woolys 2012-13 shed journal

[wooly]

I was having a hard time seeing a difference in a year between them as well.

I think I was trying to make myself believe somehow just to be able to chalk up another accomplishment,lol

[sampotter]

It would be cool to DNA test them- the similarities are uncanny...

[crappyice]

Hey wooly ...has a-rod and ray Lewis contacted you yet to be their supplier?!?!

[bkln]

Hey wooly ...has a-rod and ray Lewis contacted you yet to be their supplier?!?!

LOL....Now, that's funny.... :-)

[Single_shot]

LOL....Now, that's funny.... :-)

Tehehehe...good one.

It is sad to see all the complete bodies though.

Edited February 3, 2013 by Single_shot

[wooly]

2-5-13

I decided to do a hike today to try to get me a good snow ATL! I got into my spot around noon so I had about 3 hours to look around before I had to start heading home so I could make it before dark.

Well, I got my snow ATL, but it turned out to be another oldie. It's still a pretty nice horn so I decided to take it home to show it where I live!

The g2 is broke off right where it joins the g3. It has a striking resemblence to the big fresh palmated 4pt I found last season. I think this horn may be the year prior but I can't say for sure.

Anyhow, here's #14!

Antlers- 14

Sets- 2

Dead bucks- 8

Dead doe/fawns- 5

[Anailor]

Cant wait to get out and look for more sheds. I have never found any but just need to keep putting in the time. I found an area where there was 7 deer herded up. I'm going to investigate that area a little more before passing on it. During the season I saw 9 different 4 pt or spikes so I don't really care to find those lol but my uncle saw a MASSIVE buck the last day of muzzle loader (of course he had his bow). So my challenge will be finding where they are hanging.

We also had two other pretty cool events on the property, 1) we took an 8.5 yr old 4 pt that weighed 170lb with a 16 inside spread. He had an 8 inch piece of antler stuck in his face 2) we had a buck with a hunting blind stuck in his antlers. He was seen during archery the guy that saw him didn't know where to place the shot. Saw him again a couple days into muzzleloader crossing the road at night. If it made it through the season I would like to find that shed.n

[wooly]

During the season I saw 9 different 4 pt or spikes so I don't really care to find those

Why not? The smaller they are, the harder they are to find.

If you're finding the litle ones, you know you're doing a good job shedding.

Save the antler restrictions for hunting season if you wish. Right now, they're all fair game!

One of the most impressive antlers in my collection is a 2 3/4 inch nubbin' horn. It's tiny, but I hope to one day find a smaller one. Here's a pic of the little rascal..

[Anailor]

After I posted that I realized I would take any antler. When I find my first one I will jump up and down like a high school cheerleader.

[Pav2704]

That nub is pretty impressive. I went out today for a couple of hours with nothing to show for it. The area where I look is an 7 acre woodlot that is loaded with deer and sign so you would think that it would be easy to find one... Lol

[wooly]

I was in an area like that today Pav. You would think the antlers would be piled up on top of one another in there, but I got skunked too,lol.

It doesn't hurt to go back through an area like that closer to spring. Every year some oldies pop up.., maybe late drops, or relocated horns, or as much as I hate to admit it..... sometimes we miss a horn or two!

[josephmrtn]

man i wish i could find em like you do!!!!!!

[crappyice]

What's easier to harvest, a nicely racked buck with a bow or a matched set of equal size shed hunting? This is what I think about on those SKUNKED days!

[2012_taco]

I've been reading all these posts and I am totaly amazed. I have shed hunted for years and the only time I find any is when I'm not really trying. I almost have to step on them to see one. I honestly found a half an 8 ptr. in September after scouting and putting up a tree stand. I literally stepped on it! I will try to post some pics. Wooly,you must be retired, how can you find the time that you obviously put in to it.? Between work and all the other thingsI "need" to get done it's hard to find much time for a walk in the woods. And with the snow lately I think it's best to wait until a melt. I do love to get out the snowshoes but I don't expect to find sheds in deep snow. I'm surprised you find so many early in Dec,Jan., I'm still get bucks on my trail camera. God luck and keep hiking!!

