SHED HUNTING Montana, March 2007
 

Aaron and I haven't been shed hunting in a couple weeks (seriously shed hunting).  We have gone on a few walks around the house with the dogs, but mostly we've been focusing on remodeling our house.  It's hard being responsible when sheds are laying around.   So I convinced Aaron we needed to go shed hunting today  since the temperatures have been warmer and the snow is slowing melting.

We hit a new area with lots of sign and not thirty minutes into our walk Aaron hollered at me.  I was so excited! I really wanted the day to be a success since we'd taken a day off working on the house.  I was super excited that Aaron found the first of the day.

A quirky whitetail shed with a long mainbeam and dinky little tines, but it was fresh with nothing chewed.  Of course, that is until the dogs decided they had to try it....actually they just pose this way.

Back to climbing the slippery slope; not 3 minutes later Aaron hollered again!  The first "hanger" of the year.  He looked down the hill behind him and knew it was an antler!  Fresh, but bleached from hanging in the sun.

So standing from where the hanger was, I looked back behind me and spotted definite little tines sticking out of the snow.  I was sure lucky Aaron called me over to see his antler....none of the sheds were matches so far.

The hillside was steep, and with a little snow in area it was a recipe for sliding all over the place.  Aaron has some pretty good abrasions on his hands, and I bruised my rib pretty good when I wrapped my arm around a tree for balance, and proceed to loose my legs and slid all the way down the tree taking all the branches off.....this spring shed hunting is  a bit dangerous.

We drove to a different area and started walking around a bit.  We found a bunch of people tracks, so we avoided them and went elsewhere....We were just getting ready to make a turn when Aaron found this little sucker!

At the exact same time he hollered, I laid eyes on this fellow.  I nice five point with a chewed g4.  A dandy find for the day so far!

We weren't far from all the people tracks we'd seen, so just goes to show, that sheds are missed in the woods regardless of how many people are out wandering around.  We usually get pretty frustrated when we see tracks, but we are learning that sometimes just getting a little away from them pays off.....

Then on the way back to the truck, I spotted this year old shed in a trail.  Pretty good, three shed finds, for about twenty minutes of walking.  I think I got Aaron to feel the shed hunting itch again, so hopefully next weekend will be fruitful.

March 2007

Aaron and I have been thrilled that the snow has slowly been melting around here.   We were hopeful that with the spring like weather we've been having, we might find some tine tips peaking out of the snow!  We had just started our hike, maybe ten minutes from the truck, when I spotted this little ground hanger under a thick stand of trees.  The tips are chewed a bit, but no too bad.

I was so  happy the pressure was off! We are always okay to leave the woods as long as we find at least one antler. 

 The area was a new area we'd never been in before,  so we didn't know what to expect.  It looked like awesome deer country, but we figured other shed hunters may have been there already this season. 

We proceeded to go higher and higher (as usual).  My friends joke, if they can't find me in the woods, they just keep hiking uphill, and they know eventually they'll find me.   We ended up hiking a little too high, and the snow was above my knees and rotten.  We struggled, crawled, and fought the snow until we decided we weren't going to find anything anyway.  We did find a bunch of elk sign; a lot of fresh rubs, and two old, and chewed whitetail sheds.  On our way down to the truck, I stumbled across a HUGE den, which I saw and quickly walked the other way, feeling rather naked without my pistol on my hip, just an antler in my hand. 

We went to a different area that we'd also never been before.  Not far from the truck we spotted a couple of running elk, but couldn't identify whether they were cows or bulls, but it was exciting nonetheless.  I told Aaron I was going to zig zag through some sweet looking country when I spotted this unique little winter kill buck.  He's a little 4x5 with a chunky split G2.  Definitely a keeper!

We continued walking for a some time, but the light started to fade and we decided we better head back to the truck.  I'd just made it to an area that I felt had I been in Alaska, would have been very "moosey" but all I'd seen was elk and deer sign.   I'd been fooled already by a number of branches that I swore were tines, and after the initial burst of excitement, realized they weren't.  I was again seeing what looked like a tine, but I wasn't going to get too excited.  I snuck a little closer and let our a squeal of delight!  My very first elk shed ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It definitely isn't fresh, but it is in fine shape!  A great "earth shed"! 

