KurtisH's 09' shed journal

[Kurtish]

Well it's that time of year again

My third shed hunt of the season produced one single despite the 18-24" of snow that we have here. I had covered some fields and ran into 4 wheeler tracks and footprints everywhere I went. I made one sweep just inside the woods on my way back to my truck just before dark and walked up on this freshly dropped 5 point side in a bed. The G1 and G2 were both broke but still a pretty neat shed with a stickhole in the beam and somekind of deformity on the G3.

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With more snow since and bitter cold I probably won't be hitting it very hard for awhile but atleast I got the first out of the way.....it almost satisfies my need to poke around the woods.

 

[deershed]

Finding that first shed of the year is always so SWEET,Congrats!!

Great pics as usual too!!
I give you guys alot of credit finding sheds in the snow like you do,glad snow is a rare thing down here.

Good luck this season,looking forward to watching your season...

 

[TazBux]

Congrats on the first!!
Great shed.Great pic.Gota love the deformities,I think they make a shed even better.

 

[Kurtish]

I hit the fields today in hopes of stumbling across some fresh antlers and managed to have a little luck. I covered some picked corn fields and a portion of one standing corn field without finding anything but turkey and deer poop

. I was getting hungry and I decided that I would make one pass down the woods edge towards a bedding area where I have had great luck in the past. I was just inside the woods and was ready to head back into the field and start towards the truck when something told me to walk up to a little rise that would give me a view down the trail that showed the heaviest traffic. Luckily I followed my gut, when I topped a small rise I spotted this

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I've covered alot of ground since my last shed and this one really got me pumped up, Yeeehaw!! I air punched so hard I'm suprised that I didn't tear a muscle or throw my back out of alignment. Here's a closer view from the other side.

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It turned out to be a real pretty 4 point off a 2 1/2 year old buck that I passed with the bow this past season. Not huge but a solid fresh shed with no chews.

 

[Kurtish]

I struggled through the snow and cold nearly all day today, with temps in the -10 to 0 range I figured that it was too cold to do anything but hike so I figured I'd make use of my time. I started in some bottom ground that the deer cross going from feed to bed and visa versa. Lots of sign but no luck picking up anything. I then headed to another farm and hit some sun exposed bedding areas. All kinds of deer sign and I just knew there were sheds there but my confidence in finding any was low as the snow is just too darned deep to find em' unless they drop on a trail or in a bed. I got lucky and stumbled into the right deer bed when I seen this base sticking straight up.
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I searched the surrounding area thoroughly and managed to come up with the match however my camera batteries weren't cooperating with me and I didn't get a ATL. I then headed to a co-workers home and did a little searching. It didn't take long to find this one right behind his barn. I continued searching the surrounding woods but wasn't able to come up with anymore and with my legs getting weak I decided to call it a day.
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[Kurtish]

With three on the day I'm happy as a lark as I usually have little to no luck this time of year, especially with this much snow. Here's a pic of the three at home.

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sheds:5

 

[MULIES4EVER]

Congrats. That is very cool. We are being buried in snow right now. I had a great area scouted and it was full of deer and elk. Now they will most likely be moved out. I am bummed.

 

[TazBux]

Dang Snow, I hope it melts for you guys.Cool sheds.

Does that place have a perimetre fence? If I was a deer with all that snow around me I'd live at them bails of a night. (most of my sheds are found off deer that do just that)
That netting around the bails is a killer.I saw a calf running with 2 meters of it hanging from it's mouth once.It didn't last long.

Congrats on the freshies.

 

[fossilman]

Congrads.........

 

[Kurtish]

Thanks fellas!

Taz, no perimeter fences around here but some of the farms that I shed hunt on have cattle fence and old pasture fences. Most of the fencing is just single strand electric. Never came up with a fence jump shed, but I search fence jumps every year.

 

[TazBux]

Yes the same can be said here.Not so much perimeter fencing (as that would be in boulders throughout the hills).But old cattle runs,and old pasture fences.Fallow love pastures,and the place I shed hunt is probably one of only a few with green grass (hence the shed count,they weren't burnt or picked up before I got to them).


This year was the first time I had found sheds at fence jumps.I have only ever found one in a bedding area also.They seem to drop where they eat and frollick of a night around these parts.

 

[Kurtish]

The server change over here threw me for a loop and it's taken me awhile to get back up to speed so I'll just have to throw my recent pics up, with very little story to go with them since I can't remember the specifics of dates found and whatnot. so anyway here's what i've been up to.

This was the match to the four point that I found earlier in the year. Here's the set together

He's a buck that I know well through passing him up during bow season and from trail cameras. Here's a pic on the hoof, he's was a 2 1/2 year old this past season that would go about 130"

Small 4 point

and the match to the haybale find earlier this season

This past monday(2/9) the warm weather revealed three for me on south slopes that had previously been covered in a blanket of white. The first was a real good one from a young buck with a ton of potential.

Another couple of hours of walking with nothing to show and just when I was ready to call it quits for the day I spotted this busted up 4 point

That was all it took to put some spark back into my step and I managed one more in a bedding area on top of a large ridge

Tuesday the 10th was a bust but the 11th payed big with two dandies from a farm that I just got permission on. The first is a clean 5 point that taped out to 64"

In search of the mate I came across this heavy 5 point with a split brow that literally took my breath away. It only scores 71" but it has some serious wow factor with over 20" of mass and a really gnarly base.

Here's one last pic of the three big ones from the week back at home with a celebratory cold one.

I think that puts me up to 13 on the season

 

[Kurtish]

whoa I don't know what happened there, the pictures were there last night???....maybe i'll get this figured out...