Bowhunting North America's Weekly Tip, Week 5

Another deer hunting season has come and gone and if you’re like me you’re still feeling the effects of withdrawal symptoms.  The fact that spring turkey season is only days away helps ease the pain a little, but it doesn’t completely cure the craving to get back out there in search of that dream buck of a lifetime.

The big boy you’re looking for would be hard to recognize right now since he’s already dropped his magnificent headgear and blends in almost indistinguishably with the rest of the herd. But don’t let that stop you from looking for him. Right now is an excellent time to be trying to get a handle on his whereabouts for the coming fall season.

I’m talking about shed hunting. Now is the time to do it. Soon the spring grasses and weeds will fill the woods and hide, maybe forever, the shed antlers of the bucks in your area. Get out there now and look around. This can be a great way to find out what kind of bucks are living in your hunting area, and more importantly – which ones survived the fall hunting season and winter snows.

It can be pretty exciting to hold in your hands the massive sheds of a trophy buck in your hunting area and since bucks tend to stick pretty close to their home territory when not in rut, you can get a pretty good idea of where this buck likes to hang out. Once you find the shed, start looking around that area for trails between feed sources and bedding areas to find a place for your stand or blind next fall.  Try to find natural funnels such as creek and fence crossings to narrow down your stand site selection even further.

A good place to start looking for sheds is along fence rows between woods and grain fields. The grain fields are generally pretty open and bare of vegetation this time of year making the sheds easier to spot. Bucks will often knock off their horns when jumping over or crawling under these fences.

If you hunt in an area that allows the use of feeders, search there too. Bucks sometimes dislodge their antlers when bumping them around on the feeder legs. 

A simple antler trap can be fashioned from a little hog wire and rebar to help remove the sheds. Stake the hog wire in the shape of 2 or 3 tight “V” shapes.  Pour corn or other bait in the very back of the “V” so that the buck has to push his horns into the wire to reach the bait. If the antlers are ready to drop, they’ll come right off when they hang up in the wire. Stake the wire down lightly so that if the antlers are not ready to drop, the buck will not become trapped. Be sure to check regulations in your state regarding baiting deer for any purpose.

A big shed antler can be a trophy in itself and it sure helps you to tolerate the off season knowing that he’s still out there just waiting to challenge your hunting skills again next fall.

And this is your Bowhunting North America Tip of the Week!

John Shelley

Pro Staff

Bowhunting North America, LLC