Aaron knew I'd found either a huge whitetail shed, or an elk antler by the squeal I made. He was so excited when he saw the treasure I'd found!

So we headed back, covering different ground in hopes of picking up a few more treasures before the day was over!  It was getting pretty dusky, so our pace was pretty fast.  I was so excited when I heard "whoo hoo" from Aaron.  He warned me that it was a "typical" shed for him, meaning it was small.  I reminded him a shed is a shed! 

About five minutes later, I heard another "whoo hoo".... Aaron declared he'd found the match.  He was kidding, but it wasn't very far off from being a match!

Then it was my turn! We realized the area we were in had some awesome genetics.... :)  The antlers were pretty consistent in size!  The one I found had a pretty nice eye guard and a tight little bend to the mainbeam.

Not a bad day!

March 2007

It was an awful day today!  Aaron and I had high hopes of finding lots of good stuff today!  We left our house in the rain and arrived at the area we'd planned on walking in the rain.  I was pretty much stoked to go!  I don't much care about the elements when I'm shed hunting, but I knew Aaron hated the rain, so I made sure he was still game to hit the woods!  

We hiked and hiked...the snow was melted in some areas, and rotten and two feet deep in others.  All the brush was dripping with rain, and we very soon were soaked!  We finally reached some pretty sweet country with deer trails all over!  We saw some fresh elk sign, and lots of elk rubs from the rut.  I was elated when I heard the familiar "Whoo Hoo" from Aaron.  It was a year old whitetail shed that had been some squirrel's gourmet dinner for awhile.  It was definitely Aaron's biggest whitetail shed yet; we were pretty bummed it was chewed!  AND we didn't take any pictures since we were soaked!  I regret that now sitting here at my desk. 

We were hopeful then, and continued on into some awesome country!  We were high when I finally stopped to check the elevation.  We were hoping to find some muley's in the area, and the elevation was about perfect.  The wind was whipping us like crazy, and I was cold!!!! We continued up some more, and I felt a little warmer, but with soaking legs, arms, and feet I could feel the wind chilling my body temperature.  When I started to feel funny inside, I knew we had to get down the mountain and out of the wind.  We worked our way down a miserable face, but finally made it out of the howling wind!  I realized I hadn't even been looking for antlers for the last thirty minutes or so I was so focused on hustling my tail down the mountain!  We bee lined it to the truck, and after a mile more of walking, popped out of the woods about twenty yards from where we'd parked.   It was so nice to shed the wet layers and get warm. 

A little coffee and a lot of heat in the truck, and I was ready to go again!  I decided that shed hunting teaches me patience and perseverance.  Today, we was persevering in the lousy weather!   We went to a new area we'd never been before, but thought it might be fun walking and there were no giant climbs included! 

I continued to remind myself as I sloshed along in my soaking boots, that I was learning patience.  I was rewarded when I spotted this super bleached shed right between Aaron and I.  A nice sized 4point. 

Aaron found a year old small four point shed a couple hundred yards away from me.  We didn't get any pictures, since he didn't want me to walk all the way over to where he was.

We liked the area, and kept walking. It was nice and relaxing. The rain had let up, and the occasionally gust of wind I hardly noticed.  I heard a real "Whoo Hoo" from Aaron who was maybe seventy yards to my left.  I saw him looking over his shoulder...I assumed he'd walked past a shed and then looked back and noticed it.  He said he'd walked by and looked over and then saw it! 

 He was VERY excited, and I soon realized why when he hollered it was a "real six point".    One point isn't quite scoreable to be called a point according to Boon&Crockett, but it's an awesome antler!

March 2007

What do you know...the one day that I have off work this week, other than Monday, it decides to pour rain again!!! Actually we woke up to a bit of snow and gloomy weather! All week while we work it is sunny and warm...so we were so excited to get out on such a day... not so! Sad At least this time we were better prepared!
 

We headed out in the rain! Up into some familiar country to assess the situation since the snow has somewhat melted in various areas. We ended up finding five antlers, four old and this freshie...

It was really exciting to know we'd found at least one. We trudged on but didn't find anything else fresh so we headed to some different country!

