Deer Sheds yet???

[Meat-Run]

Anybody seeing anymore sheds? There was talk about this happening around the 1st of the year but was wondering if anybody has seen anymore?

Too just trying to keep this forum from getting dusty!

mr

[WaveWacker]

Got a matched set last Friday (1-26). He still had them on the previous Monday. Both of them not more then 6" away from each other. Nothing huge but a decent 2 1/2 year old 8 point.

[Bigrig]

I was heading to the woods last week to cut firewood saw a six point buck with one side missing . First time ever that I have seen this . Will start looking for shed's now .

[BiffleFan]

I was out coyote gunning and came across about 40 deer off the side of some nature conservancy yesterday. Out of all the deer one had about a 130" rack still on his head.

[jkcmj]

I just saw two half racks yesterday, so they are a droppin! I usually find 8-10 a year with my best 1 day total of 5 last year. A friend in Iowa puts out a couple of truckloads of corn in hot deer areas so he can concentrate the sheds they find. He picked up 180 sheds last year.

[MIKE IN lINO III]

Had an eight point at the feeder last night, still had both sides.

Mike

[jkcmj]

All the talk of sheds, so I went out 2 hours yesterday and found my 1st of the year! 58.5 inch left side 4 point. Pretty cool, just out in the field I had counted 15 deer in last night.

[KatoMike]

Had a ten pointer out back of the house the last two nights. Some of the smaller bucks I had been seeing have dropped their antlers, though.

[96trigger]

Talked to my uncle last night. He has three big bucks eating out of his corn bin , horns still attached. Thats OK< too cold to look for sheds right now anyway.

[jkcmj]

I was just down in Cedar Rapids Iowa today and found a nice 8 point set of antlers. Rough measure makes it 140 inch buck. Best set I've ever found. No chews. Must have been dropped just before the last heavy snow as just the antler tips were sticking out.

[bigreddog]

If you want to find deer sheds, try stretching some chain link fence (or something similar) between two posts over a feeder or corn pile leaving just enough room for the deer to get their heads under. When the antlers are loose they will get caught in the fencing and fall off, either getting caught in the fencing or falling into the corn. Last year, one of my buddies got eight matching sets and a few half racks.

[MNpurple]

I'm sure that works, and have heard of people doing this before, but what happens if a buck whoose antlers ARE NOT ready to drop gets caught in the fence, that could be a terrible thing. Nothing so far this year...

If I'm going to do something like this I would put bait in a natural tangle such as a thick patch of prickly ash or heavy briars so the buck still has to stick his head into something and knock his antlers around, but not something he isnt acustomed to or wouldnt be able to get out of. At any rate, I get more information and pleasure out of hoofing it and learning what trail or field a buck may have been using when they dropped.

[bigreddog]

This is true, I have never had a problem with that, but it is a valid point. I also like walking through the woods. This just offers another way to collect sheds beside the ones you collect from your walks through the woods.

[critterman]

have pictures of a 6 pointer on friday the 16th still had both sides.

[setterguy]

Been taking the dogs out in a couple of WMA's and casually shed hunting and haven't seen anything yet. What areas do you concentrate on when shed hunting? Bedding, eating, transisitons?

[onthejob2]

What you want to do is develop a plan before heading out. Start by locating the bedding and feeding areas. Next work your way between the two areas. Remember keep your head down and never give up!

[uptracker]

Here's one I found a while back. All I saw were the tips, had to dig it outta 8 inches of snow:

[jkcmj]

Thought I'd post a couple of pics of sheds found this year. Total of 7 so far. 2 sets and 3 singles.

This one was found on 2-1-07 and was dropped the night before, you can still see where the tines bounced in the snow below the antler.

These were photos of the nice matched 8 point I mentioned earlier.

This is a photo of a set I found this year that matches up detail wise to a set I found in the same valley last year. Very little developement, year to year, but no farmland in the area to give them that extra boost.

[jlm]

Great pics, I am getting the itch!

[bottomdweller]

How long can a person keep finding sheds before they get ate up by mice and what not? Too hard to walk out there now with all the snow. Thanks

[jkcmj]

I have found them in excellent shape as late as the 1st week of April. They are usually faded somewhat that late. Those dropped in the woods start getting chewed up pretty quick. I have a great spot I check every couple of weeks, and last year an antler that was less than 2 weeks old already had 3 tips chewed pretty good. (Contact Us Please) squirrels. I believe that most of the accesable sheds are picked up by someone by then. Amazing how many people get out to look, and cross property lines in the process. A set of snow shoes is relatively cheap and with a little practice, work great. The snow around hear is very hard crusted and the deer movement has been very restricted since the heavy snows. I think alot of antlers will be laying on top in a much more concentrated area right now. Should be excellent shed hunting, if you have the time and energy.

[harvey lee]

I'am going next weekend to north dakota looking for some and going to also do a littl yote hunting. I talked to a farmer there that sais he has still been seing bucks with thier headgear on yet. Lots of snow and it will be work but we might hit it good.

[B. Amish]

This is the smallest shed I've ever found. I found it last year by some left over round hay bales the deer were feeding on. The only reason I found it was becasue I actually stepped on it and happened to look down to see what it was. It's a broken off stub and that is a quarter next to it in the picture.

Last year I also found two sheds in the middle of the summer, so they all don't get chewed up by rodents. One of them was laying in some CRP and it didn't have a naw mark on it. The other was in the woods and had barely been chewed on. A great time to look for sheds is when your out walking and looking for morels. I've found a number while doing this.

[jeff127]

Just checked a trail cam I have set up in a friends apple trees and saw 6 different bucks all with full head gear on(west metro)---the pics were from the day before the last storm hit. I thought for sure they would be dropped by now!.

jeff

[EatSleepFish]

saw two different bucks yesterday, one looked to be a yearling buck that had dropped his gear and the other was a six or eight pointer that had both sides on him. the one that had the antlers looked to be real healthy(well fed, full coat of hair) and the one that dropped his antlers loked real malnourished(skinny and had some red patches of fur along his neck and face... maybe a summer coat coming in? both were in the Jay Cooke State Park area in carlton.

[jkcmj]

I've walked about 20 hours in the last week with nothing to show but a blister! Saw lots of deer and turkeys, but no sheds. I spoke with a guy who had been hunting the Whitewater management area by Elba, MN and they picked up 14 sheds last Sunday. He showed me an amazingly gnarled up set with tons of little sticker points found out in the swamp grass. Pretty cool!

[EatSleepFish]

i feel your pain... ive put in around 6 hours and nothing...

[frogtosser]

I plan to put in a few hours today at some wma's, hope I can hit paydirt but if nothing else at least the dog will get some exercise.

[CAJ]

In mile walk, I found 3 halves. Not to big. but it was a nice start for the weekend. CAJ

[jkcmj]

Hunted most of the day today and came up with 3 more also. One small 8 point set and a single left side that scores around 65 inches. Squirrels had a time on the big one, chewing every tip some, with the main beam the worst. Bastages!