Shed hunting has really become quite the popular spring activity the last decade or so. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s almost on par with the other outdoorsman favorite – chasing thunderchickens. Yes, now even dogs are being bred and bought as primarily “shed hunters” if you can believe that. But with all the excitement surrounding this new craze, one has to be honest about exactly what one can, and cannot expect to get out of this springtime woods-walking whitetail sport. In reality, there are a few benefits and one word of caution as to how far it can really go to helping our whitetail hunting efforts for the fall.
How Shed Hunting DOES Help
1. General Scouting
Shed hunting helps you invade areas you just should not during hunting season, and also shows vital information – last year’s sign. Rubs, scrapes, travel patterns, all these are highly visible without foliage on the trees or underbrush. I would call this “historic sign,” because it’s telling you patterns of how deer used the land, but is of benefit – it’s also how deer will probably use the land in the future. This can really help come next fall when you’re making hunting decisions, and too wise to venture deep into cover looking for that fresh sign. Particularly, look for the coveted perennial scrapes and rubs, which are visited by multiple bucks year after year. These are great to know about for your surgical strike next October, and useful even if a buck that left the sign is dead. Another one will always take his place.
2. Specific Scouting
If a single buck is your target, shed hunting can give you specific information or intel on him to put you one step closer to killing him next season. First, if you find his sheds, you know he’s made it through the season and will probably be around another year. If you have other scouting data from previous seasons on this deer, these habits of when and where he frequented are repeated many times, giving you a big edge on getting one step ahead of him. Further, studying his sheds can help give you an idea of his age, what he likes to rub, and therefore maybe clues as to where he liked to hang based on cover and tree type. All good things to know as you make a buck profile (Read about how to make a buck profile HERE).
3. Fun & Outdoor Exercise
So this one is obvious, but spending a day in the woods is always good for physical and mental health, especially after a long winter season. So that alone is a good reason to get off the couch and into the woods and fields.
How Shed Hunting DOESN’T Help – CAUTION!
Tell His Fall Location
If you find a bucks shed, it’s important to realize this only tells you where he was when he dropped them, in the winter. It does not reveal where he was when you could actually hunt him, as many bucks have different wintering locations and may shift patterns due to late-season hunting pressure and available food resources. Many hunters get off track here thinking he will be in that same area for the later summer and into the fall hunting season. This not necessarily true. It’s important to understand that as exciting as it may be, finding a shed is just one little piece of the puzzle on a deer, and probably not the most important piece to be honest.
After all, it’s post-season sign, not in-season sign. To be of any benefit you need to put it together with more important intel much closer to or during deer season. That comes through last year’s historic in-season intel (like trail camera pictures or sightings of this particular buck), and future summer scouting, glassing, and fresh sign you will hopefully acquire in-season. That is the data much more likely to help you zip an arrow or hunk of hot lead through him.
A recent Mississippi State University study shows two types of bucks – sedentary and mobile bucks. If you have a sedentary (stationary) buck on your hands, this will possibly make this data more helpful as he’s more likely to stick to this area. But if you’re chasing a mobile buck (moving around to two or more home ranges), his fall location becomes tougher to predict, so beware. When you’re out stomping the spring woods just understand that where you find that whitetail souvenir might not tell you all you need to fill next year’s freezer, or wall space.
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