Want to Find More Sheds on Your Property? Stay Out of The Woods! (for now)

It’s finally upon us. That wonderful time of year where we get to run around in the woods and act like little kids on Easter morning. Searching high and low (especially high on SE facing hillsides) for the elusive shed whitetail antler. For many of us, this is a great opportunity to take inventory on which bucks survived the previous year’s hunting season. For others, it’s more about having an excuse to get out of the house and combat the cabin fever often associated with the end of deer season. There are those still who have turned shed hunting into a source of income, where found antlers can be sold, usually by the lb, to dog chew manufacturers, knife smiths, or home decorators too lazy to go find some themselves. 

With the recent rise in popularity of shed hunting, we, as outdoors men and women, are more eager than ever to get our hands on those natural treasures, deposited across the landscape every winter. The “tools of the trade” are quickly evolving from what used to be a water bottle and a good pair of boots into binoculars, GPS units, drones, spotting scopes, and even dogs specifically trained to locate and retrieve shed antlers! All helpful tools, especially out in the wide-open landscapes of the Southwest, but not entirely necessary for the average joe looking for an excuse to get out of the house and trounce around on the farm for a few hours on the weekend. 

High Top’s 2019 right antler found on in March 2020.

So, with all of this buildup and hype surrounding finding shed antlers, the logical tactic most seem to agree with is to get out there as soon as possible to begin “piling up the bone.” This mindset is not only flirting with unethical, but often times negatively impacts your chances of finding those antlers on your property. I will be writing a follow-up article on the areas I like to key in on when shed hunting, but this post in particular is about the timing of when to begin your search.  

With the rut now months behind us, the grain fields long-barren, and your fall food plots struggling to keep up with the herds metabolism, this is a critical time of year for white-tailed deer across a majority of their range. With most of a buck’s fat reserves burned up in November, and the does now with buns in the oven, we need to keep in mind the physiological conditions these animals are in. Why is it we see deer hammering the picked-over corn fields on those blistery-cold mid-winter days? Because their body temperature is directly impacted by the amount of forage being consumed. If you live in a state that allows feeders – take a look at the amount of activity on your cameras surrounding a January cold front moving through. Not only the deer, but squirrel, bird, and racoon activity will likely spike in frequency along with the whitetail. All of this is to say – I don’t care how great your habitat is, how many feeders you have on the farm, or how well-managed your deer herd is. This time of year (aside from late summer in the far south) is going to be when stress has the biggest impact on deer. It is up to us, as land managers and deer hunters, to recognize this and to limit the amount of pressure and stress we put on our local herds.

I am by no means talking about staying off of your farm. But limiting the amount of intrusion you have on those designated “sanctuaries” and bedding areas for the time being will pay dividends in the form of antlers found down the road. You want these animals to feel safe and secure on your property, especially at a time of year when most of the bucks haven’t even dropped their antlers yet. By not pushing these bucks out of their “safe space” for the time being, you are ensuring that more of them will lose their antlers on your property as opposed to pushing them onto your neighbors’ place where you will never be able to find them. 

 By all means, walk your food plots and field edges. Look around your feeders, in stream crossings, and under and around regular fence crossing locations. You might surprise yourself with the number of sheds you are able to pick up in these low-impact locations! And most importantly, you are allowing those deer still holding onto their head gear to remain on your property until they drop. 

 I understand the rational to finding them before the squirrels do – as half the reason I hunt squirrels is to seek revenge for all of the antlers they have chewed up. Shed hunting is a game of timing and determination. So, when do I recommend as good time of year to start encroaching on those woodlots to find your treasures? My general rule of thumb is this: Wait until your trail cameras tell you that half of the resident bucks have already dropped their antlers. By sticking to this general rule of thumb, you will ensure that there are antlers out there to be found, and you aren’t just blindly pushing those deer onto your neighbor’s property while the antlers are still attached to their head! As always, have fun and be safe out there!