Shed hunting

karleydavidson46

Six Pointer
Has anyone started the search? when is the best time to start? Really excited about trying to find some good ones and just being in the woods!

All the bucks here in Moore County still have their antlers, actually a couple on cam still chasing. I think it’ll be a little later in the year probably mid February


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FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
I have a good sized 8pt in Randolph that lost one side in the last week according to the trail cam pictures. Time to go walk the field edges, fence crossings and travel routes.

<>< Fish
 

336.FiremanT

Button Buck
I’m running cameras also and haven’t seen any of the bucks missing horns yet. What I’ve read it seemed like February was prime time but then you get on Instagram and lots of people posting about sheds.. just thought I was missing out! This year is my first time doing it.
 

336.FiremanT

Button Buck
One thing I read about the best place to look for them is near bedding areas. Can this pressure them and possibly move them out? I mean I wouldn’t be camping out in there or going through every afternoon or anything.
 

lbksmom

Banned
I shed hunt every year and find mid March by then 80% have dropped. That way you don't double hunt the same places. Open fields with food produce every year. Have fun, bring family and good luck.
 

ditchbank

Banned
I generally start looking sheds when the Shad start running here in the east. When people say the shad are biting I can generally walk and find a few.


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sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Don't fool with it until March. I've seen too many holding antlers still in March to wast time in Jan/Feb. anymore. Of course I rarely spend time looking for sheds anyway. I find most of them doing other stuff in the woods - turkey hunting, bird hunting, pruning lanes...
 

buckman84

Eight Pointer
Don't fool with it until March. I've seen too many holding antlers still in March to wast time in Jan/Feb. anymore. Of course I rarely spend time looking for sheds anyway. I find most of them doing other stuff in the woods - turkey hunting, bird hunting, pruning lanes...
I always find shefs when im out turkey hunting in Anson county. Never have any luck where I deer hunt here in union county.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
the prettiest matched set I ever found was in the snow. a low accumulation and a cut bean field work well. they stand out nicely.
as for timing of a concentrated dedicated event it just depends. Do you have others that will be hunting the same places?
If so you may want to go early and often.
If it's exclusive to you Skyhawk has it pegged.
I understand up north it's quite competitive.
as for finding them in bedding areas, Good Luck with that.

I am certain that deer holding areas up north can concentrate some bucks but here they bed in some stuff I don't think you could walk and look effectively.

on this sublect: Do any of you have dogs that you use for this?
 

hillbillypossum

Six Pointer
Don’t know if it was a flute, but I saw three one antler bucks this morning running together. I’d say better possibility they had dropped one!!!
 

shaggy

Old Mossy Horns
Some still carrying racks in pitt county.
 

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MoBucks

Old Mossy Horns
Starting to drop... only a few still holding for me he had both sides yesterday afternoon

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shaggy

Old Mossy Horns
Starting to drop... only a few still holding for me he had


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So I'm guessing timing of rut matters to when they drop? I've seen deer with missing sides during the season and them carrying until March. The latest I've seen a rack buck was in late march. So why do some areas see dropped racks while other areas deer still have racks?
 

MoBucks

Old Mossy Horns
Starting to drop... only a few still holding for me he had


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So I'm guessing timing of rut matters to when they drop? I've seen deer with missing sides during the season and them carrying until March. The latest I've seen a rack buck was in late march. So why do some areas see dropped racks while other areas deer still have racks?

I don’t believe the rut has much to do when they drop.... but I could possibly see if you had way too many doe and not enough bucks.... that as long as there was a few doe not bred... that the bucks would probably keep their testosterone up and possibly whatever else keeps the juices flowing to the antlers.... but never really thought much about it... got some still holding but starting to see more falling off this week


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ditchbank

Banned
Starting to drop... only a few still holding for me he had


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So I'm guessing timing of rut matters to when they drop? I've seen deer with missing sides during the season and them carrying until March. The latest I've seen a rack buck was in late march. So why do some areas see dropped racks while other areas deer still have racks?

I don’t believe the rut has much to do when they drop.... but I could possibly see if you had way too many doe and not enough bucks.... that as long as there was a few doe not bred... that the bucks would probably keep their testosterone up and possibly whatever else keeps the juices flowing to the antlers.... but never really thought much about it... got some still holding but starting to see more falling off this week


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That is correct , it all depends on the amount of testosterone each buck may still be carrying. Once the levels drop low enough. So do the antlers.


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Mgunns

Spike
Will the shedding be different times due to location as well? For example I’m in the Far East of N.C. vs the mountain regions or other states up north?
 

ditchbank

Banned
Will the shedding be different times due to location as well? For example I’m in the Far East of N.C. vs the mountain regions or other states up north?

I do t know biological answers as far as regions but like Mobucks said once most does are bred their work is done. I do think larger bucks tend to shed faster in a lot of cases just because the have to grow so much antler back in the spring.


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Ambush

Twelve Pointer
Many years ago, I had a nine point buck show up on the cam December 20. He was pure bones. His hips were so skinny, I thought maybe he'd been hit by a car. Around December 22 & 23 he shed both sides. I felt like this was a perfect example of a buck rutted out so hard, his body shed the antlers to help him survive. This was an extreme case and I'm sure there are different degrees of how hard they rutted and how much weight they kept on the bodies. I'm sure every buck's testosterone drops at different rates too. I fed that buck for a month and he gained at least twenty five pounds. Never saw him again the next year.
 

ditchbank

Banned
Many years ago, I had a nine point buck show up on the cam December 20. He was pure bones. His hips were so skinny, I thought maybe he'd been hit by a car. Around December 22 & 23 he shed both sides. I felt like this was a perfect example of a buck rutted out so hard, his body shed the antlers to help him survive. This was an extreme case and I'm sure there are different degrees of how hard they rutted and how much weight they kept on the bodies. I'm sure every buck's testosterone drops at different rates too. I fed that buck for a month and he gained at least twenty five pounds. Never saw him again the next year.

Main reason I put out corn and grow oats....corn does nothing for antlers but helps conserve energy, even now I put it out and they are destroying it.....rarely kill bucks over corn.....but they eat on it constantly even during the rut....a well fed buck becomes less stressed.


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Ambush

Twelve Pointer
Main reason I put out corn and grow oats....corn does nothing for antlers but helps conserve energy, even now I put it out and they are destroying it.....rarely kill bucks over corn.....but they eat on it constantly even during the rut....a well fed buck becomes less stressed.


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The last buck I killed this year post rut, had lost a ton of weight and we had feed everywhere all year. I believe the dominant breeders just burn more than they can consume, to keep the weight on. When they slow back down first of the year, they can gain it back quickly with corn.
 

ditchbank

Banned
Main reason I put out corn and grow oats....corn does nothing for antlers but helps conserve energy, even now I put it out and they are destroying it.....rarely kill bucks over corn.....but they eat on it constantly even during the rut....a well fed buck becomes less stressed.


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The last buck I killed this year post rut, had lost a ton of weight and we had feed everywhere all year. I believe the dominant breeders just burn more than they can consume, to keep the weight on. When they slow back down first of the year, they can gain it back quickly with corn.

I have so many does I dont believe they burn as much energy as in a place that is more buck/doe ratio balanced.


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Sp8

Ten Pointer
I was coyote hunting a few years back with a friend. It was last week of March and saw a group of bucks still holding. 2 decent 8s, a half rack 6, and another deer which I assume was a buck who had already dropped. I would've called bs had I not seen it myself.
 
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