I have no objection to picking up sheds and do it myself whenever I find time, but the culture that’s grown around “shed hunting” is disgusting. I think overall the shed seasons and closures are a good thing for protecting wildlife. That said hundreds of people charging into an area at once to trample every square inch of it has to be horribly destructive and really dangerous for any animals still in the area.
This deal been going on for decades. Those areas used to open at midnight. There's some good watching. If you can imagine a bunch of lickered up folks climbing on top of green/fresh stock in the middle of night to race around in dark trying to beat a bunch of other folks also lickered up, but on foot. WhT a sight that would be.
FYI, there is zero impact on the environment. These are winter range places. Only few animals are there when gates open. Like everywhere else hose animals just move up until the knuckle heads leave.
This kind of stuff is not my bag of wax. However, I've been in missouri for 3 weeks now. Kansas city area and I would much rather go watch something like that then deal with traffic and craziness here. No wonder everybody so upset all the time.
Besides most of the horns on those places get bootlegged long before the gates open