Tsmola
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If you've followed my posts in the past, you know how frustrating shed hunting has often been for me:
So anyway, yesterday I decided to make the first trip to my uncle's property of the season. Went out and walked the same fenceline I always do, really just scanning the edges of the woods, ended up headed deep into the thick stuff to make a check and see if any dead deer were back there. Found none fortunately. There is a lot of swamp back there, and normally the holes are not more than a few inches deep, so as I was walking on them, I wasn't worrying too much about the ice when it was cracking. Then I stepped on a hole that was about 2 1/2 ft. deep. Ended up in water up to my knees. But I figured, what the heck, and just kept walking. Ended up wandering all the way back to his clover field, at the north end I came across this possum:
I walked right up to him. For some reason possums in this part of MI are really, really, really stupid. I took pics of him for about 5 mins before I decided to chase him up a tree. As I was chasing him I spotted this:
This possum was dead, this is just as I found him. First time I've ever come across something quite like this I have to say. Not sure what he died of, after taking some pics I went home empty handed.
So, last night we went to Four Winds Casino here in SW MI. We all ended up losing for the 2nd time in a row. Didn't get home till around 12:30. I didn't leave the house until later in the afternoon. I didn't have a whole lot of confindence since we had just gone to the casino two days in a row and lost both times, but I was determined to at least get some time in out there with the snow melting, conditions were ideal. I decided to hit some state land I'd located last year, there are lots of little patches of it scattered in this area, and as I drove past spots it was clear I wasn't the only shed hunter. I saw tracks in parking lots and one other vehicle. I finally found a parking lot that was bare and parked there. I decided to head straight back following the heaviest deer trails I could find. I probably went back about a mile or so. I stopped a few times to examine some deer beds to no avail and I jumped 2 deer that ran off too fast to see what they were. I kept going until I hit a low marshy area and a little penninsula caught my eye, it looked promising so I decided to go check it out.
As I got closer I discovered it wasn't a penninsula, but actually a small island. There were deer tracks going across the ice to it. I tested the ice and it seemed solid enough so I walked across to check out the island. There wasn't a whole lot of deer sign there though, and I left it dissapointed.
By this time I decided to circle around and start making my way back to the truck. I saw some open area and I knew from walking it last year the area was promising. So I made my way out of the woods that way. As I made my way out of the woods I saw this, which wasn't visible from the road.
As much as I wanted to walk way off and check out what was beyond those hills I had brought no water today so I decided to just keep with my original plan and slowly work my way back to the truck. About 500 yards or so from the road, in the middle of this big open area I was walking in I noticed this little dip filled with trees, so I decided it was worth checking out, it looked like maybe deer might possibly bed there in high winds.
As I made my way in from the side shown in the pic, it didn't appear the deer bedded in this spot at all, it just appeared like they passed through, and the sign on this side was minimal at best. But I could see a nice heavy trail heading up the hill on the other side so I headed over to search it. As I got near the top I saw something that looked like a beam and made my way up to find a stick that was a very good shed imposter. As I turned frustrated, I looked down and lo and behold look what I find:
Just a little 2 point, looks like it would have been a spike had it not grown the brow tine. Also a good chunk of skull. I almost wonder if this got knocked off in a fight during the rut. Either way, it must have been pretty painful.
So I'm thrilled at this point, because coming into this year I couldn't help but wonder if the two sheds I found last year was just a lucky coincidence? After all I wasn't really looking when I found them last year. The first time I was looking for my buck I had hit in gun season when I found the one, then the next time me and a friend were just out for a walk when I spotted that one. So to come into the third hunt and find an antler definitely makes me feel like it wasn't coincidence last year, I really am getting better at this! lol
I made a short search for the other side, but couldn't come up with it, in the back of my mind I thought: how cool would it be to find two today and match last year's record? Then I thought: "yeah right, that'll never happen" So I slowly begin to make my way back to the truck again, I notice now that someone had walked right past the shed I'd just found, and I followed the edge of a treeline on my way back, I could see someone else had had the same idea and had been following it as well. So about a half-hour, 45 mins later I'm about 200 yards from the road, I'm still searching but not expecting to find anything, I'm still seeing footprints from someone else who walked this same path when all of a sudden I look down and see this:
As soon as I saw it, I said out loud to myself: "no freaking way!" I couldn't believe it. Last year I finally find my first two whole sheds, and I come out and tie my record from last year on my third search of the year! So needless to say, I'm absolutely thrilled today. They may be tiny, but they are fresh and I'm not picky! My goal coming into this year was just to find one shed, now I'm matched last year, only thing left to do is break it this year!
Here they are at home. You can see there's a lotta skull still left on the first one. Anyway, I'm thrilled right now, what a great start to this season!
