Shed Hunting: Improve Your Skills and Find More Done!

Shed Hunting: Improve Your Skills and Find More Done!

By Gary Parsons

The bows and firearms have been stowed for the year and the whitetails that made it through another season of bullets and arrows can rest easy for nine months. However, for us whitetail hunters it is going to be a long agonizing nine months. No matter what we do during the off-season we deer hunters are always thinking about the “season” and can’t wait to cross off another day on the calendar. To ease the “off-season blues” we need to do something revolving around whitetails….right? I have just the thing for everyone…shed hunting! By now most of us have probably been shed hunting or at least know what it is. If you are unfamiliar with this growing in popularity hobby it is simply going into the timber or fields and looking for antlers that bucks have shed.

Why on earth would someone want to go and find sheds in the dead of an Iowa winter? There are several reasons. While some people may debate that shed hunting holds any scouting value in the sense that finding a shed in one area during the winter doesn’t mean that buck will be using the same area come fall. While there is probably some truth to that notion I still believe that shed hunting is an invaluable scouting method. First it gives you concrete evidence that a particular deer made it through the hunting seasons. Secondly, shed hunting allows you to enter into once forbidden areas during the hunting season, such as bedding areas, which can lead to more recon by searching for rubs, scrapes, travel routes, etc. Shed hunting can also provide you with a year by year profile of how the buck has grown if you continue to find the same sheds from a particular buck year after year. Lastly, shed hunting is a way to get out of the house and into the field. If we can’t actually hunt deer why not hunt for their antlers!

Shed hunting sounds easy to do right? Well it can be if you are a seasoned shed hunting veteran, but even the best shed hunters can struggle to find sheds. Below I have compiled a list of tips and tactics that may help a shed hunting newbie and may even give some of the veterans a few pointers.

Hunt Public Lands First
Contrary to popular belief if you shed hunt your private land and other lands such as someone else’s property or public ground it is always wise to start with the property that gets the most pressure. In a perfect world and for the sake of this article we will pretend it is a perfect world. Your land should be safe from other shed hunters leaving the fallen antlers safe until you go searching for them. That is why it is wise to start with other properties. The reasoning behind this notion is simple…other people will be out on these properties looking for sheds too so if you can beat them to the punch you will stand to find more sheds. After you are finished searching the more public lands you can then revert back to your private properties.

Time Frame
Sometimes being early is a bad thing, especially in shed hunting terms. In my opinion the best time to shed hunt in Iowa is mid/late January to late February. If you start hunting any earlier you risk spooking deer from their routines, resulting in antlers dropping on someone else’s property. By not spooking the deer before they shed their antlers you will also increase your chances of finding bone because by now a lot of bucks are grouped together. If you can keep bucks grouped together during the time when shedding starts you will increase the quantity of sheds you find.
You also don’t want to be too late, if you hunt public lands or property where other people shed hunt any later than February might lead to a pretty picked over crop of sheds.

Use Trail Cameras
The best way I have found to keep track of when bucks are shedding their antlers is the use of a trail camera. Placing a few trail cameras in deer hot zones is a great way to let you know when to head out in the field to search. When you start seeing multiple bucks with no head gear attached then it is time to get out and look for some bone.

Look for a set
Finding a big shed is nice, but finding the matching set is the cherry on top! While finding a matching set is difficult it can be done. Sometimes bucks will not drop the other antler for days, while other times it could be immediate. No matter the case once you have located a big shed the other side could be close by. Mature bucks that have a decent sized rack don’t really tolerate the weight discrepancy on their head once the first shed goes. To rid this unbalance they will try and knock it off themselves by rubbing on branches, fence, stumps, shrubs, brush piles, or anything else that might nudge the antler free.

Once you do find a big shed make sure you scan the area in a circular pattern and work your way out. Keep an eye out for material in the area that a deer might use to knock the remaining antler free. Another good tip is if you have snow on the ground and you find a big shed pick up that deer’s trail and follow it, it may lead you to the matching set.

Typically I only follow this routine when I find a big shed, smaller antlers don’t really bother bucks all that much as the weight imbalance isn’t that uncomfortable. Some smaller antlers can stay on for several weeks so searching for a matching set can be a wild goose chase.

Etiquette
If you are shed hunting on someone else’s property you should always ask the landowner if they would like any of the sheds that you find. I know this may feel like you are giving away your hard earned finds, but it is the least you can do to show your appreciation towards the landowner. If nothing else always give something as a token of your appreciation…such as a gas card, deer sticks, wine, labor, etc.

Hunt with the wind at your back
This probably sounds a bit foolish, but shed hunting with your wind at the back has a huge benefit. Not in the fashion of keeping deer from winding you, but rather from keeping your eyes clear. What happens when you walk into a cold stiff wind? Your eyes start to tear up and this can actually affect your ability to notice any sheds that may be nearby or even off in the distance. Take caution from this and try and walk with the wind to your back or at a crosswind when possible.

What to Bring With
One of the nice things about shed hunting is you don’t need a lot of gear to take with you. My essentials include:
Binoculars: For searching food plots, Ag fields, and timber both up close and at a distance.
Warm Comfortable Boots: I walk upwards of 15 miles a day when shed hunting…nothing beats warm comfy boots. Rubber boots are the best for waterproof purposes.
Warm Layered Clothing: Dress accordingly and have the ability to shed or add layers if need be. Gloves and a hat are a must! Wear a base layer that wicks away sweat from your body.
Backpack: I take a pack along with me to store food, water, and my cell phone, but it’s also great for placing my sheds so I don’t have to haul them around by hand.

