Many hunters are depressed by the end of hunting season. Think about it, you have seven and a half months to wait for hunting season to begin again. So, the next thing you have to look forward to is shed hunting in late February, early March.   Well, the time is upon us, I can tell you that as of Saturday 2/18/2012, some if not all bucks still had their antlers.   So, as we think about shed hunting we forget one important thing,  this is a great time of year to get out and go scouting.  You can still see scraps and rubs from this past year,  this year even more so with the lack of snow here in the East.   I was out in a very interesting area on Saturday that a friend showed me and I saw loads of sign and a number of deer.   This is also how I know bucks still have their antlers on, I did see one decent buck that appeared to be an 8 point, although it was hard to tell because he was running.   I plan more walks in the coming weeks which will serve a dual purpose, scouting, and shed hunting as time goes on.

The important thing to be looking at this time of year is trails, feeding areas, bedding areas, as well as rubs and scraps.  Each piece of information will tell you a different bit of information about what the deer are doing now, did before and during rut.  This information will go a long way when you start scouting in July and August, and will help you even more in the coming hunting season.   Remember, new information you learn now, may be useful the end of next season as the deer herd up as they are now.

The other key factor in learning things this time of year is to scout out new trees.  Everything will look very different in 3 months, and even more so in 7 months when you to start hunting, but now is a great time to locate climbable trees that are on trails or along feeding areas.   Wandering around looking at these things and making notes of where all your trees are now, will allow you to go back without as much disturbance in the summer months and check to insure shooting lanes do not need cleared, or small branches do not need to be trimmed away that you did not see this time of year.

Another great idea is to plan your travel routes to and from these new stands.  Wandering around not knowing a direct route in July and August you risk spooking the deer that  may call that area home.  Whereas, if you have a direct route planned that eliminates spooking the deer as much as possible, you have a much better chance of those deer being less aware of you come opening day when you are sitting in that stand.

Finally, I would like to remind many of you, post season scouting is not only good time spent in the woods, but it is also a great time to take someone with you.  I know many people, that are interested in learning about deer and hunting, but have no interest in sitting in a tree or blind during hunting season.  Scouting and shed hunting is great way to introduce people to hunting and the outdoors.  It is great exercise and can even be a lot of fun for youngsters as you can send them looking for antlers without worrying about noise or disturbing others or anything like that.   So take someone with you, they may just end up your next hunting companion, friend,  or give you and a loved one a hobby to share.

Have you been out scouting or shed hunting?  We would love to hear what you have seen or pictures of sheds you may have found!

 
We caught that same little 6 point last night around 2:30 a.m. on the trail cam.  We got several pictures of him before he was gone.   The good news is he made through hunting season and will probably be a nice small 8 point next season (Still probably too small to shoot sadly).    I am glad he is coming around on a more regular basis now, it allows me to  know that at least he has not shed his antlers.  This means it is a good bet that a good number of the deer if any  have not shed their antlers yet this year.  Trail cams are useful for so many different things when it comes to hunting!

I normally start shed hunting  this weekend, however it looks like I will just be scouting this weekend.  Now is a great time to spot  deer bedding areas and travel routes.  Normally I use late winter snow stores to do this, but we have had a serious lack of snow this winter..

When you have a passion for hunting, you can learn to make the sport a year round activity, even know the season only runs September 15th –  January 31st each year.   Between maintaining and looking at new equipment, scouting, trail cams,  taking summer time walks and photos when possible, and hunting it self, you can always find a reason to hit the woods!  Remember that when you get the off-season blues!

Below are the pictures from last evening of the 6 point buck.

Have any of you been out scouting, or seen deer in your travels?  Seen anything worth mentioning?  Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

Below are trail cam photo’s from yesterday,  I decided to check the trail cam’s before the snow today and found that this young buck had come up last evening.   Granted it is after hunting  season and he is a little guy, but the important thing about these photos is that most of the bucks still have their antlers on.  We have had several emails asking when the deer normally shed their antlers, well to answer this question in short, they loose them at different times each year, ranging from as early as mid- January to as late as late – March.  Each deer can loose their antlers at different times.  This is because deer loose their antlers based on a drop in testosterone,  so each deer is different and even each year that deer will be different.  I have found that using a trail cam is the best way to track when deer are loosing their antlers.   Last season, I got pictures of 2 deer just 2 days after the end of hunting season both large mature deer and at a glance they looked like does,  after I looked at pictures of their heads they were clearly both mature bucks that had both dropped their antlers.  Sadly, I went and looked the very next day and never did find sheds.  The point of this is that trail cams can provide you a lot of information when you are trying to figure out when to start shed hunting.