By Alex Comstock
Excitement is surging throughout your body. You are about to embark on a journey. A long, long walk that might take up the better part of the day. As you head into the timber, you've got one thing on your mind...sheds. You don't know what the walk might entail, odds are you'll end up full of briers and stickers, scratched and tattered, and you may not even locate a single antler. But guess what? It's worth it, because you are that much closer to finding your next shed.
Shed hunting is very peculiar. Some people may even read that first paragraph and scoff, while they think, "who in their right mind would call that a fun day?" I'll tell you who, and that'd be me, and many other folks. But why is that? The short answer is because shed hunting is simply addictive. Stumbling across an antler, whether it be small or large, or if you know the buck or not, is a rush. Searching for sheds is truly like searching for a needle in a haystack. Every time you find that "needle" you feel accomplished and are proud. Why else is shed hunting addictive? It gives you an excuse to be out in the deer woods, not having to worry about being quiet or scent control, while you enjoy the time outside with friends, and at the same time you are preparing for the following fall. I wanted to share a quick story with you from a few days ago that perfectly exemplifies this, and shows why I find shed hunting to be so addictive.
-I came to a rest, waiting for Tyler to catch up to me, before we crossed the field to shed hunt another section of timber. As I waited for him, I couldn't help but smile. We had been walking for all of 45 minutes, and I had already found two sheds. I was hoping that by the time he caught up to me, he would find one as well, so we could both be on the board. A few minutes later, Tyler made his way to me, and once he got to my location, he looked past me, and exclaimed, "Is that a shed?" while he pointed behind me. I hastily threw up my binos, in disbelief. Not only was it a shed antler, it was a big one! Tyler and I raced over to the shed, and when he picked it up, we were both astonished. It was a year old shed, and was an absolute beauty. We gave each other a big high five, and jumped around a bit while celebrating. If anyone would have been watching us, you would have thought we just found a chest full of gold. We took some time to admire the shed, and then started off, looking for the next "needle in a haystack."-
Tyler was able to notice the tines from this shed poking above the grass.
Tyler admiring his find.
Shed hunting is very unique to me. The joy and the rush we get when finding one of these precious pieces is similar to that of when you actually shoot a deer. In my story, it didn't matter who found that antler, we were both pumped. Another interesting part of this is that once we checked the shed out, and settled down a bit, we strapped it to my backpack and headed right back to look for more. Though we had just found an awesome antler, the search for sheds doesn't end there.
Shed hunting is an amazing time of year. It brings hunting buddies together, it's a great way to introduce people to deer hunting, it creates memories, and is downright addictive. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try to stop shed hunting for a couple of years. I'm guessing you won't be able to.
