Where to Find Sheds
Filed under: Ask Grant, Deer Management
In March there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground where I live. I’ve looked for sheds my whole life but I have never found one. Do the mice eat them as they fall or am I not looking in the right areas? We have 250 acres and I look by our creek, under pines, up on ridges, near fence crossings, corn fields, even by rubs. Do you have any tips to find a big shed?
Joe (Wisconsin)
Joe,
My wife, daughters, and I really enjoy shed hunting! Through the years, we’ve learned to spend most of our time looking in areas where deer feed and bed during January through March. We also search the travel zones between the feeding and bedding areas. Rodents (squirrels and mice), coyotes and other critters will consume sheds. However, they usually don’t consume the entire shed, especially the larger ones. These critters tend to chew on the points and less on the main beams. The biggest factor to finding sheds is the number of sheds in the area. Therefore, in areas where a higher percentage of bucks from the herd are harvested each year, there will obviously be fewer sheds to find. If you and your family are actively passing bucks on your land to allow them to mature, you should have a good opportunity to find some sheds!
Growing Deer together,
Grant
