shed hunting 2015 slow

jasonx175 said:

Eveing everyone well its past mid March and shed season is slowwwwwww I've found 7 old ones and 2 freshies any one else having this dilemma it's becoming fustrating

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Not this year. Where are you located?

Could it be that your area is already picked over?? With all the attention put on finding sheds year after year I can see how that could happen.

I agree with Chuck! With the popularity in shed hunting today our accessible areas are getting less and less on private land anyways. It's also simple mathematics too! Many areas have lower buck numbers than others so that means less sheds on the ground as well, although some are still packing and will be till even after green up. Just my opinion...

jasonx175 said:

I'm in lake county ohio and I can promise you all no one is in my locations

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Are you running cameras in these locations? Are you seeing much deer sign(especially bigger tracks or scat)? Do you know if any of your mature deer made it through up till now? They could still be carrying their antlers or someone within a mile or two could be feeding them and drawing them away from your areas. Did you put a lot of early pressure in your areas and maybe bumped them onto other adjacent properties? Do you have a lot of yotes that keep them away? There are just so many variables that come into play regarding deer hunter and shed hunting anymore!

My problem here in the SW is low buck numbers and I can't get into some great looking areas close by to where I have permission for a number of reasons. Mainly, transplanted wealthy LO'ers moving into the country and don't want the hassle of a stranger walking their land(liability or theft risks) which I understand or they have friends or family that also deer and shed hunt.

So far, you are doing better than me as I have just 7 sheds total(5 freshys and 2 year old ones) I've done a shitload of walking so far but feel some might still be carrying!

There's a farm across the road from our subdivision that I've tried to ask for permission 3 times over the last few years. They either wouldn't come to the door or weren't home. A farmer works their fields every year and last spring a side hand helping the farmer picked up a booner set laying in one of the fields. There are many found this way on these huge farms that are owned by corporations and farmers.

Another place that was beside the Beach Water Park looked awesome a few years ago! I never pursued looking into who owned it to walk it but I'm sure the city of Mason or Kings or a developer had some say into it and would not have allowed me but it went into development right after that and a construction worker found a world class non typical set in the 230-250 range! Access,access,access to prime land is all it takes! Land where there's low hunter impact or no gun hunting helps the buck population thrive and with that the genetics and age comes the spoils to those who have access.

Another question:

What was the most sheds you found in this area and in what year? What do you consider a successful shed season? Is it quantity or quality(size,fresh vs old, less rodent damaged sheds...etc) or the number of matched sets?

I noticed my shed finding numbers took a dump over the last few years while looking in the same areas. This is why I believe low buck numbers is my biggest problem.

Jackalope said:

What county? I'll look at the harvest numbers.

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Lake County

Don't give up, might still be some not shed yet. I know how frustrating it is, been there a lot! I just try to enjoy the time outdoors, scout around for possible stand locations or learn more and get some exercise. What better way to get that! Keep positive and enjoy yourself TOO. Good luck though!

All I've found is a little 3 point and a 9 point dead head and I've walked some miles.

I guess the other thing to look at is how were your deer numbers last fall? Like the others said, if you have trail cams out and are seeing them with or without then you'll know if you are wasting your time or not.

Pretty sure the spot I've walked a few times is only home to a pile of does during the winter, I think the bucks stay on the 260 acres that don't allow hunting. There's also a guy that has maple trees tapped and he takes his gator out there every morning, that don't help.

I walked two great farms where I've found sheds before and both combined are about 600 acres. Prolly walked at least 7 miles zigzagging and grid searching along with walking all fencelines,tree lines,waterways and bedding areas over the 5 hour span. Saw mostly doe tracks and very little buck sign. No sheds found but I burned a shit ton of calories! Lol

Prolly won't walk those farms anymore due to low probability of a buck even running on them. Hope to get out more this week and try other places I've already been over a couple weeks ago. I've got a few places I haven't been to yet but just waiting till I think the bucks have surely dropped by then.

Its been slow for me and my crew as well. Less then half of what we normally find. I know for a fact its the three reasons FS mentioned. Less deer, more competition and the few bucks there are, some are still packing. I have 4 bucks on cam from a few days ago only one had shed its antlers, and one of his sides was laying 20 yards from a corn pile. Its getting tougher. Must work harder next year for access to better places. If I had access to a fraction of the hot spots I drive by every day I bet I would have 50 sheds by now.


I did find this dandy today, right off a gravel road. So you never know, its the hope of what might be that keeps me going out, regardless of what the odds are.