I got no problems ripping off a good idea, I suppose I should give credit to Mr Duke, so credit...:d Last year was a banner year shed hunting , had so much fun that I am going to try and keep better track of how much time. Sheds: 66 (35) The first number is the total found, the number in ( ) are the ones I found Hours: 65.6 Miles: 125.0 Dead Deer: 8 (three bucks) In case you are wondering, I got a pedometer, lets me know when I am being really lazy and it is time to get out and do something about it..... If I would have thought this one out, this should have been my first post, 1st shed of the year but since I didn't I will just link it.....
I still remember that photo and your updates from last year!! That was indeed a banner year!! Display that photo with pride son, you done good!!!! And now that you already got the first one out of the way, carry on and pick up where you left off last year.
Went out today for a almost 2 hours, (would have been longer, but I had already been out in the woods for about 3 hours cutting firewood, 5 hours is about my limit with my wife unless I give her the ok to go somewhere and spend money, so I usually choose the lesser of the two evils) ((Ya, right, I 'give' her the "OK", but I can talk tough and smart here)) Anyhow, started snowing just as we started cutting wood, and kept coming down, super light and fluffy, so by the time I started looking for sheds there was about 3-4" of the fluffy stuff on top, drop a stick on top of that stuff and it disappears, wasn't really expecting to find anything, and that is what happened. Did see a small buck chasing a doe, I still think it is a bit early in the year to be looking around here, but I took the shed count crown away from my dad last year and I really don't want to give it up yet, he was looking for sheds the whole time I was doing the wood thing, can't give a guy like that to much time or he will bury you.....
Went out today for a almost 2 hours, (would have been longer, but I had already been out in the woods for about 3 hours cutting firewood, 5 hours is about my limit with my wife unless I give her the ok to go somewhere and spend money, so I usually choose the lesser of the two evils) ((Ya, right, I 'give' her the "OK", but I can talk tough and smart here)) Anyhow, started snowing just as we started cutting wood, and kept coming down, super light and fluffy, so by the time I started looking for sheds there was about 3-4" of the fluffy stuff on top, drop a stick on top of that stuff and it disappears, wasn't really expecting to find anything, and that is what happened. Did see a small buck chasing a doe, I still think it is a bit early in the year to be looking around here, but I took the shed count crown away from my dad last year and I really don't want to give it up yet, he was looking for sheds the whole time I was doing the wood thing, can't give a guy like that to much time or he will bury you.....
Major note of interest for me today (besides not finding any sheds) Did see a nice buck, 140ish area 8 pointer, with one antler missing.....so I now know there is at least one out there to find.... Also ran across this, think we can get the stand any closer to the trail?
Deer must not be superstitious. If you are starting to see them fall I better get my sheddin' boots ready.....I was thinking about heading out for the first time sometime later this month. Closer to February but I would like to get out before all of the recent snow melts.
Looking back at the photos from last year, and the dates that I found them, I didn't get out till the end of January and really didn't start finding any numbers till about the middle of February. There were a few here and there, but the good sheds really didn't start showing up for awhile. As for the one horn I saw running around, all I know is it looked like it had one antler, it could have been a busted rack, I spent about a half hour looking in the area, at least walking the trails in the area, but the sign wasn't real heavy in the area, and I found matched sets last year almost a half of a mile apart. So I won't be spending a lot of time in the area, at least till the snow goes out then I will make a hard push if it hasn't turned up yet.
I went for late season with the shotgun this afternoon. I saw eight deer, none had antlers... so they were either does or shed bucks or some combination. I had a group of eight come up within 30 yards but I couldn't get a shot because they were quartering to me or broadside and had a deer behind them. Sneaky bassturds. K actually saw a big bodied shed buck following a doe yesterday. Not chasing but following with nose to the ground. Anyhow, I've seen several shed bucks around here and they are starting to grouping up. Congrats on a heck of a shedding year, BTW. I've found like 3 antlers in my whole life.
I got a buddy that lives down in in Illinois, thinking the Rockford area, I know he has been seeing bucks w/o horns, actually he got one a couple weekends ago (took the middle size deer in a group of three trying to avoid a situation of shooting a antlerless buck, oh well, got some meat for the freezer) Deer are still running around here, or at least the bucks are trying to chase, soon as that is done, should start seeing some more bone on the ground.