Location
Location, location, location, we have all heard this phrase when it comes to buying realty and it rings true with shed hunting as well. Your main search has to be in locations that bucks frequent on the properties you will be hunting. Below are several key areas to pay attention to when looking for sheds.
Food Sources: Deer have to eat, even more so now than any other time of the year. Searching food plots, Ag fields, and hayfields are great spots to find sheds. The best thing about food sources is normally this is the easiest place to spot a shed. With little cover to hide sheds, especially big sheds, they sort of stand out like a sore thumb at times.
Bedding areas: This is a great time to get into the forbidden land on your property. A good portion of a buck’s day is spent bedded. Odds are the more time spent in one area the better chance a shed will drop in that area.
Travel routes: A deer’s life revolves around feeding and bedding…try and find the major travel routes between the bedding areas and food sources and you are likely in a good spot to find sheds.
Southern facing areas: Southern slopes, ridges, and hillsides are the first areas to receive warmth from the sun during the winter. Deer love to frequent southern facing areas to warm up while bedding or feeding.
Crossings: Areas where deer have to jump over an object are great places to find sheds. The force of jumping and landing over a fence or stream sometimes is just enough force to nudge an antler free.
Evergreen Trees: During the winter deer love to bed under evergreens to get away from the harsh winter conditions. The low lying branches can easily get caught on a buck’s antlers and knock them off.

Keep your head on swivel
I always remember my high school football coach telling us to keep our heads on a swivel. What did he mean by this? Basically he meant to keep an eye out for any potential blockers or tacklers coming from the sides or behind. The same can be said when shed hunting. When you are out searching don’t have tunnel vision, keep your head moving in all directions.

Look down
Just because you are scanning ahead of you, don’t forget to look down when you are walking. There have been too many times that I can count when sheds have been mere feet away from me before I found them.

Walk and stop every 30 yards and scan
Spot-and-stalk is not just good for the hunting seasons, but it also lends a helping hand when looking for sheds. When you are out searching be mindful of your progression and every 30-50 yards stop and look to your sides, in front of you, and behind you. What seems like a pretty easy thing to find, sheds have a mysterious way of camouflaging themselves in the easiest to find places.

Slow and steady
Possibly the best thing you can do when shed hunting is to take your time. I am willing to wager that more sheds have been left undiscovered for the sole reason of a hunter rushing through the property. There is not a race to win when shed hunting so the slower the better!

Map/grid your property
When I first started shed hunting I would aimlessly walk my property with no real organization or plan. Many of my shed hunting excursions would end with nothing in my pack. If you want to increase your finds, map or grid off your property so you leave no area un-checked. If you have a GPS a lot of units today will mark the area you walked making things nice and easy. If you don’t have the luxury of a GPS a grassroots approach is completely fine. Start in one corner of the property and walk to the other end. Then when you get to the property line walk down as far as you have scanned peripherally and walk back the opposite direction you came from. Repeat this process until you have your entire property searched. If you want to be even more thorough once you have walked for example east and west continue your search by walking north and south in the same fashion. It is a lot of walking but it is by far the most comprehensive search grid you can construct.

Bring friends and family
Not only is introducing a friend or family member to shed hunting a good idea just to promote the hobby, but it also helps to find sheds. The more eyes you have on the ground the better. When I am hunting with another person I don’t like to separate and cover different areas of the property. Instead we will walk about 20 yards apart and cover our grid. The idea behind this is what I mentioned above…the more eyes covering the same area at the same time is a much more successful approach. The only way I ever divvy up the property is if we have three or more people hunting at the same time. Even then each person has a grid to cover in their respective tract of land.

Keep track of your finds
Jotting down in a journal or marking way points on your GPS of where you found an antler is a good idea to not only remember where you found the most sheds, but it also gives you clues as to where bucks hang out during the winter so you can check the same areas next year. It is a work smarter, not harder concept.

Train your eyes
Training your eyes to find sheds may sound a bit silly, until you go out and actually try and spot a shed. A good technique for training your eyes to focus on finding sheds is to take a buddy out to your backyard or in a park somewhere with a little ground cover. Shut your eyes and instruct your friend to throw the shed in any direction. Then open your eyes and search for the shed. It’s really simple, yet effective. Having a partner helps because you don’t know where the shed might be…you have to use your eyes to find it.

Some snow is good
A light dusting of snow up to a few inches is great for shed hunting because it allows you to see travel routes of deer much more easily. As mentioned previously if you find a shed, pick up that buck’s trail and follow it until you no longer can. You can also follow a random buck track as well. I normally do this once I have covered my grid.
I have found that shed hunting becomes pretty hard with anything more than three inches of snow. Not only because of the physical effort it takes to walk through the snow, but also because it is pretty hard to find a shed when it is covered.

Put out a feeder/trap
If walking the timber isn’t your thing, but you still want to get a good idea of the bucks that made it through alive, then you can always put out a feeder or even better yet a feeder/shed trap. Shed traps are simple contraptions people make that help knock loose an antler. The photo below shows a popular shed trap design.

Above all else the main thing to focus on is to have fun! Don’t let the amount of sheds you find determine your success when out searching. What is most rewarding about shed hunting is just being outdoors and experiencing what Mother Nature has to offer this time of year. Not to mention shed hunting provides a great opportunity to learn about the deer herd on your property. If I can find a few sheds along the way that is just the icing on the cake. Lastly, take a child with you on your next shed hunting excursion. This is a perfect hobby to perk a youngster’s interest in the outdoors!