, hollys, and laurel. We dont have many ridges here in south Jersey, all low laying tidal plane.
I would agree, word is there have been alot of antlered buck sightings in MO lately. I haven't gone out to look myself, I'm going to wait another couple of weeks I think.
I've been out a few times on some public land and our farm, and haven't found one yet. I still have 2 cameras out from November in hard to get to areas. Going to pull them Saturday, and hoping they give me info on what these bucks are doing.
Most of the deer are still holding their antlers in PA... I have heard some guys talk about them being shed already, but I havn't seen it yet. The big guys all seem to still be holding, and only a few small bucks have dropped.
I have been having the same problem as well, i'm finding the beds but not finding as many sheds o well good luck!
