Okay, you guys that get out early in search for sheds and don't find what you expected. Do you give it some time and search that area again? OR call it good and don't look again? If you go back to re-search, do you feel like it was a waste of time the first time? Why not wait until you feel sure they have all (mostly) dropped?
Early when we get out... we are only looking in feeding/staging areas that we can get in and out of without putting any pressure on the deer. Since feeding/staging areas are good places to find sheds... it will tell us when the bucks start dropping so we know when to get a bit more serious. Competition is the other factor. I would rather we find them before they find them. We will rewalk a few good spots once a week if by a road or if the competition calls for it. It's not a waste by just targetting the feeding/staging areas for us. We will usually pick up sheds almost every time we walk when they are dropping them. Once the snow melts we hit them again to find any sheds that had been covered by the snow. The first bucks can start dropping the end of December and the last bucks could still be dropping into April depending on the year. While it gets old walking the same piece of ground serval times... it isn't a waste of time to us. If you have sole permmission or own the land you are walking... I wouldn't tromp the heck out of it early but wait until you know most the bucks have dropped. By tromping all over it you are probably doing more damage then good. Our deer don't take much pressure before moving. Might be different for other areas as it is very open here. Find public land to walk if it is legal or areas where there is competition for early shedhunting. Tim
Thanks for the info. A few others and I have permission to the land I was mainly going to focus on. Not many or them are shed hunters so I might just give it a bit more time. I think my problem is looking in the wrong places. I realize they can drop them ANYWHERE but I can better my chances looking in feeding/staging areas.
We start at the feeding/staging area and stay out of bedding area until most have dropped. Feeding/staging areas will always be the best spots to find sheds as that is where the bucks are up and moving the most. Our bedding areas are pretty defined here where that isn't the case for a lot of areas in other states. So take this info for what it is worth. You will just have to see what is the best approach for your area. Look on trails leading back into the bedding areas. Tim
always go back injured bucks tend to shed early and if your there you will find them. and not all deer shed in the same time frame i have picked sheds in december in one spot and in the same spot picked them in late march so you never know. you have to be persistant in this game i logged over 225hrs. last season for 39 sheds one of them just so happened to be the find of a lifetime but its the anticipation that keeps you going besides its fun and good for the body.
The main spot I think I can find sheds in, I know for a fact gets shed hunted HARD. This year I plan to hit it MUCH earlier and continue thru march, because I think people find em as they drop. I think if I wait too long others would get them. I find most of them in a nice field next to some thicker areas. I tried looking for sheds in similar areas in other places without any luck.
Thanks guys! I'll keep up the search and I guess it never hurts to look in the same spot several times. There's always the possibility that I could have missed something the first few times. Last year, I walked a little over 30 miles and only found one small shed. Hopefully I be rewarded a little more this year. Thanks fellas
