Shed Sunday Anyone?

[dana]

A recent set I was able to match up. Found one side in the spring of 2016. Got lucky and found the match the spring of 2017 still in great shape.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/Wildlife%20Pics/image_zpsgidwiuri.jpeg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BCBOY/media/Wildlife%20Pics/image_zpsgidwiuri.jpeg.html)

[Pioneerman]

Wow impressive pair.

[igojuone]

Nice, in looking for sheds is it just a matter of beating the ground with shoe leather? Any advice?

[Lionhill]

This was last spring with a new pup, just in training to find sheds. At 3 months old, she found 3 different set. Looking forward to this coming spring.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4739/25398112408_7efcac90d0_b.jpg

[dana]

Nice, in looking for sheds is it just a matter of beating the ground with shoe leather? Any advice?
Yup, pretty much. Boot Leather+knowledge of winter range+luck pretty much sums up shed hunting.

[dana]

Lionhill, that's Awesome. 3 months old and found 3 sets. You have a true shed dog right there. While my 2 labs love chewing on sheds, they have yet to grasp the concept that they need to find them for me. Hahaha. Still fun to get them out in the spring regardless.

[Wild one]

Dana when do you find it good to start looking for moose sheds?

Never truly spent effort looking for sheds but my son has show an interest. Only she’d i have found over the years are from WT.

[Spy]

A recent set I was able to match up. Found one side in the spring of 2016. Got lucky and found the match the spring of 2017 still in great shape.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/Wildlife%20Pics/image_zpsgidwiuri.jpeg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BCBOY/media/Wildlife%20Pics/image_zpsgidwiuri.jpeg.html)
Wow those are impressive nice find, thanks for sharing.

[dana]

Dana when do you find it good to start looking for moose sheds?

Never truly spent effort looking for sheds but my son has show an interest. Only she’d i have found over the years are from WT.

Depends on snow depths but right now is when they are dropping. If snow is deep powder right now, they just fall to the bottom and get buried and you have to wait until snowmelt to find them, which depending on weather can be as early as March and as late as June. But, regardless of snow depth, now is the time to find the sign, shed scouting as per say. Find the bull sign right now and you will know where to look come snow melt. In low snow depths or hard crust, Christmas week through second week of Jan is a great time to be picking them up.

[~T-BONE~]

Great set! U must come across a lot while working?

[dana]

Great set! U must come across a lot while working?
Sadly, not anymore. I used to but with a crashed moose and deer herd, shed hunting ain't all that easy in this neck of the woods. This elk set is from a tiny little herd that I play with. Finding an elk shed is like finding a needle in a haystack. There was one bull that I photographed numerous times over a 9 year period. I searched and searched for his sheds every spring. In all that timeframe, my son was able to pick up 1 single off of him, and another local shed hunting family found the match that year and a previous year's set. My guess is the rodents ate the rest.

[~T-BONE~]

Sadly, not anymore. I used to but with a crashed moose and deer herd, shed hunting ain't all that easy in this neck of the woods. This elk set is from a tiny little herd that I play with. Finding an elk shed is like finding a needle in a haystack. There was one bull that I photographed numerous times over a 9 year period. I searched and searched for his sheds every spring. In all that timeframe, my son was able to pick up 1 single off of him, and another local shed hunting family found the match that year and a previous year's set. My guess is the rodents ate the rest.
That’s the shits, I recall how good it was west of there, the few days I spent time. If I recall correctly that bull became wolf scat!?

[dana]

That’s the shits, I recall how good it was west of there, the few days I spent time. If I recall correctly that bull became wolf scat!? Actually, that is what I was lead to believe the one year. Turns out I found him again the following year alive and well. I photographed him for 4 more years. Last I saw him was late in the fall of 2015. An ancient old warrior with a very hard limp. Couldn't locate him since. Pretty sure old age, wolves or a lion did him in that winter.

[rocksteady]

Nice bones...

Glad to see you came back..

[blacklab]

Nice, in looking for sheds is it just a matter of beating the ground with shoe leather? Any advice?
I don't find as many new sheds in the old traditional winter range any more I've had better luck in log slashes with steep south facing slopes. Its not as easy but they're there.

[HarryToolips]

Actually, that is what I was lead to believe the one year. Turns out I found him again the following year alive and well. I photographed him for 4 more years. Last I saw him was late in the fall of 2015. An ancient old warrior with a very hard limp. Couldn't locate him since. Pretty sure old age, wolves or a lion did him in that winter.
How long do you think he lived?? They say old for an ungulate in nature is about 10 or so IIRC....nice find on those sheds BTW...

[JDR]

Great find!! Thanks for sharing, Steve, and great to see you back! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[dana]

How long do you think he lived?? They say old for an ungulate in nature is about 10 or so IIRC....nice find on those sheds BTW...
The bull that I followed for 9 years had to be at least 13. He was a nice bull the first year I took pics of him, probably a 4 year old then. Funny thing is he seemed to get bigger in his very late years. Hard to say from photos, but I think his last year was his best year for antler growth. I've spent a lot of time playing with elk in the Parks. Even with amazing genetics, they don't start getting big until 4. After that, they seem to explode in growth.

[dana]

Great find!! Thanks for sharing, Steve, and great to see you back! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
And a very Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. Best wishes for the New Year!

[dana]

I don't find as many new sheds in the old traditional winter range any more I've had better luck in log slashes with steep south facing slopes. Its not as easy but they're there.
I've been finding that as well. Especially in the pine types. Way too much blowdown for the critters to move about in.

[Cyrus]

Great looking sheds! My wife is a forest tech and used to come home with all sorts of sheds...next to nothing in last few years.

