of looking, I am averaging well over 50 sheds a year, and looking for higher quality sheds has become more of a priority than picking up any old thing. This past season I finally cracked the magical 70” mark for a single antler in finding my best set to date – antlers off a buck pushing 160”. Sweet!
The shed hunting “season” is now as eagerly awaited as the bow opener for me. I can bring my children along and get them out into the woods with me. I don’t have to worry about wind direction, scent control, or bringing any specialized gear. It extends and adds to my own whitetail “season”, and having a bucket of antlers to show for your walks at the end of the winter is pretty rewarding on its own.
Regardless of what you find, you’re getting outside, and that has to be better than getting cabin fever!
ver since I was boy of 8 or 9, I have loved hunting. Many frogs, birds, and squirrels fell to my Crossman 710 and, eventually, fox, partridge, and even deer fell to my favorite Remington 870 “Special Field”. As I got older, I graduated to bow hunting and thought that that was the pinnacle of what whitetail deer hunting had to offer.
Then, in 2006, when I found MWC, I quickly signed up and have enjoyed it ever since. One of the forums that interested me from the beginning was the shed hunting forum. I kept close tabs on that forum for a couple years. I was just fascinated with the amount and variety of sheds that a few of the guys there were finding. In all my 20 plus years of deer hunting, I had only ever found exactly ONE shed, and that was by accident while bow hunting back in 1998. I always knew that deer lost their antlers sometime during the winter, but that was about it. I figured finding that one shed was such a random act that I never pursued actually looking for them again. Plus, I had no idea where to begin.
By 2008, I had watched the shed forum for long enough. Guys like Deershed and ShedhunterMD were finding way too many cool sheds. All those little treasures of the forest were out there, just waiting to be picked up – maybe even by me. So, one day, I swallowed my pride and private messaged both them several times for any useful information. I was on a mission to get some of my own sheds now! Steve (Deershed) and Ryan (ShedhunterMD) were more than willing to help out a complete stranger. They gave me all kinds of tips and tricks – a bunch of info that would have taken a greenhorn like me far too long to figure out on my own. That first year was a learning experience in itself, but I ended up with 36 sheds to show for my efforts and was completely hooked! Now in my fourth season
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Good hunting!