Shed hunting vs. game cams
11-19-2007, 09:26 AM
#1
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
Shed hunting vs. game cams
Just a different twist....
I know a ot of you guys enjoy shed hunting.....and for somewhat obvious reasons I think it's fine.
BUT.....if you have a gamecam.....isn't photo evidence MORE beneficial to you than a shed antler?
I guess what I'm saying is.....WHY is shed hunting important....IF you have photo evidence that your deer is: 1) alive 2) helathy 3) still in the area?
A shed cn fall off at any time. Knowing where a buck has been at any given time isn't that beneficial, TO ME. Why is this practice (shed hunting) considered by so many to be crucial to whitetail management of bucks?????
I know a ot of you guys enjoy shed hunting.....and for somewhat obvious reasons I think it's fine.
BUT.....if you have a gamecam.....isn't photo evidence MORE beneficial to you than a shed antler?
I guess what I'm saying is.....WHY is shed hunting important....IF you have photo evidence that your deer is: 1) alive 2) helathy 3) still in the area?
A shed cn fall off at any time. Knowing where a buck has been at any given time isn't that beneficial, TO ME. Why is this practice (shed hunting) considered by so many to be crucial to whitetail management of bucks?????
11-19-2007, 09:38 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Minnesota
Posts: 9,445
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
Both of these can be questionable! As for finding sheds you might be finding sheds where deer group up in the winter (deer group up in the winter when there is alot of snow around) these deer could be coming from along ways away to find food. On the other hand i've found sheds from my 138" whitetail I got this year3 years in a row, that deer did consider my woods his home woods, its nice to know! On your trail cams if your seeing nice bucks early in the year, most likely them bucks live in your woods or area. During the rut these bucks travel along ways sometimes so your going to see different bucks more then likely on your cams then.I go by more of what I see early in the year on my cams then anything!
11-19-2007, 09:39 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southeast, VA
Posts: 2,119
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
I'm not sure it I've considered it crucial to whitetail management of bucks but that is just me. I look at it more like an insight if you will to a number of things.
For example the actual shed can tell you if a specific buck made it through the season (but I would agree a game cam can also provide that info), but a shed can also come from a buck you never saw or got pictures of and those can be a real eye opener.
Sometimes more important than the actual shed can be the location of the find, while many may be found in common places (fields, paths, etc.) there is always that one where you stop and think "What the heck is this buck doing here, in this area?" and finds like that can allow you to look at areas or ideas you had possibly overlooked in the past.
I also think it is just fun, almost hobby-like(arrow heads, treasure hunting kind of thing). When I see posts and pics of guys that find loads of sheds every year I am impressed because Iam happy to find a few and sometimes I find none but I still look. Just my .02.
For example the actual shed can tell you if a specific buck made it through the season (but I would agree a game cam can also provide that info), but a shed can also come from a buck you never saw or got pictures of and those can be a real eye opener.
Sometimes more important than the actual shed can be the location of the find, while many may be found in common places (fields, paths, etc.) there is always that one where you stop and think "What the heck is this buck doing here, in this area?" and finds like that can allow you to look at areas or ideas you had possibly overlooked in the past.
I also think it is just fun, almost hobby-like(arrow heads, treasure hunting kind of thing). When I see posts and pics of guys that find loads of sheds every year I am impressed because Iam happy to find a few and sometimes I find none but I still look. Just my .02.
11-19-2007, 09:46 AM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Phoenixville, PA USA
Posts: 5,541
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
Jeff, while I see your point I think that shed hunting can provide some insight that a game cam will not. For example, yes a buck can shed his antlers at any given time, but given a buck's behavior during that time of year it is more likely that you will find sheds in that buck's core area. If you find a set you are almost definitely in the core area. This area is likely not where you would set up a game cam due to the limited traffic you would see. Also, while shed hunting your are covering a lot of ground and could very easily make some discoveries you otherwise would not have made.
Game cams are a great tool, but they don't replace time spent in the woods.
Game cams are a great tool, but they don't replace time spent in the woods.
11-19-2007, 10:03 AM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Damascus MD
Posts: 2,751
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
I think my trail cams are far more beneficialfor seeing whatand when deerare moving thru a specific area during my bowhunting season, than finding sheds in Feb or March.
Jeff, I think shed hunting is more for comradery, hobbyand or fun than anything else.
Jeff, I think shed hunting is more for comradery, hobbyand or fun than anything else.
