Shed Hunting, getting started

[MichaelBikel]

Skip to paragraph two for the main portion (feeling long winded today)

Thanks to garage journal I am now the owner of several new to me tools, re-hashed some old hobbies and even found some new ones. Today I decided that the knife my girlfriend got me for valentines day (how awesome is that?) needs a leather sheath. Leather working is something I blame on garage journal, but anyway in the process I also found my old coleman ferro rod. I decided to remove it from the magnesium brick it was glued to and make a handle out of ash as I thought this would look nice on the sheath in a loop. This got me thinking that it would be really cool to have one made from antler, which got me excited about maybe making a knife handle from antler. So I started looking up how to harvest it for free since I'm a cheap sob and >

I stumbled on something called shed hunting today on youtube. I don't hunt and around my area (southern Connecticut) I rarely see bucks. Does anyone know if shed hunting is a common thing in Connecticut? I was also wondering if it is legal, frowned upon, or if I need some kind of license... If you have any info please chime in!

 

[Dagny]

No lic. required here. It is good exercise

 

[Streetbu]

Nothing required except a lot of luck from my experience.

 

[jd_1138]

As long as the deer isn't still attached to the antlers.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

Yup, just walk the woods and keep your eyes open. I've found several when I lived in AZ. Funny thing, I was turkey hunting, ran across many deer and found antlers. Finally got a turkey.

 

[killahog]

Its legal, if you cant find one to suit your needs let me know and I will send you one. A little tip on finding them is drive around in the evening and watch the deer where you see them right at dark is going to be close to the bedding areas just follow their trails to the thick stuff and you will eventually find one. If you have young kids or grandkids they have a god time taking along.

 

[58Yeoman]

A friend of mine that I worked with has his whole rear wall of his garage covered with antlers. He would take the entire month of November off to go hunting. We're both retired now.

My wife and I went shed hunting two weeks ago, and found a nice 8x10 plastic shed from Menard's.

 

[toolmiser]

I've heard you can train a dog to find them also. I found one deer hunting one year, I brought it back to my Father in Law's house to show him (his land), he had what we figured was the same horn, same side from the previous year, just a little smaller. I still need to come up with a neat way to display the two.

 

[HunterDan]

Good exercise, good way to scout for next season and the upcoming turkey season. I usually wait until the last week of February to start looking. Most of what you will find will be around bedding areas, feeding and transition areas.

Best to look on cloudy days, as the antlers really stand out better. After a rain and a cloudy day is perfect...the rain makes the leaves lay flatter, making them stick up more and the clouds make easier looking


Good luck! I usually wear out a pair of boots each spring. I'm a deer hunting nut so it's a 365 day a year pursuit for me. Between planting food plots, hanging stands, scouting, she'd hunting, etc. Then turkey season starts, and will take me right back into planting season

 

[MichaelBikel]

Thanks guys, i'm really looking forward to it. I have been looking for more and more reasons to stay outdoors more often. Since i've got your attention, what might a bedding area look like?

In the area behind my house there is a good bit of woods where I usually see the deer every day around 4-5pm if I'm home. I have watched them before, usually about 8-12 of them at one time. From the few times I have actually gotten close I have not seen any bucks, just does and fawns slowly making their way through, grazing on something.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

Thanks guys, i'm really looking forward to it. I have been looking for more and more reasons to stay outdoors more often. Since i've got your attention, what might a bedding area look like?

In the area behind my house there is a good bit of woods where I usually see the deer every day around 4-5pm if I'm home. I have watched them before, usually about 8-12 of them at one time. From the few times I have actually gotten close I have not seen any bucks, just does and fawns slowly making their way through, grazing on something.

Where the girls (does) are, so are the boys (bucks). After the does and fawns pass by, hang out for awhile and be still, chances are a buck will come ***** footing by.

 

[bigcreek]

Every year in Idaho I haul in quite a few elk shed horns and a few deer as well, but I find way more elk antlers than anything. 3 years ago while bow hunting I found almost 30 elk sheds. They get real heavy carrying them out after a long days walk though! This year I only found 6 or 8 but all were 5', 6's, and 7 pointers. Last year found a humongous 9 point elk shed. Its a real great activity to get out with the kids and do.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Found this guy Sunday across the road, left him lay as was not certain of rules/laws due to them being attached [emoji41]


NWOHIOCHEVYGUY

Still dreaming

 

[HunterDan]

Depends on the state. Some places you need a "recovery tag" or "possession tag", need to call dnr have them come out and show them where the deer is, if they think all is ok, they give you the tag....way more work than its worth.