So anyway, yesterday I decided to make the first trip to my uncle's property of the season. Went out and walked the same fenceline I always do, really just scanning the edges of the woods, ended up headed deep into the thick stuff to make a check and see if any dead deer were back there. Found none fortunately. There is a lot of swamp back there, and normally the holes are not more than a few inches deep, so as I was walking on them, I wasn't worrying too much about the ice when it was cracking. Then I stepped on a hole that was about 2 1/2 ft. deep. Ended up in water up to my knees. But I figured, what the heck, and just kept walking. Ended up wandering all the way back to his clover field, at the north end I came across this possum:
I walked right up to him. For some reason possums in this part of MI are really, really, really stupid. I took pics of him for about 5 mins before I decided to chase him up a tree. As I was chasing him I spotted this:
This possum was dead, this is just as I found him. First time I've ever come across something quite like this I have to say. Not sure what he died of, after taking some pics I went home empty handed.
So, last night we went to Four Winds Casino here in SW MI. We all ended up losing for the 2nd time in a row. Didn't get home till around 12:30. I didn't leave the house until later in the afternoon. I didn't have a whole lot of confindence since we had just gone to the casino two days in a row and lost both times, but I was determined to at least get some time in out there with the snow melting, conditions were ideal. I decided to hit some state land I'd located last year, there are lots of little patches of it scattered in this area, and as I drove past spots it was clear I wasn't the only shed hunter. I saw tracks in parking lots and one other vehicle. I finally found a parking lot that was bare and parked there. I decided to head straight back following the heaviest deer trails I could find. I probably went back about a mile or so. I stopped a few times to examine some deer beds to no avail and I jumped 2 deer that ran off too fast to see what they were. I kept going until I hit a low marshy area and a little penninsula caught my eye, it looked promising so I decided to go check it out.
As I got closer I discovered it wasn't a penninsula, but actually a small island. There were deer tracks going across the ice to it. I tested the ice and it seemed solid enough so I walked across to check out the island. There wasn't a whole lot of deer sign there though, and I left it dissapointed.
By this time I decided to circle around and start making my way back to the truck. I saw some open area and I knew from walking it last year the area was promising. So I made my way out of the woods that way. As I made my way out of the woods I saw this, which wasn't visible from the road.
As much as I wanted to walk way off and check out what was beyond those hills I had brought no water today so I decided to just keep with my original plan and slowly work my way back to the truck. About 500 yards or so from the road, in the middle of this big open area I was walking in I noticed this little dip filled with trees, so I decided it was worth checking out, it looked like maybe deer might possibly bed there in high winds.
As I made my way in from the side shown in the pic, it didn't appear the deer bedded in this spot at all, it just appeared like they passed through, and the sign on this side was minimal at best. But I could see a nice heavy trail heading up the hill on the other side so I headed over to search it. As I got near the top I saw something that looked like a beam and made my way up to find a stick that was a very good shed imposter. As I turned frustrated, I looked down and lo and behold look what I find:
Just a little 2 point, looks like it would have been a spike had it not grown the brow tine. Also a good chunk of skull. I almost wonder if this got knocked off in a fight during the rut. Either way, it must have been pretty painful.
So I'm thrilled at this point, because coming into this year I couldn't help but wonder if the two sheds I found last year was just a lucky coincidence? After all I wasn't really looking when I found them last year. The first time I was looking for my buck I had hit in gun season when I found the one, then the next time me and a friend were just out for a walk when I spotted that one. So to come into the third hunt and find an antler definitely makes me feel like it wasn't coincidence last year, I really am getting better at this! lol
I made a short search for the other side, but couldn't come up with it, in the back of my mind I thought: how cool would it be to find two today and match last year's record? Then I thought: "yeah right, that'll never happen" So I slowly begin to make my way back to the truck again, I notice now that someone had walked right past the shed I'd just found, and I followed the edge of a treeline on my way back, I could see someone else had had the same idea and had been following it as well. So about a half-hour, 45 mins later I'm about 200 yards from the road, I'm still searching but not expecting to find anything, I'm still seeing footprints from someone else who walked this same path when all of a sudden I look down and see this:
As soon as I saw it, I said out loud to myself: "no freaking way!" I couldn't believe it. Last year I finally find my first two whole sheds, and I come out and tie my record from last year on my third search of the year! So needless to say, I'm absolutely thrilled today. They may be tiny, but they are fresh and I'm not picky! My goal coming into this year was just to find one shed, now I'm matched last year, only thing left to do is break it this year!
Here they are at home. You can see there's a lotta skull still left on the first one. Anyway, I'm thrilled right now, what a great start to this season!
