Shed Hunting...

[TheElusiveCoot]

Hey Guys, never done much shed hunting but am looking into trying my hand in it....any tips? anything you generally look for when picking out a spot? best techniques for searching an area?

 

[BHC]

It's kinda like fishing. 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water.
They are gunna be where deer spend the most time! Bedding, feeding, and in between the two... On our property I never shed hunt in hard woods. I check plots, and walk thickets, and major funnels. Be realistic with expectations, if you have 100 acres there may only be a couple sheds on the whole place, then again there may be 10.. Expect to come home empty handed some.. Even guys with good antler dogs do... To me it's just a good time to be outside w my dog, and you may find a nice one, or one from the buck your gunna kill next yr....

 

[Shed Hunter]

Sheds can be anywhere. Most people fail to see them on hardwoods ridges, but they are there. Deer bed on ridges. Walk trails, fence lines, creeks, thickets.. Pretty much everything. If you are linited to a small property especially look it all.

 

[bbuck14]

What they said. But the best time to look for them is on a cloudy day. You'll spot them a lot easier then you will on a sunny day when everything shines.

 

[Shed Hunter]

What they said. But the best time to look for them is on a cloudy day. You'll spot them a lot easier then you will on a sunny day when everything shines.

Especially when walking into the sun. In that case I occasionally look behind me.

 

[medic]

I like to walk along narrow creeks and pay attention to trails that cross the creek. When the deer jump and land on the other side a lot of times it will jar the antler lose. I have found a couple nice ones that way. Pine thickets are good also the low hanging branches will nock the loose antler off.

 

[Inkstainz]

Some folks set up "traps" to catch them but I think it's too late in the year to be effective.

 

[catman529]

I never overlook hardwoods, have found sheds there before. but thick areas and travel routes and anywhere the bucks may have been walking, bedding or feeding should be scoured. Use your eyes, sometimes they are hard to spot and often you will only see a tine, beam, pedicle etc. so don't go looking for a whole antler or you will miss the hidden ones.

 

[CAW]

In my experience, they can be virtually anywhere on your property. But food plots, thickets and fence crossings seem to be the top spots. Also, if you find one shed make sure you spend a good bit of time in that general area, sometimes the other shed won't be far. And then again, sometimes they won't drop the other one for days or even weeks. You just never know and that's what makes it fun. Traps? Not a fan.

Hunting sheds is like an easter egg hunt for hunters. Finding them is a blast, especially a really good one.

Now, if you want to have A LOT of fun shed hunting do this - Go and get your hands on the biggest shed you can find. Then, head to your best friend's farm when he's not there and plant it. Arrange a shed hunting trip with him and "lead" him in the right direction. Get your iphone out and film his reaction. It's like buying one of those fake lottery tickets. Too much fun!

 

[catman529]

In my experience, they can be virtually anywhere on your property. But food plots, thickets and fence crossings seem to be the top spots. Also, if you find one shed make sure you spend a good bit of time in that general area, sometimes the other shed won't be far. And then again, sometimes they won't drop the other one for days or even weeks. You just never know and that's what makes it fun. Traps? Not a fan.

Hunting sheds is like an easter egg hunt for hunters. Finding them is a blast, especially a really good one.

Now, if you want to have A LOT of fun shed hunting do this - Go and get your hands on the biggest shed you can find. Then, head to your best friend's farm when he's not there and plant it. Arrange a shed hunting trip with him and "lead" him in the right direction. Get your iphone out and film his reaction. It's like buying one of those fake lottery tickets. Too much fun!

got any such videos to share?

 

[deerhunter10]

I find most of mine in fence crossing and thicket areas. also on the edges of food plots. shed hunting seems much easier then it is you've got to train your eye for them. I am going to train a dog here within the next few years and I am excited about that. don't go out and expect to find 10 sheds for most people a good day is 2 or 3. what amazes me is that I spend hours upon hours turkey hunting and I have never found one while turkey hunting. but I know a lot of people that wait and shed hunt while they turkey hunt. but fence crossing is where I find 90 percent of my sheds.

 

[CAW]

In my experience, they can be virtually anywhere on your property. But food plots, thickets and fence crossings seem to be the top spots. Also, if you find one shed make sure you spend a good bit of time in that general area, sometimes the other shed won't be far. And then again, sometimes they won't drop the other one for days or even weeks. You just never know and that's what makes it fun. Traps? Not a fan.

Hunting sheds is like an easter egg hunt for hunters. Finding them is a blast, especially a really good one.

Now, if you want to have A LOT of fun shed hunting do this - Go and get your hands on the biggest shed you can find. Then, head to your best friend's farm when he's not there and plant it. Arrange a shed hunting trip with him and "lead" him in the right direction. Get your iphone out and film his reaction. It's like buying one of those fake lottery tickets. Too much fun!

got any such videos to share?

I'll have to check. I used to do them on my phone from time to time but I don't know if I ever saved any of them to my computer. (This was before I started making videos).

I will try to pull it off again during turkey season and if I do, I will post it here. Some of the reactions have been priceless!

 

[catman529]

In my experience, they can be virtually anywhere on your property. But food plots, thickets and fence crossings seem to be the top spots. Also, if you find one shed make sure you spend a good bit of time in that general area, sometimes the other shed won't be far. And then again, sometimes they won't drop the other one for days or even weeks. You just never know and that's what makes it fun. Traps? Not a fan.

Hunting sheds is like an easter egg hunt for hunters. Finding them is a blast, especially a really good one.

Now, if you want to have A LOT of fun shed hunting do this - Go and get your hands on the biggest shed you can find. Then, head to your best friend's farm when he's not there and plant it. Arrange a shed hunting trip with him and "lead" him in the right direction. Get your iphone out and film his reaction. It's like buying one of those fake lottery tickets. Too much fun!

got any such videos to share?

I'll have to check. I used to do them on my phone from time to time but I don't know if I ever saved any of them to my computer. (This was before I started making videos).

I will try to pull it off again during turkey season and if I do, I will post it here. Some of the reactions have been priceless!

thats awesome I'd love to see a video if you can come up with one.

 

[TheLBLman]

Interesting how some of us find them mostly at fence crossings, others elsewhere. I seem to find the most in bedding areas. But then, I have relatively few fences. Bedding areas with or near lots of honeysuckle can be great places to find sheds suspended above the ground, even if only by a few inches. They're not always on the ground.