It was exhausting hiking with a gallon of water in each boot, stepping in the occasional patch of rotten snow sinking up to our knees. The going was slow, and I about jumped for joy when I looked up and saw this!

I hollered for Aaron, he was just above me, and he hiked down stopped and looked at me. I couldn't believe he didn't see the antler...it was so obvious. He asked where it was...I gave in and said "right there.." pointing. "Oh," he says...."you mean it isn't this one!!!!!!" Shocked Lucky sucker, found the match to my side. It was on a little rock behind some brush and I didn't see it! It was a good boost of confidence for us!

It was a good boost of confidence for us!

We hiked on, we both found year old muley sheds! Mine was pretty much eaten to just the main beam, but Aarons is pretty awesome. Too bad it sat out there a year and was a snack for a squirrel.

We started our hike back down through some thick timber. It was like ice skating in the trees. Everything was so slippery with the rain, I can't count the times we fell. It was like climbing through a jungle gym, and I told Aaron we had to get out of the timber before we broke something. That's when I saw this!!!! Shocked A nice whitetail, a bit wounded by a squirrel, but it'll recover nicely in my house!

I still can't get over how big some whitetail antlers are, and how some you think are pretty nice are actually pretty small once you find a bigger guy like this one! I was very excited!

On our way down to the truck! It was pretty easy to spot this year old shed. Too bad it was a bit chewed; looked like the G3 would have been split.

My shed hunting buddy Tundra. She is a trooper, and she loves the smell of year old antlers. 

In a different area, this four point stuck out pretty good too.  Year old sheds are great for ease of finding them!  Wish they could hide from the squirrels though!

Aaron found this year old match set as a well.  One side was in great shape, and the other had a few chew marks.  In this same area we also found a couple year old elk antler and another four point that had been badly chewed!

Yipee!  I was excited when I looked down a deer trail and spotted this freshie! Pretty good genetics in this area we think. This buck seems pretty young, but relatively heavy.

And then Aaron ended the day with this find.  A fresh winter kill buck, and pretty decent one!

March 2007

We finally were able to get out on a nice day! I had to work on Sunday, so we had Monday to do our shed hunting, which happened to be a beautiful and way too warm day. We found 11 sheds in all. I used to take pictures of every single antler we found, but lately I've been trying to stick to the freshies or unique oldies.

It definitely was Aaron's day. I didn't find anything fresh; in fact I only found two year old sheds.

We did some insane hiking early in the day and once our legs were rubber decided to do some relaxing hiking. 

I was pretty excited when Aaron hollered down to me that he'd found one, and it was fresh... he took a few steps forward and "woo whoo'd" again finding the match. The squirrels had started their work, but at least they were pretty slow going on these guys!

We went to a different area, and not ten minutes into the walk, Aaron almost stepped on this!  We should have turned around then, but no we had to hike for two more hours up and down and found nothing!

So far I'd found one year old chewed shed, so I was needing a pick-me-up. I was pretty excited when I looked down below me and saw this...

I love the ATL pic...wish more antlers would drop like this! This guys has a pretty long and curved main beam...In great shape for a year old antler!

March 2007

We went hiking after work today with the dogs. It was a quick hike since we only had a couple hours.  It was very exciting to find this forky after we saw lots of people sign in the area.

I was excited when I found this little four point, too bad my luck is that it was chewed!  We ended up finding four antlers total. Two fresh and two oldies.

March 2007

I had the day off today, so I went shed hunting with my buddy, Chad.  I knew some country that was pretty hot, so we decided to go exploring even though it had been picked over pretty good.

I was so excited when I looked up above me and saw this little four point resting in some brush! I called my buddy Chad, who was down in the valley and Aaron, who was at work....Had to share my find with someone!

Not twenty yards further I looked down and saw the first forky, then walked closer and found the match just behind the tree!  Whoo Hooo....exciting to find a match set, no matter what the size!

Somewhere back in the valley Chad and I were heading toward each other. He was sitting and eating a granola bar; and I was on my way toward him! I hoped he'd looked over the area, in case there were any antlers lying around!  Sure enough not twenty yards from him I saw the antler lying in the snow first.  Then I found the match on the other side of the stump.  Poor Chad...he couldn't believe my luck!

