Shed hunting
Contributors to this thread:Massachusetts
From: Will
22-Jan-17
Shed hunted a little today and got lucky ?. Lots of sign in this z6 area (a no hunting area i like to shed hunt in) and a fresh scrape - surprised by that!
From: spike78
23-Jan-17
Awesome Will. Looks like they are having fun!
From: BQP
23-Jan-17
agreed, nice finds right there. haven't done any looking yet myself as the cams are showing the bone still holding tight here in southern zone 9. can hardly wait though...
From: bowandspear
23-Jan-17
Nice job Will, I have been out at least twice a week with my kids or alone and no finds yet.
From: Will
23-Jan-17
They got lucky. Took me years and years and years to find one... Best part was just getting to walk through the woods with em. Every rock is a pirate ship or something and every ledgy overhang a cave with dinosaurs. Gotta love the brains of 5 year olds :)
From: XMan
23-Jan-17
Will, I went out this weekend looking for sheds and had 5 ticks on my pants when I got back to my truck. I am sure you are careful with the little ones, but make sure you change their clothes top to toe when you get home. My son got Lyme when he was little after taking a walk with me. Luckily I caught it early.
From: Wardens Worry
23-Jan-17
I second the tick concern. Went out to hang a camera yesterday afternoon have never seen so many ticks. Out for no more than 20 minutes and literally covered. 15+. Be vigilant.
From: DEERSHOOTER77
24-Jan-17
The wife and I been living in the woods, shed hunting, ticks are sooooo bad. Be careful out there and good luck!
From: BQP
24-Jan-17
where abouts were these found. in oak feeding grounds, thick bedding, southern hill...?
From: Will
24-Jan-17
BQP - SW slope, heavily acorn laden open oak forest above a wintering area along a river which is heavily covered in hemlocks. It's wildlife preserve land, so unhuntable, but I love to antler hunt there because it's ideal wintering habitat.
Interesting to hear you guys say that about ticks, I've seen very few both this past fall, and so far this winter. We had none on us the other day. This area is in north east Z6, actually I take it back, it's in western Z5 - right on the line with 6. Where are you all seeing all the ticks? Maybe it's just been a little colder out that way (where I was and here 30' north of Worcester as well).
Will
From: Wardens Worry
24-Jan-17
Zone 11.
From: Fatkid1979
24-Jan-17
Will, It looks like fun. Glad you are sharing and enjoying it with your kids. I'll have to ask mine if they want to go do it too.
From: BQP
24-Jan-17
cool thanks Will. I ran into some ticks this past weekend just checking a camera in southern zone 9. hadn't seen any since fall up until this past weekend. Time to be more vigilant for sure.
From: primal
25-Jan-17
Good morning,
New member, new to bow hunting, not new to hunting.
I was out shed hunting 2 weeks ago and came across this single & a femur(?) The Femur was nearby, no other bones.
RE: ticks, I have had great success protecting me & my son using the Sawyer permethrin spray, yellow bottle, from Walmart.
From: BmurphyJr
25-Jan-17
That's awesome, primal. The color on that shed is way cool.
From: Z11Hunter
25-Jan-17
I've been hunting for 20+ years and found my first shed this season. I didn't harvest a Buck this year, so this was a nice bonus for all of the time spent in the woods. Found this in the Plymouth area. Minor victory - as I was walking through a low thick hollow piece, I thought to myself "I bet the Bucks prefer to take that ridge" and after walking up there, I immediately found this. Question for you guys - do sheds typically get eaten by animals each year? If this is the case, is it likely this shed belongs to a Buck who dropped it in 2016? I keep threatening to head back to that ridge to look for the match. Question #2 - do they typically drop both sheds near each other, or can this happen days/weeks apart? -Jake
From: MassBucks
25-Jan-17
Nice job guys!! Will, I'm sure that was a pretty cool experience. I took my son out for his first shed hunt when he was about 5 months old in his front carrier. We ended up finding a matching set under a hemlock 20 minutes into our hike. I was pumped. I am currently making him a frame to display the sheds on his wall. Jake, a lot of animals eat sheds. Everything from squirrels, mice, porcupine, raccoons, to coyote and fox. From the looks of that pic that looks like this years drop. They can shed their antlers the same second or weeks apart. I'd get back up on the ridge and look for the match.
