tola18 wrote:Greatwhite.... what's your strategy when looking for sheds? you seem to have pretty good luck.
First off, scouting is pretty important. You will find sheds just about anywhere but I focus on areas that hold deer right away after seasons end. What I look for in areas that I am hunting is thick cover, food source(s) and hills facing south. Google Earth is your friend whether it's a property you think you know like the back of your hand or a new one.
This year, 6 of the sheds I have found were on south facing slopes. 5 out of those 6 were on south facing slopes near a food source. It's money!
I have yet to find a good bedding area. I mean I find beds all over the place but I haven't found the "motherload" where there are 15+ beds in one area so I know where they are bedding consistently.
One thing to keep in mind, at least from what I have noticed, is the deer seem to use two different core areas during the winter. One from seasons end til mid February or so and then they seem to move to another area and gradually get into their springtime habits. I find very few sheds where I actually see large concentrations of deer this time of the year. Now I'm no wildlife biologist but that is what I have seen.
Now when actually out there, I look for the things mentioned about, but also rub lines, scrapes and heavily used trails. The key to finding more sheds that I found out this year is walk slow. And then slow down even more. Pay close attention to the ground and not what is out ahead of you. I got a phone call on Sunday when I was shed hunting. I was in a small area zip zagging for about 45 minutes before the call. Once I answered I focused my attention more at my feet instead of ahead of me so I didn't trip on anything. 30 seconds into the call I walked right over the top of one of the sheds that I probably walked passed a couple times. Pure luck probably but my eyes were peeled to the ground and was there plain as day.
Now I'm not an expert shed hunter (actually this is my first year actually trying) but after doing research and a lot of hours in the field, these are some pretty good things to go by. I've also been fortunate enough that the rodents haven't found any of the sheds before I did. I credit that to getting out earlier in the year which I was able to do with little snow.
