Finding any sheds?
Contributors to this thread:Massachusetts
From: Deerdawg
16-Feb-20
There’s one!
There’s one!
Went back to an area that I got a nice 8 in and circled the piece through thickets and swamps to find this one about 40 yards from where he dropped in the swamp. My son got a chocolate lab and we are trying to get him retrieving the bone lotta work, great pup. U wanta get in shape get a dog! Hahaha Good luck lookin!
From: Deerdawg
17-Feb-20
The one I could not find
The one I could not find
Was bummed when I couldn’t find him in Archery. We found him in muzzle with a few yotes still chewin on him.
From: Deerdawg
17-Feb-20
Trying to keep busy over the winter. Tanned this yote hide a few weeks ago, not sure if he is going to be a hat, bow quiver or wall hanger. Decent coat lotta black
From: mattthehairy
17-Feb-20
No sheds for me yet. I've been taking out my pup but so far all he's brought back is stiff pieces of rabbit from coyote or bobcat kills.
From: Deerdawg
17-Feb-20
That’s a start , Getting him out there is what matters. I had a blast . I cut up a few old drops for him to chew on. Some good videos out there they make it look easy , it takes a lot of training. It’s like hunting every time out with a dog is an adventure that you just can’t predict!
From: Huntskifishcook
17-Feb-20
Not a single shed for me yet. Although I don't really specifically look for them, just stumble upon them while post season scouting.
Nice looking pelt, Dawg!
From: Deerdawg
18-Feb-20
HKFC I tend to set a coarse and concentrate on swamps and thick cover. Machete in one hand and a walking stick in the other. It makes moving through thick cover easier using them to split thickets and briars Go where you don’t normally go is my motto. Thanks I used a F&S tanning process with alum. It’s easy to do once you have the hide off and flesh it. Clean it with joy. Rinse good. Soak in alum in plastic pale for 7 days mix daily. Take out stretch to dry. Coat with a mixture of neats foot oil and ammonia let soak in. Then you stretch it to turn subtle. I use a metal disc on end of a handle with an good edge but not sharp and press it down on hide and push away. This process softens the hide to be more like leather. stitch up holes before you process. I’ve done it a few times now. The hair retention is pretty good. I haven’t tryed any other process. Good Luck!
From: fran
18-Feb-20
I do the same thing with the machete and walking stick. My stick is a Y at one end it makes it easy to push briers to the side. So far no bone.
From: Deerdawg
19-Feb-20
Yea Fran, I like to have a sharp machete with me for opening up game trails as I go. The stick trick I just started using and it does work great it thick cover. You don’t leave scent on everything you would usually touch with hands. Helps keep your balance as well. You can move through whips or briar much faster with less machete work. I like it when the swamps freeze up so I can get way back in areas that are usually not acessable. We have no snow cover in south shore so my bushwhack skis I have not used. With 6-8 “ of snow they are fun to use in the back swamps as well.
From: MiguelTheFirst
20-Feb-20
My birthday is Sunday and I was thinking of asking of a nice hatchet or hand saw but now a Machete and a stick is sounding nice.
From: Deerdawg
20-Feb-20
M1 I’ve had a few machetes Some of the more expensive ones aren’t so good. Gerber The steel sucks and the edge bevel is ground to steep. The steel will wrinkle when chopping into a thick / hard limb. I re ground it, to salvage it. Best one I had was the cheapest. Make sure you have a rope on it to loop your hand to it. I like a rubber glove to prevent hand slipage. The long ones. Are more dangerous they reach your toes easier. Always cut away from you, be very careful bring duck tape and rag ! Just in case.
From: fran
20-Feb-20
Great advice dawg. A fun thing about it is making your own stick. I am always looking for stick as I shed hunt I really like making them kinda fun.
From: Dale Rheaume
20-Feb-20
I like the Y stick idea fran. It can be used as a "stalking stick" too! I recently read Real-World Whitetail Behavior by Jim Roy, and he promotes using a stick to stalk in close to deer. He uses it to mimic a deer's rhythm as he walks in the woods. Bipedal movement is swish.swish.swish.swish, and a deer's movement is swish.swish....swish.swish. With the stick hitting the ground in proper timing with the foot, you can mimic the sound of just another deer as the author suggests. I haven't tried it yet, but I will be practicing tomorrow and adding it to my repertoire next season to hopefully gain an edge.
