IS SHED HUNTING PART OF YOUR OFF-SEASON / SCOUTING ROUTINE?

By: Michael French

What Is Shed Hunting? - Shed Hunting is the scavenging for antlers that have fallen off the deer.

When Is The Typical Shed Hunting Season? - Obviously, this depends on the area in which you live and/or hunt. This process happens naturally every year from roughly February-April. Antlers then start growing back in the spring and continue to grow through the fall. 

Do Antler Sheds Have Value? - Antlers can be worth a few dollars per pound, but the larger darker sheds can go for roughly $10/pound. It all depends on who you are selling them to. People use them for art, home decor, we've even given them to the dogs as a nice chew toy. Personally, I've never gotten much into the hobby of simply hunting for sheds. It's become more of a by-product of our off-season maintenance & scouting programs. We don't like to put any more additional pressure on our best hunting spots than we already have.

Where To Find Antler Sheds - First of all, don't trespass onto someone else's property just to find a few antler sheds. This is tedious and time consuming work to just make a hobby out making a few bucks on hard to find sheds. If you have the patience (and time) to make a hobby out of it, more power to you. In some states, we've learned that there is legislation against keeping antler sheds, but this has been recently debated as the legislation isn't always very clear. If you aren't certain and want to stay on the right side of the law, call the DNR in your state and they should be able to clear up your questions.

Regarding finding the sheds, think about your normal hunting routines and where you feel like the deer spend their time. To increase your probability of finding an antler shed, I would start by finding their bedding or feeding areas. Remember that deer don't always winter in their fall habitats, so you may pick up on some prime off season areas in your scouting. Additionally, locate the beat down runways, ideally in areas of heavy cover with low clearance. These are prime spots, as the heavy brush can knock the antlers off. 

Don't discount the areas of your property where the deer have to jump a fence or any obstacles. The impact from the jump can be enough the knock the antlers off. 

Remember to check the fields that the deer like to congregate in, such as cut corn fields, bean fields or winter wheat fields. The bucks may spar in those places and incidentally knock each others antlers clear off. 

Last, if you have elevation on your property, it wouldn't hurt to check out the south facing slopes of those ridges. Given the suns position in the southern hemisphere in the winter months, the south, southwestern and western slopes give the deer a little more warmth from the direct sunlight.

Overall, finding sheds is fun whether you are intentionally looking or not. Either way, these are a few tips that have been given to us over the years on the best practices to find sheds during your off-season scouting or maintenance routines.

Are their any other Pro-Tips that should be added to this list? If so, we would love to hear from you.

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