by Ryan Fair
Any diehard whitetail hunter will tell you deer season never ends; it just starts over every year. Truer words have never been spoken. I'm sure many of you already know this but if you're new to hunting, our seasons never end. They just start over the day after the previous season ends. You can break down what needs to be done with the flip of a calendar. You have food plots to plant, tree stands to prep, scouting, and one of my personal favorites, shed season. That’s the season I want to cover today. Lets breakdown when to find sheds, where to find sheds, and some tips and tactics from the Working Class Hunter team.
When to find sheds
This is a highly debatable topic among hunters for several different reasons which we will cover shortly, but a general date to start looking for sheds is March 1st. The main reason to try to avoid shed hunting till then is that you want to keep the bucks on your property until they have shed their antlers. The risk of them running 3 properties over isn’t worth getting in there early, especially since they have been pressured for the last 4 months repeatedly from hunters and predators. That date can fluctuate from year to year so it's best to monitor what is going on with your local herd as well. We like to scout deer on preferred food sources from a distance with our Vortex Optics. This is a great way to identify if most bucks in your area have shed or not. Another great way is to let your trail cameras tell you. We rely on our Tactacam Revels to keep us clued into what is going on, especially on the farms that are a few hours away.
Where to find sheds
In short, the answer is any area that a whitetail inhabits. Now I know that’s not the answer you are looking for. I tell you this because I don’t want you to write off an area just because. I have found sheds driving down the road, laying in the middle of access roads, and even hanging in a bush up by a house once. But as a shed hunter there are some higher potential areas to find sheds once you start to look. The first, as mentioned above, is a preferred food source. Bucks will frequent these areas as they are still feeding heavily. We like to use Vortex Optics binoculars to scan fields because they allow us to cover lots of ground fast. Another good place, especially when you have really cold spells toward the end of winter is south facing slopes. These slopes receive the most sunlight each day so whitetail will bed in these locations to stay warm. Minerals sites can be another great place to look for sheds especially if bucks are carrying antlers longer into the year on more mild winters. Lastly, heavily used trails and bedding areas. I like to avoid these areas as much as possible so as to not pressure the deer. I typically shed hunt these areas when I have more than one reason to be there like hang a camera, move a tree stand, or freshen up a community scrape. While on the topic of where to find sheds the best conditions for shed hunting are overcast cloudy days. The reason being is that the white of the shed really pops in contrast to the dark ground when it's not as sunny. However, any day shed hunting is better than not going at all.
Some tips from Working Class Hunter
I have shared a lot of my tips on shed hunting above but I also thought it would be a great idea to hear from some of the other guys as well. I asked a handful of the Working Class Hunter team members if they had any tips they would like to share and here is what they had to say:
Cliff Canter said he has always had his best luck on south facing slopes this time of year because it is the warmest location. He also has had great luck on the edges of major food sources. His last tip was to not overlook water sources this time of year as they can be another great location.
Seth Stouffer's biggest tip was miles equal piles. Meaning the more miles you walk this time of year the more sheds you will more than likely find.
Steven Marshall said so far this year they have had luck finding most of their sheds in bedding areas, travel corridors, and in the timber. As far as tips goes he said he has had his best luck on overcast days and in shady areas. The reason being is sheds stand out better in darker areas.
Brandon Anderson had several more tips to offer that were different than any of the above tips. He recommends taking the family along with you. It's great bonding time and gets more eyes out to help look. Next he says walk slow, look back, and put in plenty of miles. He said to keep in mind that bucks patterns this time of year are different then summer and fall so you need to be where the bucks want to be to find sheds. If it’s a wetter year look in higher ground areas and if it's windy and cold look for thermal cover areas such as clusters of pines.