From: MiguelTheFirst
21-Feb-20
Gonna go to Bass Pro tonight to see what they have for machetes and hatchets
From: MiguelTheFirst
21-Feb-20
Gonna go to Bass Pro tonight to see what they have for machetes and hatchets
From: Wapiti or Bust
21-Feb-20
Don’t forget Sierra.com
From: Wapiti or Bust
21-Feb-20
This is all I got. Swamp in Millis. I have put some serious effort in.
From: Deerdawg
22-Feb-20
Lil button buck. Yea I was out yesterday afternoon scouting a new spot in a swamp stand I have, opening up runs and shooting lanes , lots of sign no sheds. I cut and started to make a horizontal rub pole. Going to give it a go, try it to see if it works. I could not find a scotch pine so I used a cedar pole. Lot of trees blown down. Going out to blow off the black powder and clean them up for next season.
From: Snake8
22-Feb-20
Second on the gerber sucks, dont waste your money. I cant get it to hold an edge for more than a couple cuts. My old army machete is great but it has a chink in it, but it sharpens up nicely and holds an edge. I did some travelling in the tropics/jungle and everyone carries a sharpening stone. Its pretty amazing what someone with skills can do with a machete.
From: Arrownoob
22-Feb-20
Deerdawg- for what it’s worth the YouTube video I saw the guy put his horiz. Rub posts in the winter then said he was waiting till aug-sept to put he horizontal piece in. I’m not sure why- maybe it has to be fresh wood? I’m curious your results at the first sign p,ease make a post about it.
From: MiguelTheFirst
23-Feb-20
I got a Fiskar Hatchet and a Coleman Machete. I tried the machete yesterday and to my surprise the edge didnt rollover, I just gotta sharpen it now to see what it really can do.
From: MiguelTheFirst
23-Feb-20
The machete
The machete
From: fran
23-Feb-20
I have the same hatchet and really like it the case is handy.
From: Deerdawg
23-Feb-20
I’ll clamp the machete on the edge of bench and used a sharp file and hit each side, to put a sharp edge on it. Only takes a few minutes. Much safer when sharp. You will struggle with a dull blade and get sloppy. Anob Yea I want to set a few horizontal rubs up see if they work , I got some bailing wire its finding the scotch pine limb that’s tricky. That’s the type of wood the guy in the video said works. I’m thinking that aromatic cedar may be an option for I have seen them rub the trees!
From: Arrownoob
23-Feb-20
Deer dawg- I think they only work good in the autumn season gearing up for rut. I have an idea- go to a spot you don’t hunt, find a rub, and cut the whole tree. Take it to your horizontal spot it will have some scent already on it and proven to be a species preferred by a buck already.
From: chuckwagon
25-Feb-20
You can't find them on the ground if they haven't dropped, yet. My buddy sent me this pic of 2 bucks in Hingham that still have their racks. I will wait a couple weeks before any shed hunting, not that I have the time...
From: SloMo
25-Feb-20
I saw three Bucks in my town yesterday and they still had horns too.
From: 8's or Better
25-Feb-20
With the mild winter in Eastern MA most bucks are still hard horned. They are having no problems finding food so they are less stressed and still have Antlers
From: MiguelTheFirst
25-Feb-20
Yea I would barely call what we have gotten a winter. Almost makes me think that drastic Climate change is for real, almost lol
From: Arrownoob
25-Feb-20
Why didn’t you guys tell me this four weeks ago? Woulda saved a lot of effort...
From: Ungie01201
26-Feb-20
One got hit by a car here in zone 3 earlier this week that still had his rack on.
From: SloMo
26-Feb-20
Does anyone have any idea if they will keep the horns they have not dropped . Will they keep growing. Could be a lot of records broken .
From: Proline
26-Feb-20
No they wont keep them. Not uncommon to see them carry into March.