[wooly]

Wooly,you must be retired, how can you find the time that you obviously put in to it.? Between work and all the other thingsI "need" to get done it's hard to find much time for a walk in the woods.

Would like to see that antler gonehntn!

Not retired yet,lol. Just pack my work load into a few days a week and everything else is my time to dedicate to this stuff. I probably spend more time at it than I should..it's more of an addiction at this point that I don't expect everyone to understand how I MAKE time for it!

I've been single the last 5 years or so and probably another 5 years coming up, so that helps,lol

I'm not a big fan of hiking for antlers in the snow either, but I still do it. Something special about pulling a shed outta the snow. I just can't get enough of being outdoors every chance I get whether it's hiking, shed hunting, photography or camping out. We should melt out again soon allowing me to get back to some serious hikes again.

Good luck to ya next time out!

[sampotter]

Wooly- I bet your one of those guys that looks at a nice buck on your wall and fantasizes about finding the antlers as sheds... I'll admit it- I do that all of the time. In fact, some days I'm not sure I would have rather picked them up as sheds and left him to grow another set.

[wooly]

Ha- I know exactly what your talking about Sam!

I may call it quits for a few upcoming hunting seasons.. heck, I may be done at this point, I'm not sure yet.

I may miss the venison for a while, but there will never be a lack of antlers, pics, and adventurous hikes and stories around here!

[wooly]

Thought this warm up would melt some of the snow, but it didn't really help out much today. Maybe tomorrows rain will take care of the rest of it.

Didn't find the kind of horns I was after today, but I did find this neat old skull!

I loaded the pics and had to run out and look at him again. He's got a BB stuck in his left sinus cavity. Guess the poachers around here are a little under-gunned since the new assault weapons ban,lol

If I can't find some freshies soon, I may just have to grab the bull by the horns and make something happen!

[2012_taco]

Took a walk on Sunday with my wife and some snow shoes, took down my last tree stand, didn't see any sheds but I pulled the card from my trail camera and I got pics of a small (1.5yr) 8 pointer. Still carying both horns on 2-1-13. I will add pics once I figure out how to insert them...

[wooly]

I finally got off the hill for a bit today and ran down into the valley. The sign down there is incredible, and just what I was hoping to find! I was really happy to see so many deer had retreated to the lower elevation.

By the time I got there I didn't have much time to do any serious searching, but I saw enough to know I'll be back in this area soon.

I also saw 5 bucks still packing both sides, and countless antlerless deer while I was there. Here's a few long range, tight cropped shots from the open timber I managed to get. I couldn't get pics of all the bucks because my focus kept locking on the trees in the foreground. They were all pretty similar in size though. Can't wait till these antlers ripen up and start falling!

[Pav2704]

Great pics wooly!

[2012_taco]

It looks like he's been tearing up some timber from the fiber on his forehead. I just had someone ask me recently if bucks are still rubbing trees as he found a lot of fresh bark on the snow at a rub line. That pic answers that.

[crappyice]

Nice pics. That's gotta be a bit frustrating knowing that those horns are still attached when you have been out looking on the ground. At least no one got a chance to grab e'm yet.

[wooly]

Nice pics. That's gotta be a bit frustrating knowing that those horns are still attached when you have been out looking on the ground. At least no one got a chance to grab e'm yet.

I'm actually glad I haven't been stomping around this area with so many antlers still on the hoof.

These guys are in prime wintering grounds now, and it'll take quite a bit of pressure to make them leave at this stage of the game. I'll probably let this area be untill closer to spring when I'm sure they've all dropped and I can spend some serious time in the area. There's zero competition in this spot so that's not really an issue. Once it starts to warm up a bit, I'll probably pack the tent in and have myself a little horn hunting rendevous for a couple days! I'm sure there's antlers on the ground in there right now so the hardest part for me is being patient.

[2012_taco]

Wooly, I haven't been able to figure out how to post pics. Any help?