Shed Hunting Secrets from the Experts
Shed Hunting Secrets from the Experts
By Kent Boucher
Shed hunting is one of the most magical bonus gifts that nature provides to all of us hopeless outdoor addicts. Sometimes my inner dialogue exclaims “You mean to tell me there are antlers just laying around out there waiting to be picked up?! For free?!?” Yeah, it’s that good. Bucks that we saw in November, bucks that we’ve never heard of, bucks that our buddies sent us trail cam pictures of, all bucks that are still alive and don’t have some weird testosterone ailment are going to cast their antlers and just leave them for all of us shed heads to go find them. See what I mean? Magical. But as magical as it may be, it certainly isn’t easy. I’m thankful for this, because I know I care enough to put in the effort to find a couple of armloads every year, and most other folks don’t. And maybe you’re like me: you choose muddy boots over sherpa lined house slippers in late February, and you fear the confines of a living room, and maybe you are hungry to find more antlers. Over the years I have written many shed hunting articles for the Iowa Sportsman Magazine. I wouldn’t call myself a great shed hunter, but I am an obsessive one. Through the years my obsession with scooping up antlers has brought me into the paths of some folks who have found more antlers than I could ever dream to stumble across. So for this article, I won’t regurgitate the advice I’ve already written for you in past issues. This time I want to sit you down with some of the best shed hunters I know so you can learn how they find the piles I wish I had.
Caleb Drake- The Access Seeker
One of the best rules of thumb to begin an antler search with is, you can only find antlers where antlers can be found. This of course is obvious, but in my experience it’s the rule most casual shed hunters break. Caleb spends a crazy amount of time on Spartan Forge e-scouting terrain for areas that have exactly what bucks want during the antler dropping time of year. Caleb tells me he scours the map for large habitat features like big stands of timber that are in close proximity to a reliable food source, especially picked cornfields. Caleb sometimes finds these areas on public lands, but most of the time he’s identifying prime ground that is privately owned. For most folks this is where the search ends, but for Caleb it’s just begun. Caleb loves networking, he is a collegiate Cross Country and Track and Field coach so recruiting athletes and networking with other coaches is one of the most important aspects of his job. When it comes time for shed season he uses his communication skills to seek permission for looking for antlers. He is always polite, and assures the landowner that no gates will be left open, trash littered, or soggy fields driven over. He also offers help on farm projects, or even sweetens the deal with a box of donuts. He builds a relationship of generosity and trust, and is not just requesting a favor. Because of this he has gotten access to thousands of acres of incredible pieces of ground that have provided piles of sheds for his collection.
Craig Bell- The Most Dedicated Shed Hunter
Chances are if you follow hunting content on social media you have probably encountered the “Shed Hunters” page on Facebook and Instagram (@shed.hunters), or have purchased decals from www.shed-hunters.com. Craig Bell is the founder of these pages and he has picked up sheds from nearly all antlered species in North America and has picked up whitetail sheds in many of the states where they hold a population. I refer to Craig as the most dedicated shed hunter because he has passed on shooting bucks during archery season just so he can find the sheds off of that buck a few months later. Craig has also been known to camp out for a week in the vicinity of different trophy bucks while he waits for them to shed their antlers. When I asked Craig what some of his top shed hunting tactics are he sent me this list:
• Find the deer, find the antlers. Much like hunting, knowing where the deer are is the most important piece of information. Hop in the truck for evening drives to locate where the deer are feeding in crop fields during the late season. Using trail cameras is another great way to locate deer. Once you have found the deer, focus on bedding and transition areas that the deer access going to and from food sources. Look for antlers in the feeding area first, secondly follow the transition trails in and out of the food source, and then search the bedding areas.
• Use cell or standard trail cameras to minimize pressure. Oftentimes you can “bump” a deer off of the property you have permission to search by going in too soon. If you know where a good buck is living, you can use the camera(s) to monitor when he drops, and then go in and scoop up the antlers. Don’t wait too long once you know a buck has dropped though, the rodents or other shed hunters could beat you to them!
• Rainy days are great days. It’s a great idea to spend time looking for antlers on overcast or rainy days. They “stand out” more without the reflection of the sun, especially in shady areas. The water darkens and dulls the ground cover, making the lighter colored antlers more visible.