We started looping back toward our starting point. I was above Chad...he called me and told me he'd found a pretty good one! I was super excited for him since he'd been bummed he hadn't found anything big yet.  I kept walking along, and about had a heart attack when I saw this lying in the trail.  I hadn't expected to find anything in that country; and it was just sitting there plain as day!  It is a year old; at first I thought it was fresh, then looked at the back and realized it had been flipped over.  Only a few chew marks.  It scores around 86.  The cool thing is our buddy (same one that found the huge nontypical whitetail) found this years set to this guy.  It is a whopper , scores 206 nontypical.

My pack for the day!!! Pretty exciting to find some fresh muley sheds, including a whopper year old one!  Chad found one freshie and two year old ones that were pretty massive!

March 2007

Aaron and I again were greeted with rain on our day off, but this time we were prepared. We wore our HH rain bibs that rocked! I was pretty much mostly dry all day long, other than my feet.  My Danners are nearly out of life and tend to find themselves full of water after a day of walking in the rain! 

Aaron was the first lucky one of the day!  I love how this antler lays with the rain dripping off the tines! I great rainy day shed pic!

Then it was my turn with this freshie.  Too bad the squirrels got to it first. We are beginning to realize this is a part of shed hunting spring here. Better to find them now, then when they are really chewed!

Shed hunting rain gear!!!

Then it was Aaron's turn again. A nice four point with some more chew marks.  At least we know to hit this area early next year!

Aaron's turn again! We were just splitting up to cover an area that I  thought looked great! Not thirty seconds from leaving me, he let out his normal "Whoo Hooo"

This antler is awesome. The little squiggle in the mainbeam is pretty unique.  This antler  was special....no chew marks!

About five minutes later....another "Whoo Hoo" from Aaron!!!! He was kicking my butt! This little four point has some unique color and it was also free of chew marks!

At last....my turn! We went to a different area and I was walking behind Aaron. We weren't really looking for sheds since the country wasn't that great.  I couldn't help but notice the white tines sticking through the brush! A dandy year old five point!

Then I about died....I saw this brown elk shed that nearly convinced me it was fresh! I saw the base, and thought it look a year old but I wanted it to be fresh so badly!  Then I saw a white tine sticking up not too far away and figured I'd found the match! Sure enough!

Definitely a year old set, but in great shape and with pretty darn good color!  I can't wait to find some of these fresh!

Aaron was walking through some thicker timber when he spotted the white tines of the forky, he went closer to see and saw this four point lying about ten feet from it!

Lucky duck!!! Not a bad day for us, especially for Aaron!  We've decided that shed hunting in the rain isn't so bad after all! We seem to have pretty good luck in the crumby weather!

March 2007

Well this weekend was our five year anniversary, and we decided to spend it, of course....shed hunting.   We planned a big camping trip...come rain or shine and it was great! The first night we camped was beautiful; almost full moon and clear skies. We enjoyed a campfire, smores, and wine!!! Then a couple games of cribbage in which I whipped Aaron's behind...We woke early the next AM in high hopes of finding some whoppers! 
I wonder how many sheds we walk past; our eyes are certainly not trained to catch everyone of these...

I wonder how many sheds we walk past; our eyes are certainly not trained to catch everyone of these...

It's a nice little five point. Just a few chew marks, but we are beginning to expect that around here!

Then it was Aaron's turn. Another whopper!!! I surely would have walked past this one if I wasn't really close to it!

About this time it started snowing on us!  We'd hoped for nice weather, but knew with our luck, it was bound to change. The cool was nice though!

Then Aaron found this one. We were on our way back to the truck!   Another good spot! This one was found a bit sooner by the squirrels I'm afraid.

We went to a different area then to waste some time before dinner at a small hometown cafe in our shed hunting area.  I was pretty excited when I saw this year old match set! No chew marks in this area apparently!

While we were at dinner, the rain started and it poured that night! We all crawled into the back of the truck to sleep (the dogs, Aaron, and I) we just hoped that the morning would be less wet! We played some more hands of cribbage, Aaron whooped me this time!

Continue more of our shed hunting weekend adventure on our April shed hunting page....