SHED HUNTING

[Row dog]

ANYONE FIND ANY FRESHLY DROPPED ANTLERS? SHOULD BE STARTING

[fishingking]

Have not been but I was curious so I checked back in my phone and the earliest I've ever found a shed was February 16th but obviously they could drop much earlier...I feel like it's all based on the health and nutrition of the deers habitat along with how bad the winter has been....I feel like it may be a later drop but....I've had pics of them still holding mid March around niagara

[mooseslayer]

My buddy found a nice one over  a week ago

[Dan Andrews]

I'm seeing bucks with fresh scabs so I've been out looking but no luck yet. So nice to get out before the ticks do

[Markster]

No racks, but i found the leftovers from a coyote kill. 
is it just me or are they worse this year?

[genec]

Was up to the family farm outside of Cayuga this morning…never saw any sheds while walking thru the bush, and haven't seen  a yote there in 4 years.

saw 2 flocks of turkeys thou, with 20+ in each flock.

[Dan Andrews]

Still have antlers as if Feb 29. 

[Darton]

Saw a 10 point walking out in a soya stuble field Feb. 28 with two other bucks that had dropped their antlers.   Was a good healthy year for this guy to be carrying so late in the season.

[fishingking]

37 minutes ago, Darton said:

Saw a 10 point walking out in a soya stuble field Feb. 28 with two other bucks that had dropped their antlers.   Was a good healthy year for this guy to be carrying so late in the season.

I find the less intense winter we have the longer they hold...in.my area anyway

[Darton]

Forsure. A lot of experts say it is all about the amount of daytime hours in the day.  It could be that, along with the amount of nutrition they receive during the cold months.  We had an excellent winter in Southern Ontario as far as whitetails are concerned. Barely any snow cover to have to dig through to reach high energy food.  One thing is forsure, bucks will have a lot of extra energy in their bodies that will be diverted into their antler growth. Going to have some big antlered deer running around this hunting season.  One thing to remember is, allow the small bucks to live . Try to harvest mature bucks.  Last couple years there have been a few bucks approaching the 200 inch mark.

[fishingking]

7 minutes ago, Darton said:

Forsure. A lot of experts say it is all about the amount of daytime hours in the day.  It could be that, along with the amount of nutrition they receive during the cold months.  We had an excellent winter in Southern Ontario as far as whitetails are concerned. Barely any snow cover to have to dig through to reach high energy food.  One thing is forsure, bucks will have a lot of extra energy in their bodies that will be diverted into their antler growth. Going to have some big antlered deer running around this hunting season.  One thing to remember is, allow the small bucks to live . Try to harvest mature bucks.  Last couple years there have been a few bucks approaching the 200 inch mark.

There are big ones around ...I.only have permission for an 8 acre piece of which there's only half that bush ...they do pass through but this past season was really slow for bigger bucks..a few 8s but nothing like the past 4 or 5years...permission is hard to get..been trying for a while with no luck....

[Darton]

Within the last few years, permission has become much harder to obtain. Many more bowhunters are getting out into the bush which causes the deer population to go into nocturnal mode.  To get a big one, you have to get into the bush well before sunrise and be in a spot somewhere between their feeding spot and their bedding spot.    I call this guy the 15 minute buck because I got him 15 minutes after I climbed into my stand. He was looking for who it was that made the noise in a dead quiet morning.

[fishingking]

16 minutes ago, Darton said:

Within the last few years, permission has become much harder to obtain. Many more bowhunters are getting out into the bush which causes the deer population to go into nocturnal mode.  To get a big one, you have to get into the bush well before sunrise and be in a spot somewhere between their feeding spot and their bedding spot.    I call this guy the 15 minute buck because I got him 15 minutes after I climbed into my stand. He was looking for who it was that made the noise in a dead quiet morning.

He's a beauty..did u score him and what wmu did u get him

[Darton]

Very close to 170 and got him in 91.  A high 190 was taken 10 miles from where this one was taken.  Very good genetics around there. Wish I could have let him go two more years, he had the potential to get up in the 190's.  His sheds from the year before were in the 150's.  Found then about fifty yards from where I put the arrow through him.  A guy this year totally ruined the spot.  He went back there into bedding spot twice every week with his quad and dumped a bunch of apples.  PS:  Deer dont like to be disturbed !  Especially the big older guys.  Go into their sanctuary and you have blown the area.

J327W_UG_CA_Nougat_ENG_D6.pdf

[Darton]

Here are his sheds from the year before.