From: Z11Hunter
25-Jan-17
.Awesome pic. He will appreciate that later
From: Will
26-Jan-17
Awesome Mass bucks! Love it. I've only found one matching set. They typically fall within a day or two of each other... but now and then you get lucky and a deer drops them at the same time.
From: DEERSHOOTER77
26-Jan-17
We are out every day, still on their heads........
From: DeanMan
26-Jan-17
Great finds guys! Best of all is spending time with the kids in the great outdoors!
From: LungBuster
27-Jan-17
I stumbled upon this old shed this past season on my way to set up my stand. First shed ive ever found, didnt keep it tho still have yet to harvest one but got nice little spot that holds a nice 6
From: Cougar
29-Jan-17
does anyone know if there is a check in / registration system for claiming "dead heads" ? cant find anything on it...
From: troutfanatic24
31-Jan-17
Will, I think I know exactly where you were looking, its definitely a well known area if it's the same place I know. They do love wintering it there though. I found a stud of a 10pt side in there 3 years ago and a nice 8pt side too. I spent several other days in there looking for the other side but never found it.
From: DEERSHOOTER77
01-Feb-17
The wife and I at 4 so far and many miles. Big 1/2 10, match 8 and old 10. Tough game, Get in the swamps and ridges... 20 year game for us, love it!
From: DEERSHOOTER77
06-Feb-17
Spent last 4 days in the woods, 7 sheds so far, some old. PUMPED...
From: Will
06-Feb-17
Well done Deershooter - that's an impressive haul for sure! Way to go!
From: BmurphyJr
06-Feb-17
Wow Deershoooter, that is awesome. What zone are you in?
From: DEERSHOOTER77
06-Feb-17
Zone 10 and 11. The wife and I are animals... Live in the outdoors and respect all our fellow hunters! Retired law enforce. and MARINE vet. After 26 years in uniform, time to get every day in the woods. Hope all our fellow hunters score big this year! Those who know us, we are the REAL deal... Fresh air, equals a good day, thanks guys and girls!
From: DeanMan
06-Feb-17
Deershooter, that is fantastic!!!! But most of all thank for your many years of service. You can't beat the outdoors,i actually just got back from a 12.3 mile hike threw one of our local state trails, did not find any sheds but seen plenty of deer and Turkey tracks.
From: BQP
06-Feb-17
deershooter, hope we get to see some pics of you and your wife's haul eventually.
From: jm255
13-Feb-17
Must be nice to be retired! Haha
Must be nice to be retired! Haha
From: Fatkid1979
13-Feb-17
So I haven't gone shed hinting, but would like to take the kids. Would I be wasting our time going out with all the snow on the ground? I'm thinking that unless they shed in the last day or so, I'm not finding anything. Thoughts?
From: BruceP
13-Feb-17
At this point I would wait until the snow melts. However, it may be easier to find bedding areas with snow on the ground. And I'd assume those would be a decent place to start shed hunting from since they probably spend a decent amount of time there. But I'm certainly no expert so someone else may have a more experienced take on it.
From: DEERSHOOTER77
14-Feb-17
Great job out there, its so hard to find a shed. The wife and I are at 7 for the year and now bummed out with the snow, gonna be a while!
From: Will
14-Feb-17
I'd go snow shoe round to see where the deer are hanging out a lot and feeding. Note that, and when the snow is melted go back. You can find em with the deep snow if they fall into a spot where the deer are feeding, but it's tough. But, using the fresh sign as a guide to finding shed's pays. I found an awesome nontypical shed several years ago that way - saw the sign in the snow while XC skiing and snow shoeing, went back in the spring and poked round as soon as snow melt happened and found 3 - a spike, a small 4pt side (4tines) and a big non typical antler.
