Shed Hunting Sub?

[Ross]

We’ve seen 350 bulls packing till 4/13 and rag horns dropping 3/29. Like the rut no exact science, only the elk know.

 

[spike camp]

We’ve seen 350 bulls packing till 4/13 and rag horns dropping 3/29. Like the rut no exact science, only the elk know.

Agreed to a degree
What I’ve noticed, after picking up sheds from the same bulls (some bucks) over many years is that individual critters drop early and some just hold late.
That said, I’ve never seen a mature bull hold late in decades of observation.
Likely location and other factors, but most definitely a constant theme in my area.

 

[Erict]

Despite being too early, I couldn't pass up the great weather to get out for an early season shed hunt in SE Iowa. Found a handful of old, will-be-nice-in-a-few-years sheds but never found a recent shed. Very depressing to find some deadheads because this is land I hunt on. One with velvet likely EHD, one likely wounded by neighbors this season, the biggest one unknown.

 

[waspocrew]

EHD got too many of our deer this past season.

 

[sshhh]

Nice. I would say that’s not the norm in my part of Wyoming, but you’d never know unless you go and look. The bulls I saw in April were not just raghorns.

Norm usually mid march to mid april up here I think

 

[sshhh]

Really shows the mass here, found unreal trails on the mountain too. Probably got a new area.... cams will tell me.

Frickin skull is huuugge! Dwarfs the 4x4 I shot last season.

 

[wowzers]

EHD got too many of our deer this past season.

View attachment 1029492

It’s crazy how nothing will touch them other than the ravens picking their eyes out. We have a bunch of mummies my way.

I used to hit the horn hunting really hard when I logged. We would typically get laid off around the end of February till mid April so it worked out great.

 

[Smokey Bear]

Really shows the mass here, found unreal trails on the mountain too. Probably got a new area.... cams will tell me.

Frickin skull is huuugge! Dwarfs the 4x4 I shot last season.

View attachment 1029507
View attachment 1029508

Every time I see that bottle I think of this.

 

[Elkoholic87]

Road shed from last year.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[khart_6882]

Hey look, there’s one.




P

Oh wait. That’s just a dry stick

 

[AHayes111]

It’s crazy how nothing will touch them other than the ravens picking their eyes out. We have a bunch of mummies my way.

I used to hit the horn hunting really hard when I logged. We would typically get laid off around the end of February till mid April so it worked out great.

It is not so much that coyotes will not eat EHD killed deer, but often there are so many dead that coyotes can not eat them all.

 

[wowzers]

It is not so much that coyotes will not eat EHD killed deer, but often there are so many dead that coyotes can not eat them all.

But the magpies and other birds don’t eat them either.

 

[waspocrew]

It is not so much that coyotes will not eat EHD killed deer, but often there are so many dead that coyotes can not eat them all.

I agree on the numbers - while cutting one of our alfalfa fields this summer, a ranch hand found 27 dead whitetails. Vultures were the only things I'd ever see chewing on them during the day.

Here's another mummy I ran across last year:




And to get this back on sheds - this was a nice one I had glassed from across the canyon. I first saw it in 2022 and was always too lazy to make the hike. Finally went up there in April 2025 and was kicking myself for not grabbing it when it was fresh haha.