By Alex Comstock
As we’ve entered into the month of March, for most of the midwest, it’s peak shed season. I would venture to say that March is the most “popular” shed hunting month for most avid antler seekers. By now, most bucks have dropped their antlers and March is typically a great time to walk for antlers because the woods haven’t come close to greening up yet, and in a lot of places there’s little to no snow.
For me personally, I’m about a month behind the “midwest”. Up here in northern Minnesota, we just eclipsed 100” of snow for the winter and I won’t be doing any serious shed hunting until at least April and even into May. As I start thinking about getting out there once our snow starts to finally melt, I want to cover some of my favorite shed hunting tips that have helped me locate antlers over the years.
walk far and slow
Everyone has their own way of how to cover miles, but what I’ve found to help me the most is by walking a ton at a slow clip. It seems to me so many people are concerned with walking as many miles as possible, and that’s great don’t get me wrong, but I like to put on those miles walking slowly.
I’ve found that if I walk fast, I miss antlers. I’ve been with buddies and have walked right by an antler, only to have them find it because I was walking too fast. The slower I usually move in the woods, the more I’m able to pick up on and the better I usually do finding sheds. So yes, even though miles = piles, sometimes it’s more about the quality of those miles that you put on the boots.
Shed hunt in ideal conditions
Sometimes you can’t help this because you may only have certain days you can walk for sheds, but if you can help it, there’s a big difference shed hunting during an overcast day versus a sunny day. When it’s directly sunny, it cast a lot of shadows in the woods, which can make spotting antlers that much more difficult. Additionally, when it’s sunny out, you tend to squint your eyes a bit more. All of this just makes finding sheds a bit harder. When it’s overcast, there isn’t nearly the kind of shadows and you can simply see in the timber better. It’s not going to be a make or break, but if you can help it, shed hunting in overcast conditions can most definitely increase your odds of finding more antlers.
Don’t let boot tracks scare you
The amount of times I’ve heard someone say they bailed on a spot when shed hunting because there was already boot tracks is too many. Obviously if we could all shed hunt virgin ground, that would be preferable, but in a lot of cases that can be tough to do. Just like hunting in the fall, I spend a lot of my time shed hunting in places others can walk too. Public land, by permission pieces, etc. When it comes to shed hunting in areas you know others have walked, don’t let it get you down. No one finds them all, and there’s a good chance whoever’s boot prints you’re walking in has missed some sheds. If the spot that has boot tracks is suitable for this, I will use them to understand where the person walked and then try to walk in spots they didn’t. So if you want to “avoid” the boot tracks, use them as a guide on what else you can cover in a certain area. Don’t let them necessarily make you bail from the property altogether.
Utilize binoculars
When shed hunting, I always have binoculars on me. They can help you avoid walking any unnecessary steps. I will continually stop and scan with my binoculars in areas around me and if I ever think I see an antler, instead of having to walk over to it, I can stop and put my binoculars up and right away have confirmation if I need to go check it out or not. I would encourage you to always have binoculars on you while walking for sheds.
Shed hunt with a buddy
The last of my “favorite” shed hunting tips I want to go into with this blog post is to shed hunt with a friend. I much prefer to walk with one of my buddies than by myself for the simple fact that we can cover ground in much more detail. If I know of a spot that I think is good for shed hunting, walking it with a friend not only allows you to cover it in half the time, but it also allows you to cover it in more detail. You and your buddy can split up, track your walks with OnX and then compare data, and split up again. Or, you can walk near each other the whole time and cover it that way, which also allows you to have company while you walk. Either way, shed hunting with a buddy is a win in my book.
conclusion
These tips are by no means groundbreaking or breaking news. But they are tips that I’ve relied upon for years, and they’ve helped me find sheds. If your planning on going shed hunting in the near future, I hope they can help you find some antlers as well.