Shed hunting...where do you start?

[chiefbkt]

Hopefully this won't be as dumb as it sounds, but where do you start shed hunting?  What my main interest is, is whose property are y'all walking around on?  I have ~100 acres here on the farm that I walk around looking for sheds on, but the deer don't really stay here during the winter.  I'm sure I could get permission from my neighbor who has several hundred acres.  Are you guys looking on state land?  Friends property?  County property?  Just curious cause some of you guys are finding an A$$load of sheds.  Thanks!

[WNY Bowhunter]

Lots of acres of private property. I prefer areas with ag fields...and knowing where the deer winter is a big key to finding their antlers.

[wooly]

Hey chief, any and all of the above listed will work. I'm pretty lucky to have access to a 3 mile square block right out my front door. Other than a few parcels that are off limits, most everything else is free range. Going back a bunch of years, my block was like a community hunting ground as long as you lived on it. Many of my permissions from neighbors were granted back then when everyone bumped into one another during hunting season and stopped to exchange observations and learn of each others kills. A few new guys on the block posted up solid, but the regulars still run into each other every year out there and stop to chat.

 

 I do a lot of hiking around my local parks as well. I've got two of those within hiking distance of home even if I have to hop on the road for a bit. That gives me another couple thousand acres. I also hit both my sisters small properties, and my uncles a few miles down the road, and my aunts a few counties over, and my ex brother in laws mothers farm..... yep, try to stay in touch with everybody to keep your connections to their land! Make sure you get to know your familys neighbors to try to obtain permission there as well. I haven't had much luck in that regard, but it's was worth a shot.

I've also got a public trail system that connects many of my areas so I seldom have to step foot out of the woods. I may have an ex-wife I can't stand being close to, but that doesn't mean I don't get a long with her neighbor who owns another 350 acres.

Half the spots I'll never make it to in a season, but it seems every year something comes up where I lose another chunk of land or two for some reason or another.

 

Honestly, I think your question should be the first one asked by anyone that wants to start finding a mess of antlers. Once you got permission to start roaming as much land as possible, then you can start narrowing down the finer areas you want to hit at different stages of the shedding season!

In a nutshell, you can't have too much property to hike, and you should constantly be looking for new ground through ANY connections you can come up with.

[WNY Bowhunter]

New shedding ground is always a good thing. Half of this years crop came from ground I'd never stepped foot on before a few weeks ago.

[mbucks27]

Dow here on long island I mostly hike DEC and parklands properties which gives me access to thousands of acres to look. Always find most of my antlers in thick stuff or oak flats. Good luck!!

[G-Man]

you have to know where th e deer winter from dec-april...get permission and look around food sources , trail to and from and bedding areas... seem like shed hunters are usually pretty good hunter and sucessful as well...scouting is not a right before season thing , but year round. Make sure you get out and look as soon as you can..there are a lot of shed hunters and some areas may have been picked over many times before you even hit the woods.

[landtracdeerhunter]

I've recovered 8 sheds off 30 acres. Two were pairs. Not one shed was in open fields. Active winter used deer trails and bedding areas are where some laid. Some of the nastiest going, yielded some of the best trophies. Many laid in water of ditch banks. Some completely covered, gleaming in the sunshine, where the right angle had to be used, to see. Where deer had to jump a fence or down trees are other good areas. Walked by one many times before natures white yielded it to me. This was my experience, your mileage will vary, LOL. Another thing; I would get a feeling, a shed laid up ahead, don't ask me why.

Edited April 16, 2014 by landtracdeerhunter

[chiefbkt]

Thanks guys. I talked with my neighbor and he said I could walk his property any time (350-400 acres). I also have a hunting camp with several hundred acres to walk around too. Problem is getting time! My wife and I work different schedules and we have 3 kids so my free time is at work...haha. The kids don't mind getting toted through the woods, but their attention spans are very short so we usually only do 1/2-1 mile. I'll find some, and when I do I'll post it! Thanks again.