Shed hunting advice

[rasbo]

on the wetside I find them in the areas they go to after the rut,thick stuff and dark timber which also happens  to be where I scout for bears...

[ICEMAN]

For Muleys, I look at areas where bucks will bed in the absolute wide open, areas of hills which curve out and if you were bedded there...you could see in all directions, no risk of a cougar finding you asleep... These areas are not usually on the heavily treaded areas and not always covered with browse... I felt that nap time was a good time for a shed to drop cause the deer spend actual time there...not moving all over hill and dale....  I feel that fewer deer hunter and shed hunters are going to walk way out into the open like this to look for a shed, and they just follow trails.....   Good for me!

I also never walk trails. I rather parallel trails and try to hike at a distance where the crown of the hill would have precluded someone walking the trail from seeing a shed on the ground. My ankles pay for doing this but it is worth it...

Use binocs. Move slow. Look and hike to the most difficult areas. Enjoy the crap out of the day.

[carpsniperg2]

i find allot of mine along our fence lines

[bow4elk]

Great advice all.  I try to start big picture, then continually narrow my focus based on food, cover, weather, rutting areas, travel routes, and bedding areas.  I've never done all that well on blacktail sheds.  I probably average 2-5 per year and I work for every one!  I know some guys who do 30-50 blacktail sheds per year without dogs.  Not sure how they do that without living in the reprod for months on end.

In contrast, during one elk season in New Mexico I found over 30 mulie sheds, but kept 26 since some were really old and chewed.  And I wasn't even looking for sheds.  The open country and migratory animals are key to this sort of success.

I know I walk over, past, and literally on top of many blacktail sheds each spring.  While standing knee-deep in salal and oregon grape, if I look down and can't see my own feet, finding sheds will be tough.  My hunting partner literally kicked a huge blacktail shed last spring while we were shed hunting for elk sheds on the Oregon coast.  It was a year old and was as fresh as the day it dropped because it sat under a canopy of salal in the big timber.  Binos are often useless over here.

When you do find one, it's a quick payoff that pacifies you for a minute or two.  Then you shift to thinking about how many more hours may be ahead before you find another one. 

[billythekidrock]

For blacktails I like to look for feed/bedding trails and then work my way around hill tops and draws. I look for creek/trail/road crossings where they may have to jump as well as the edges of really thick stuff where they may have to go under over hanging branches.

[CastleRocker]

Great thread!  Definately use your binocs.  I use mine in the timber, looking across those little draws in the timber.  I spotted a big bull shed last spring that was inly 30 yards away on the other side of a creek and draw, got over there, and couldn't find it, looked back across at my wife and kids and they were laughing at me so hard they couldn't even talk!  I was within a couple feet and couldn't see it.  Boot time!  Especially over in this wet jungle side!

[Lowedog]

One of my favorite glassing techniques is to scan across terrain, like when you are a steep hillside and you can scan almost at eye level.  You can see things sticking up that you might not from a more straight on angle.

I spotted these tines sticking out of the snow from about 200 yards. 




I found this one laying on the stump in the middle of a big patch of buck brush from a couple hundred yards through the binos also.


This one I almost stepped on.    Found the match bleached white a year later 50 yards away and had spent countless hours looking for it.  It was in tall grass and I had walked within feet of it and not seen it. 




This one I was only about 20 yards from but in the trees it looked like all the sticks that were sticking up through the snow.  I was scanning along under the trees with my binos and found it. 

[boneaddict]

Cool finds and nice pics Lowe.

[rasbo]

like that pic with the vally view

[ICEMAN]

Sometimes I like to spend a bit of time hanging out where I find the shed. Here I set up my stove to cook up some coffee and soup for lunch during my deer hunt.

Sort of a cool older chewed shed here... and I need to go back cause I left my deer drag rope there after lunch.... Oh well....

[Smokepole]

Nice shed pics everyone.

This is the first set of blacktail sheds I've ever found.  I found both together in a deer bed while I was hunting during the 2009 late hunt.  I think the reason I found them is because I was tracking and looking for sign on the ground.  I've spent years hiking miles and miles on the west side, but never found a blacktail shed.  Found lots of muley sheds in Methow Valley.  Anyhow, both horns were within 3 feet of each other.  Cute little set, I keep over the fireplace now.

[bow4elk]

Sometimes I like to spend a bit of time hanging out where I find the shed. Here I set up my stove to cook up some coffee and soup for lunch during my deer hunt.

Sort of a cool older chewed shed here... and I need to go back cause I left my deer drag rope there after lunch.... Oh well....

My PBJs are nearly unrecognizable after a few hours in the pack...nice job.  I love setting up shop like that now and then.  Coffee just tastes better that way too.

[Deep Forks]

like that pic with the vally view

  Nice sheds Lowe.  I was up and found a few one drainage
N West of you.  Can almost see my house in that pic.  I glass quite a few bucks on those ridges, great winter ground.  Happy hunting and if you see size 12 air bob soles it was probably me.    

[Lowedog]

like that pic with the vally view

  Nice sheds Lowe.  I was up and found a few one drainage
N West of you.  Can almost see my house in that pic.  I glass quite a few bucks on those ridges, great winter ground.  Happy hunting and if you see size 12 air bob soles it was probably me.    

Didn't happen to find the match to that one did you?    I think that was 3 years ago.  I spent most of the spring on that ridge.  Doesn't look it in the pic but that is an 80" antler.