I have walked my arse off the last two weeks and have only found this rock. Must have been one hell of an arrow!
Don't feel bad. I'm in your boat too!!! Last year I found 4 and walked my butt off to find those. I have put in some miles already this year and have found 1 dead head and thats it. Bucks are shedding around my area too.
Going out again tomorrow.. Haven't found any yet either Trail cams should show if they are dropping. Checking the cams too.
once you find some they get easier. I have some tip videos in the shed section you may find helpful. Keep walkin buddy
If you want sheds you can make something with like a bucket of corn and some bungee cords Here is a vid of something like that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMJmX9trDhc Or something as simple as this http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&h...&tbnw=109&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0
Dont waste your time with the shed traps they are a bunch of B.S. My suggestion is watch the deer, when you see most of them shed then its time to look, otherwise you will just get burned out and push away deer.
According to my cams here in NY. A lot of bucks still sporting them. Only saw a couple that have lost one side.
I've only found 3 ever. 2 were laying in a bright green wheat field, the other was in cut corn. I've never found one in the woods.
Edges are a gold mine here going from crop to grass... crop to trees or just in general. Edges in CRP. While we find them in the corn fields and bean fields... the edges are always very good. Edges inside a crop field are very good also. Any place the bucks likes milling around at night or bedding in between feedings at night. Pay attention to edges no matter how subtle. Safe to say we find the majority of our sheds within 40 yards of an edge of some kind. Examples... Tim
Since it is windy and cold outside. Most of the bucks are still carrying here. Lets explore EDGES... An EDGE consists of one feature of an area transisting into another feature... crops to pasture crops to grass/CRP crops to different crop crops to trees crops to a rockpile, drainage ditch, old abaondon farmstead or occupied farmstead crops to sloughs, creeks, river and lakes grass to sloughs, creeks, river, and lakes Trees to sloughs, creeks, river and lakes Trees to grass Thick forest to clear cuts Thick forest to less thick Elevation changes hills/mts... south sides verses north sides hills/mts... benches, draws and canyons There are all kinds of edges and many more then I listed. Some are so subtle they are hard to notice. Since edges consist of two different features... deer tend to mill around them when up and about. They can provide a place for both feed and browse. Deer need both !! They provide shelter from weather/winds/snow. They provide a quick escape from danger. Again the deer tend to seek out these spots because it gives them the best of what an area has to offer. Edges act as a barrier in instances in how the deer move through and area. Other then wind... edges are the second most important thing I look at for hunting bucks. For shed hunting... it is #1 !! The guy that runs the edges always finds more then the guy gridding the same area to make sure nothing is missed. Looking back at all the years Tyler and I have looked for sheds with 1500 plus sheds found... Tyler was an edge runner. His only goal was to find as many as he could as fast as he could. He hated gridding an area... especially corn fields. I was the gridder as it was important to find all the sheds in the fields as well so the famers didn't put one though their tractor tires. Tyler would slaughter me in the number of sheds found. We made a good team though by covering the area pretty thorough !! When Troy was here... it didn't take long to see he was an edge runner too !!!! Still chuckle to this day when Tyler and Troy left me in the dust running edges to get to an area while I gridded my way down there. The race was on between the two !! Course someone must of felt sorry for me from up above as I stole a nice shed right out from underneath Tyler's nose that Troy was hoping to find. I got the last laugh and the shed to boot !! The turtle won that race !! Tim
I haven't done a lot of shed hunting the past couple years, but I know when I did it pretty hardcore, it could be really tough. If you've ever hunted for Morel mushrooms, its sort of like that. You have to see one to get your eyes in the "zone" for looking for them. Shed hunting is much like that. I remember walking by a nice shed one year, almost stepping on it. On my way back out, I saw it, with my boot track right beside it. Keep at it. Once you see one, you'll get a better idea what you're looking for.
That was some awesome Info Tim! Thank you!! Stuff to definitely keep In mind. It sure does help though when you've got a good number of bucks In your area. That's something I lack where I hunt. According to my trail camera's I have out we've got a whole 3 bucks roaming our land. All are carrying but one, he lost one side so far. These bucks aren't on our land much either. They're at the neighbors 3/4ths a mile away eating on his silage pile.
I was out last weekend and found two. My lab was with me and when she refused to come when I called her, I started walking back towards her and there she was standing over a shed. I told her to bring it here and she brought it right over. Her everyday play toys are sheds so I think she recognizes them. In the past few years when I have found a shed, I don't touch it or get my scent on it but rather bring her over and let her find it on her own. It might be starting to sink in?? With the mild winter in my area, the deer arent in true wintering areas so the sheds are going to probably be spread out alot more than usual. I also saw a number of bucks with both sides, so not all are on on the ground yet.