From: xi
14-Feb-17
Kid, go now with the Kids ! Grab a book of matches, pack of Hot Dogs, and a bag of Marshmallows. Go for a hike and "Pretend" your lost. See if you can get the fire going enough to cook lunch and then the best part, marshmallows ! Dont forget the knife to make cooking sticks and a zip lock bag for trash. We do it all the time, actually the kids call it a"Death March" and every time they predict snow they ask if there is no school can we go. Be careful though, if they have to much fun, they want to invite every one of thier friends and the marshmallow tab adds up quick. Get out and enjoy anytime you can ! P.S.- Sorry to hijack the thread, Wayne.
From: myhandle
20-Feb-17
anyone had any luck finding sheds in z11. Went out today got nothing
From: DEERSHOOTER77
22-Feb-17
The wife and I are living in the woods. Zones 9, 10, and 11. We are up to 12 sheds...
From: Cougar
22-Feb-17
its been tough around me in Z11, minimal acorn drop has them browsing on buds and wandering a lot rather than hitting the same knoll day after day. That and any shed that falls on a field edge has probably had a half dozen people and dogs walk by it especially as nice as its been. Hard to get to the easy ones first, unless you have some ground to yourself. I would also say I'm careful about leaving track into the areas I plan to hunt next fall... not that I wouldn't love some help dragging ;)
From: mgbhunt
26-Feb-17
Got this beauty today...cant believe how heavy it is!!! I searched area for a good 30 minutes after finding it, but couldn't find its match. I'll try again next weekend. Seems pretty fresh to me. I'm in z11
From: mgbhunt
26-Feb-17
Got this beauty today...cant believe how heavy it is!!! I searched area for a good 30 minutes after finding it, but couldn't find its match. I'll try again next weekend. Seems pretty fresh to me. I'm in z11
From: BQP
26-Feb-17
that's a nice one. looks like that one was in an oak knoll. I put in about 6 hours of searching this weekend with the dog. didn't find any sheds but did come across lots of deer sign, some real nice rubs and scrapes from the rut, the back half of a squirrel, a freshly dead mouse, a small circular area where it looked like a little bird exploded, and an old skull from some sort of predator. lol. checked my cameras and had a few bucks still holding antlers up till at least last weekend...
From: Cougar
01-Mar-17
found one! from two years ago but i think i saw this guy crossing the road this october hopefully he's still around next fall, should be 5 or 6 by then from what i can tell
From: bass
03-Mar-17
Looks like you have a good spot next fall mgb!
From: Lt100
08-Apr-17
So far this year I have only found one shed, and it had been laying there for a long time. The rodents had been really working on it. Today I was running the dog in zone 11 and found this one. Not a single chew mark and a pretty decent antler. Finally!
From: clink
10-Apr-17
Dead Head buck
From: bowandspear
12-Apr-17
Clink that is a dandy. Man, it would have been nice to have a crack at him during the season.
From: clink
12-Apr-17
Yup..had him on cam too
From: Buckwild4619
13-Apr-17
found 3 feet apart
From: Moons22
14-Apr-17
Wow!!!
From: BQP
14-Apr-17
moons summed that up pretty well!!! Heck of a trophy find! that dead head find is insane too! nice job guys. I gotta make some time and get back out there before green up soon...
From: EBow10
14-Apr-17
Wow is right that will be a hell of a deer to go for this season!!!!
From: BQP
17-Apr-17
Managged to make a little time to shed hunt on saturday.was rewarded with this turkey leg shed. Lol. Was strange not a single feather or other sign around, just this slightly dried out leg. Then tried another bedding area and found a small old half an 8 pointer shed. Excited to finally get on the board this year
From: BQP
17-Apr-17
From: clink
01-May-17
Don't mind the floral blanket... Match set a foot apart last Friday while scouting.
From: clink
01-May-17