Well, today things finally started happening. First shed my dad found walking a trail, neat thing about this shed is we believe it is from the buck that was following the buck that I shot with a bow this year. The buck that I shot had blood on his horns and cape (had a nasty cut over one eye and a couple puncture wounds on his neck) the buck that followed him in, well his horns were bright red with fresh blood. (ya I am a nerd, I carry a camera with me in the stand, my buck was done 40 yards away when I snapped the picture, the one in the picture is looking at the other buck laying there, probably less than a minute after I arrowed the first one) Looking at the shed, there is a large knob at the base, makes me wonder if this isn't a double beamed buck that my neighbor told me he saw in the early season..... Second shed (the half of a 8 pointer, rough scored at 46") It would have either been me or the old man, luckily I saw it first buried in the snow. The third one, the biggest of the bunch (62" we have the what I believe the matched set from last year for this one, never saw him hunting) , I had just taken a drink of soda and was putting the bottle away, and I saw something that looked promising, by the time I got the binocs up and was about to say "I found one" my dad saw it also, so we will each take credit for it. The last one, well, my dad says his camera batteries were dead, so he wanted me to snap some pictures, while I was doing that, he wandered around a little bit and found the 4th one laying about 20 yards away on top of the snow.......he cheats :d If anyone wants to see what the sheds look like laying on the ground before we picked them up, please let me know, I am more than willing to post those photos, if you aren't sure what to look for, it might help.
Nicely done Wiaxle. Both you and TJF are kicking my tail. This week I should be able to really start hitting it harder and continuing for the next 8 weeks or so.. I hope. I've been so busy lately. I like the idea on the ATL (as they lay) pics. I'll start a thread later.. (or you can) and everyone can just keep adding ATL's to the thread. Could be really neat in about 8 weeks to see all the sheds being brought in and the "as they lay" pics as well.
Well Wiaxle, you are on your way to another table full of antlers. Congrats. I am thinking next Saturday is going to be my first day out.
Hmmmm, -4 degrees out this morning, nice, sunny, windy, what to do????? I know, go out and wander the woods First shed just goes to prove you can never go to slow while walking through the woods. I was trying to work a stand of tamarac's north/south, back and forth. I had been walking the larger trails and got to a point where I figured I had gotten to far east. So I turn around look about 5 yards away and see this shed laying there. 51 7/8" with a 5 1/2" base, and a huge chunk of bone still below the pedicle (sp?) See the ATL thread to see what it looked like and how close I had passed by it Luckily I found it, just goes to prove it never hurts to go back over where you have just been. Side note, my dad went out after I got back in, and he found a yearling shed (half of a 8 pointer?) about 15 feet away from my tracks earlier. In my defense it was in a bed that was about a foot below the snow line, but still...... The 2nd shed was a bit easier to find, but still had to get about 5 yards away from it to see it. It was laying right in the middle of the trail. This one came in at 65" even. Pictures from home
My dad went out this afternoon after seeing what I came back with, and it had warmed up to a balmy 5 degrees out. First off is the shed that he found within spitting distance of a spot that I had passed through earlier in the day. The second antler is not neccessarily a shed, but I am throwing it out there anyways. Measured it at 67 3/4", the downside of this antler was there was a deer attached to it. When he grabbed the antler to move the head it popped off. We were through this area yesterday, and when he came through there this afternoon he stumbled on this buck. Now, we had a high of 5 degrees today, and when he found the carcass it was still pliable and warm, so it couldn't have been dead very long. The deer was pretty emancipated, looked like it had a injury/wound in its hind quarters. I saw this buck a couple weeks ago about 150 yards away in the woods, it looked like it was running through deep snow, but when I got down into the area that I saw it, I couldn't pick up his track, passed it off as misjudging where he was. In hindsight he was probably on a trail but wounded in some fashion that was making life pretty miserable. If someone on our property would have gotten this deer it would have been close to the biggest we would have ever taken.
Man... You are off to a fantastic start! Congrats on your early season success. I am hoping to hit it hard soon
Excellent thread and read there wiaxle!! I've been out 2 different times so far and nothing yet to show for It. I'm really excited about shed hunting this year more then ever!! Good luck this year shed hunting. Like you really need any luck!!
Walked from 10am to 2pm on Saturday with no luck. There was a ton of sign but my trail cameras showed that most of my bucks were still holding. I'll go back out to the same property in a couple weeks to do a second run. Until then I'll keep walking.
