quick shed hunting question

[RoyBoy]

 

[Alan K]

None of the above . . . Except trails I guess. . . 20ish year old reprod.

[notellumcreek]

anywhere.

[shedted]

edges of fields, game trails, fence lines

[ICEMAN]

What animal? Deer? Regular deer?

[RoyBoy]

Blacktail and Roosevelt

[birdstew]

Where ever you find poop follow it. Then you know there are animals. There is no real good answer. 

[pat2bear]

Wherever everyone else isn't. 

[ICEMAN]

RoyBoy, this isn't working for you.

How about you sharing with us what you have tried so far?

[blackveltbowhunter]

All of the places you posted are good spots just depends on the situation.

   Are you wanting to shed hunt the areas you hunt? or looking for new areas? If you already have areas to hunt with animals, and you know those animals habits, I would start there. The next piece I would put together is where those animals winter. While you may not be in a "migratory" area, and many of areas you hunt will still hold animals. IMHO many animals adjust their core areas slightly based on food preferences. Obviously as with most sign this is most readily seen in elk, due to their size and nature, but I believe Blacktails do it as well.

   BT buck sheds are my most prized, as these are the hardest for me to find. Not Benchies, or klick bucks. But the bucks that live in clearcuts, alder bottoms, fern covered hillsides, and blackberry choked draws covered in ten year old reprod. The guys I know of that do very well use a dog.The next best is running trailcams year round and locating prime food sources in jan/feb time frame. From there branch out to locate bedding areas. Remember bucks are very active at night, so hunting sheds in areas you have never actually seen a buck while hunting can be beneficial if the buck is using that area at night. It can also be difficult to mentally shift gears, until you find a couple sheds in open cuts, roads and ridgelines. Where you would swear no self respecting blacktail would ever be caught. I find that timing with blacktails is less important than knowledge of area and persistence.

   Elk are a little easier since they are generally more visible. Again use your hunting skills to map out feeding and bedding areas around the time the bulls will shed. In this case strategy comes into play. If the elk are fairly visible and known, (think popular wintering areas) then timing becomes important. Because pressure will have antlers picked and/or animals moved to different locations. If they are less visible and little chance others will shed the area. Watch and wait. if you can keep tabs on the bulls all the better, if not wait until you are sure they have shed to go in and risk bumping them. As the antlers will be close. Again trailcams are a huge benefit, and several guys I know that use them have excellent luck. Good luck to ya.

[Bonedar208]

Hit all of it.  Spend some time finding out where the animals hang out. than you will have the question to your own answer.  Every drainage for every different area yields different results. Honestly when it comes to looking for bones your best bet is to just start pounding the hills.  No one seems to like hearing that when they ask questions like that...but its the truth.

[bear nature]

start with south facing slopes then look near water, for some reason they always go for water after shedding. I always look any where the animal has to jump over logs, fences and other obsticles, I also have a dog that finds tons of them for me.  always looking for shed hunting buddies

[Halo]

I agree with Alan K for Blacktail & Rosevelts hit the reprod.

[Dbax129]

So I go out and scout for areas, follow old rub lines and any game trails between feeding and bedding areas, through reprod and clearcuts. I have only been looking for a couple years, and haven't found a single shed. I think ya'll are lying. Its gotta be voodoo magic. Ya'll probably have magic 8 balls or dowsing rods made from deer bones or something crazy like that.  West sider here too.  It can't be done. But I will keep trying! Maybe I will find an old warlock out there in some deep, dark, god forsaken draw who will grant me the power to find blacktail sheds. That's probably the only way for me. I would recommend you do the same.