This is going to be my first year shed hunting. Where should I concentrate most of my effort? My hunting area is 69 acres of wooded hillsides with a few logging roads and a hay field down on the flat. Should I check the major deer trails and known rub lines first? There is a big crab apple thicket where they hide out when the gun hunters start to apply pressure too. I just need a little direction so I don't spend all day meandering up and down the hills. Thanks.
http://www.bowhunting.com/blog/post/2009/03/08/Shed-Antler-Hunting-heats-up-in-March!.aspx Hope this helps. Good luck!
If it is your normal hunting area, 69 acres shouldn't be that hard to cover over the course of a weekend. I have found that you can find sheds anywhere, that being said, you will eventually (assuming you have wintering bucks in the area) find areas that are better than others over the course of 2-3 years. As you cover your property, don't be afraid to go over the same are 2-3-4 times (or more) Deer around here start dropping antlers as early as the new year and we have seen bucks with both sides as late as April. They can drop any place, so continually covering the property is your best bet. Not to discourage you, but sometimes deer just don't hang around some areas in the winter, buddy at work has a 80 across the road from where I hunt, he has yet to find a shed, we see alot of the same bucks during the season, but for whatever reason, I usually end up finding the antlers on my side of the road. If you don't find any, it may not be that your are doing anything wrong but that the deer are not wintering there, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get out and look around, go slow, and enjoy the time in the woods, you need to train your eyes to see the bone...... Good luck