[dana]

Great looking sheds! My wife is a forest tech and used to come home with all sorts of sheds...next to nothing in last few years.
Probably a sign of how our wildlife pops are doing, but hey, we are just on the ground a min of 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, what do we know right? According to those that like to blow sunshine up everyone's asses, all is great in this province. Hahaha!

[caddisguy]

That's a wicked shed dana! I don't find too many sheds here in BT country but here's my favorite old 5pt shed

https://i.imgur.com/5xsTAP0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fOZZfiZ.jpg

[landphil]

I found this pair of little moose sheds last year (2016) in early November, if I recall correctly, they were about 30' apart.. Not a bite mark on them, a bit faded, but still a cool find.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=34926&title=2016-moose-sheds&cat=500

Edit. Trying to link a photo in the gallery, and it's not working. I guess I haven't tried this since Photobucket went in the crapper. Hold on, I'm working on it.

OK, I gave up, and just posted the link to the gallery. I don't know what keeps going wrong, I followed Warren's recent posts to a tee, but the URL link did not end with the .jpg like his did, and it wouldn't post the photo into the thread.

[dana]

That's a wicked shed dana! I don't find too many sheds here in BT country but here's my favorite old 5pt shed

https://i.imgur.com/5xsTAP0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fOZZfiZ.jpg

That looks like a pretty impressive blacktail to me. I'm a little uneducated though as I have never hunted them. With the way things are going here in the Interior, I might just have to start hunting down there.

[HarryToolips]

Probably a sign of how our wildlife pops are doing, but hey, we are just on the ground a min of 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, what do we know right? According to those that like to blow sunshine up everyone's asses, all is great in this province. Hahaha!
Loss of habitat and high pred numbers have drastically decreased ungulate numbers in quite a few parts of the province, but it's not dismal everywhere...
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/management-issues/docs/2017_Provincial_Ungulate_Numbers_Sept_18_Final.pdf

[dana]

Loss of habitat and high pred numbers have drastically decreased ungulate numbers in quite a few parts of the province, but it's not dismal everywhere...
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/management-issues/docs/2017_Provincial_Ungulate_Numbers_Sept_18_Final.pdf

No habitat loss in my areas. Just amazing feed devoid of deer and moose aside from the odd survivor that lives a nocturnal life.

[Dannybuoy]

No habitat loss in my areas. Just amazing feed devoid of deer and moose aside from the odd survivor that lives a nocturnal life.
Sounds like the same as here in the WK and soon to be like that in the OK .... only a fraction of what it was in the 80's and 90's

[dana]

Sounds like the same as here in the WK and soon to be like that in the OK .... only a fraction of what it was in the 80's and 90's
I ain't no scientist, and I'm sure many on here would say a layman can't understand things when it comes to populations and such, but I will go ahead and make the guess anyways. Our deer herd in my neck of the woods is down at least 75% of what it was only a mere dozen years ago. Spring is really the tell tale sign. We had areas where you could easily count several hundred deer is a matter of 5 mins driving down the highway doing highway speed. Now, you would be lucky to see a handful of deer in a week of driving the same section of highway. There were dirt rds I could drive in the spring to go to shedhunting where I had to shoe deer off like cattle just to go a few kms. Hundreds of deer, gone. Now, in the spring the same rds with the exact same conditions, lucky if I can find 5-10 deer. But, lets listen to someone blow sunshine up our ass and tell us wolves only eat 1% of the deer herd.

[Dannybuoy]

I ain't no scientist, and I'm sure many on here would say a layman can't understand things when it comes to populations and such, but I will go ahead and make the guess anyways. Our deer herd in my neck of the woods is down at least 75% of what it was only a mere dozen years ago. Spring is really the tell tale sign. We had areas where you could easily count several hundred deer is a matter of 5 mins driving down the highway doing highway speed. Now, you would be lucky to see a handful of deer in a week of driving the same section of highway. There were dirt rds I could drive in the spring to go to shedhunting where I had to shoe deer off like cattle just to go a few kms. Hundreds of deer, gone. Now, in the spring the same rds with the exact same conditions, lucky if I can find 5-10 deer. But, lets listen to someone blow sunshine up our ass and tell us wolves only eat 1% of the deer herd.
Absolutley , and my family and I have been in the ok for more than a few generations more than above mentioned someone so anecdotal evidence rules ...

[kennyj]

Awesome antlers! Nice to find the match in such good shape after a year.
kenny

[HarryToolips]

I ain't no scientist, and I'm sure many on here would say a layman can't understand things when it comes to populations and such, but I will go ahead and make the guess anyways. Our deer herd in my neck of the woods is down at least 75% of what it was only a mere dozen years ago. Spring is really the tell tale sign. We had areas where you could easily count several hundred deer is a matter of 5 mins driving down the highway doing highway speed. Now, you would be lucky to see a handful of deer in a week of driving the same section of highway. There were dirt rds I could drive in the spring to go to shedhunting where I had to shoe deer off like cattle just to go a few kms. Hundreds of deer, gone. Now, in the spring the same rds with the exact same conditions, lucky if I can find 5-10 deer. But, lets listen to someone blow sunshine up our ass and tell us wolves only eat 1% of the deer herd.
Well let's hope this predator pit causes them to starve and naturally a huge carnivor die off happens...it's bound to happen sometime..the ungulate numbers in my area are decent, thanks to not a lot of wolves yet...hope it stays that way...

[dave_fras]

I found a cat kill on the 20th and he already shed one side.jusy a dink whitey tho

[Drillbit]

I find several moose sheds bear hunting in the spring on the roads. Everywhere there's willows.
The past few years have been obviously less sheds than normal.

Beauty Elk sheds!!

[hunter1947]

Came off a big bull fantastic finds ,,congrats to you Dana