Take the head off, bury it off to the side of your yard for a few months and the bugs will clean it all up. Clean it real good with some water, hit it with the skull with some white spray paint and hang it up. When you yet it, bury just the skull and cover the rock with a box so it doesn't get bleached out by the sun.

All of the dead ones i find on my farm/other huring properties, I clean them up/hit it with some paint and hang it them in my barn. I have a spot where I work on all my bow hunting gear, so I just hang them around there.

I've had my local dnr officer standing in my barn bs'ing with me and he never asked about them. Your "technically" suppose to have a tag for every deer in your possession (shoulder mounts included). I've never had an issue, and I'm sure unless there is a reason for dnr to be questioning you about it, they won't care.



Edit:
A bedding area is usually a thicker area where deer will feel more secure. They will also have a good line of sight from where they are bedded, so they can see coming danger. If you go out walking in the snow, you can follow their tracks/trails to see where they bed. If you look hard enough, with no snow on the ground, you will see the depressions in the leaves where they are laying

 

[MichaelBikel]

I took a chance and tried an area that i've never hiked, where I live there isn't much unoccupied land. We have small reserves and state parks but those are full of people. After walking a hunting area for about an hour I saw tons of droppings but couldn't spot a single rub. I'm pretty sure I found a few bedding areas but I am assuming I was in a region with limited bucks. I also didn't go in the am and it was sunny, I took a chance since my time was limited last week. Any suggestions?

 

[MichaelBikel]

Never found any sheds, but while I was stocking up my firewood I finally spotted a buck in the woods behind my house. I had just taken down a dead standing birch and all the branches were piled up, he came within about 10' of me to eat some of the few buds I guess. He remains to be the only buck I have seen round here...

 

[ozyborn]

I had an entirely different vision when I saw this thread. Visionsin Elmer Fudd fashion of hunting and blasting sheds

 

[elliottw]

It's my favorite spring hobby, tips: check south facing slopes, they get more sun so deer tend to bed there. Walk very slow, about 2mph or less, any stick that looks like an antler tip is an antler until its not... lots of times you'll be sure it's not an antler until you get right on it. Check feeding areas. I walk miles upon miles and most of the time don't find any, but I love the exercise and exploring.

 

[58Yeoman]

When I was still working, I would travel a couple miles a day on a short stretch of divided interstate highway. I've seen guys in the median cutting antlers off dead deer. There's a lot of wooded areas around us.

 

[red61cj5]

It never happened to me to kill a bison, I don't think it's ok. I've recently got a new hunting optics by ATN but I will test it out on wild ducks only, I consider hunters who kill animals illegally should be punished.

???????????????

 

[MichaelBikel]

When I was still working, I would travel a couple miles a day on a short stretch of divided interstate highway. I've seen guys in the median cutting antlers off dead deer. There's a lot of wooded areas around us.

Funny that you mention that. I never see bucks dead on the side of the road, but about a month ago it finally happened. Unfortunately for me this buck had velvet on his antlers and put a foot on one to test it out. When it snapped and I could see that it was all ****** inside, I figured it wouldn't work for me.

If I were to see a buck with good solid antlers, what kind of saw would you recommend I use to cut them off?

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I completely misunderstood the title of this thread. I was going to suggest Pleasant Run sheds...

Tommy

 

[joseywales]

I completely misunderstood the title of this thread. I was going to suggest Pleasant Run sheds...

Tommy

I was thinking Amish, but yeah...

 

[ozyborn]

I had an entirely different vision when I saw this thread. Visionsin Elmer Fudd fashion of hunting and blasting sheds

Looky here Jimbo. This feller has a metal type shed. Use the buckshot

 

[PugetDude]

It never happened to me to kill a bison, I don't think it's ok. I've recently got a new hunting optics by ATN but I will test it out on wild ducks only, I consider hunters who kill animals illegally should be punished.

Never head of anyone hunting ducks with a scope. Good thing they are wild ducks and not the kind you find in a city park or petting zoo....

 

[rburke65]

I thought he was in the market for a garden shed.......

 

[tthornto]

I thought instead of a tree stand you put a little shed with windows out in the woods so when hunting season comes around you would have a dry warm place to sit inside and wait for a deer to walk by.