• Grid search. With the new mapping tools it’s easier than ever to follow and see where you have walked by utilizing the “Record My Track” features. You may think you have covered an area, but the map record will surprise you by showing you how much ground you may have missed when you look at your tracks. So be sure to take advantage of your mapping tools to be sure you have covered an area thoroughly.
• Once the deer have all dropped their antlers in your area it’s a good idea to go over the same places you have already searched. I will hunt the same areas once a week, especially if I know it was home to a good buck or two. Good luck and happy hiking!
Brian Krebs- The Shed Dog Handler
I met Brian at the 2023 Pheasant Fest in Minneapolis while I was manning a booth for my employer, Hoksey Native Seeds. Anyone who is interested in stopping by to talk about prairie reconstruction is automatically on my list of folks I can carry a conversation with. As the chat went on we inevitably landed on a topic that we are both passionate about, shed hunting. We shared pictures of some of our favorite finds and we talked about some general tactics we use. One of the things Brian mentioned was how he uses his dog “Griz” to help him find more sheds while he’s out looking. With this unique advantage and his impressive shed pile I asked Brian to share some of his secrets to finding more antlers. Here’s what he had to say:
“I’d say the best trick that I’ve figured out is spending more time scouting than hunting. Unless I have sentimental reasons for walking a piece of ground, I don’t spend time walking in areas unless there is an unreal amount of deer sign there. I spend hours in the truck scouting and looking for spots that have a lot of deer activity where this kind of sign might exist. When I say unreal deer sign I’m talking about areas where the snow is packed down like concrete from so many deer tracks. Once I’m out of the truck and looking over the area I move as fast as possible until I find those spots with the heavy sign, then I stop and begin grid searching the area. Having a good shed dog definitely helps with finding more sheds, but I still find 10:1 over Griz because I shed hunt open terrain mostly so I see most sheds before he does. Again, the most important tip is to spend the majority of your time scouting, and don’t be afraid to travel to find good shed hunting spots. There’s a high likelihood the public land by your house, or your back 40 isn’t going to have big numbers of deer, and therefore sheds. Great shed seasons are made in December and January in the truck, not in March and April in your boots.”
Chris Dyer- The Best Shed Hunter I Know
Longtime readers of my articles know that my previous career was spent as a Biology teacher. In the summer of 2019 I started a new job that required me to become certified for teaching AP Biology. So for a week of the summer I drove to Iowa City each day to complete the classwork I needed for this certification. While I was there I met a fellow Biology teacher from the other end of the state who is just as obsessed with whitetail deer as I am, Chris Dyer. Chris moved to Iowa to chase whitetails after completing his teaching degree in his home state of Virginia. Since that time he has tagged some incredible deer, and perhaps even more impressively he has scooped up well over a thousand whitetail sheds. Chris has taught me many of the general tactics I use to find sheds each season, but for this article I asked him to think of some of his more unique strategies to help me, and the readers find even more. Here’s Chris’ list of tips:
• Develop a search image of what a shed looks like in the woods. Before going out to look, scatter some sheds in the timber and get a feel for what they look like from different distances.
• Look for things that seem out of place on the forest floor.
• Carry a real shed with you and close your eyes and then pitch it out in the timber ahead of you or to the side of you and then try to find it. This can help you stay dialed when the search gets slow.
• Moving slowly with the sun at your back is critical. Wearing a good pair of polarized glasses that can cut down on the glare from the sun will be helpful as well.
• If you are only looking for bone white antlers you may miss the darker brown antlers out there.
• Use trail cameras after the season is over to keep tabs on bucks and when they start to drop their antlers.
• I have found in Iowa that many of the more mature bucks will drop before younger bucks.
• Most importantly spend time shed hunting where bucks wintered!!! Otherwise it is going to be a lot tougher to find sheds.
• Be prepared to come up empty handed most days. Shed hunting is challenging. Enjoy being outside and stretching your legs.
Well there you have it, some great tips from four great shed hunters. I hope you can apply at least some of these unique strategies to find a few extra sheds this spring. I know I will.