11-19-2007, 10:41 AM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Indiana (southern)
Posts: 6,146
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
Shed hunting for me is more of a favorite past time hobby, i enjoy the time in the woods and get in some of my best scouting. I killed my buck this season from finding the spot while shed hunting, (i hunt a big area) Of all the shed i have found, i have never actually seen the buck that lost them. When they shed i think they are in a totally different pattern vs. hunting season patterns. I have got game cam pics and killed the same buck once. As far as game cams, i have got pics of the same buck in multiple areas and learned how far they can travel. I also have one shed i found and found out my neighbor has a game cam pic of him over a mile and a half away. in a nut shell, i just love doing both of them just for shear enjoyment 
and exercise!!
and exercise!!
11-19-2007, 11:04 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest suburbs, Illinois
Posts: 2,075
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
A shed is just about as beneficial as a photo.. Jeff. If you look at it with 2 dimensions.
All they will ever prove is that a buck (or other deer) were once there at some moment in time.. right! Again pretty standard 2 dimensional thinking!
Let's look at it through a 3 dimensional point of view. When shed hunting you will learn so much more about the deers location during the colder months as well as his survival, age estimate, potential, and true size (photos can really trick you). The third dimension is this.. walking through countless miles of woods looking for sheds in February and March is as close as you can get to what the woods look like in late October and early November (depending on where you reside of course). You will see so much sign you did not before. You will learn new trails the deer are using, clearly define bedding areas easier, see scrapes you have never seen before, kick up deer out of strange areas, and all just while looking for sheds. Now when finding a shed I will admit many are found with no rhyme or reason. But many are found that will teach you something about a particular deer. Something a photo cannot. His true whereabouts and perhaps his favorite bedding spot.
Now, by no means you couldn't do and witness all this with a camera.. because you could. But who walks miles and miles, for hours and hours, for many weeks through woods finding all this and then hangs a camera. I certainly don't.
All they will ever prove is that a buck (or other deer) were once there at some moment in time.. right! Again pretty standard 2 dimensional thinking!
Let's look at it through a 3 dimensional point of view. When shed hunting you will learn so much more about the deers location during the colder months as well as his survival, age estimate, potential, and true size (photos can really trick you). The third dimension is this.. walking through countless miles of woods looking for sheds in February and March is as close as you can get to what the woods look like in late October and early November (depending on where you reside of course). You will see so much sign you did not before. You will learn new trails the deer are using, clearly define bedding areas easier, see scrapes you have never seen before, kick up deer out of strange areas, and all just while looking for sheds. Now when finding a shed I will admit many are found with no rhyme or reason. But many are found that will teach you something about a particular deer. Something a photo cannot. His true whereabouts and perhaps his favorite bedding spot.
Now, by no means you couldn't do and witness all this with a camera.. because you could. But who walks miles and miles, for hours and hours, for many weeks through woods finding all this and then hangs a camera. I certainly don't.
11-19-2007, 11:05 AM
#9
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Wisconsin and Canada
Posts: 2,415
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
To me, shed hunting is just a pure blast. It gets me out in the spring to do A LOT of scouting. Almost all of my scouting is done in the spring, while shed hunting. In the big woods I hunt I can find the areas of concentrated buck sign from the year before and know it will be a productive area again.
It's not just about finding the sheds.....then again, to me, its as fun finding a big shed as it is killing a big buck.
It's not just about finding the sheds.....then again, to me, its as fun finding a big shed as it is killing a big buck.
11-19-2007, 11:25 AM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,716
RE: Shed hunting vs. game cams
Shed hunting comes during or after the winter snow, which really makes the woods read like an open book. In the snow - you can easily find the most heavily-used bedding areas, food sources and travel routes. Even once the snow is off, the ground is wet, and the muddytrails are very easy to follow. Granted, the winter yarding areas might differ a bit from their early October bedding areas.
Just by virtue of taking a visual inventory of the number and sizes of trails, tracks, beds and sheds - you can get a pretty firm grasp on what and how many deer are wintering in a given area. You can also sketch out the seasonal feeding areas, which will pay dividends if you ever find yourself hunting the late seasons.
Like somebody noted earlier - often, while shed hunting, you wind up following trailsinto areas that are nonconventional and can sometimes surprise you a bit about where certain deer are moving or bedding.
Just by virtue of taking a visual inventory of the number and sizes of trails, tracks, beds and sheds - you can get a pretty firm grasp on what and how many deer are wintering in a given area. You can also sketch out the seasonal feeding areas, which will pay dividends if you ever find yourself hunting the late seasons.
Like somebody noted earlier - often, while shed hunting, you wind up following trailsinto areas that are nonconventional and can sometimes surprise you a bit about where certain deer are moving or bedding.