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Well it's almost that time to start looking for whitetail deer sheds in Wisconsin. In my experience, most bucks lose their antlers in late January, but this all depends on location and buck stress levels. I have put on many miles shed hunting in the past and believe that it is a great way to scout the area you hunt without disturbing the deer too much and figure out what bucks are in the area. I have a few basic strategies for finding sheds:

1. Go to the bedding areas. Bucks will bed down in the thickest areas with branches or brush to knock those antlers off. A thick patch of pine trees open to the south is an ideal spot to check.

2. Find the watering hole. In Wisconsin winters, most rivers, streams, or ponds freeze over, but I have found numerous small springs or holes that somehow stay open. These spots will draw the most deer and be a great spot for finding shed antlers. My uncle has found a ton of sheds this way. Here is a picture of one of these waterholes with all the snow around it packed down...

Deer watering hole

3. Follow the trails. This seems rather obvious, but a good snowpack will force the deer on trails and narrow down your area to search. This will allow you to maximize your success rate.

Recent Comments:

I really hope all the people with negative comments are vegetarians. If not, you really need to think about where the meat that YOU eat comes from. Whether it be beef, chicken, or pork, or DEER, slaug
so if you are twenty feet up and you are shooting thirty yards how high do you shoot to hit a vital my bow is set to 280fps and thirty yards i am on I have an older rangefinder by Lieca and I won't bu
I have to agree that there is such a thing as "too high up." If you are shooting from the ground, your ideal target area of the vitals is about 6-8 inches in circumference. From a higher elevation,
one last thought for all the bleeding hearts ... Go to poodwaddle.com Maybe there you can find something where you can make a difference.
THis is a forum to enhance and make the hunting experience more successful. You can hide behind your anonymous emails but you are just as fanatical and shameless you suggest we are. I don't suppose
Maureen and Sammie i dont mean to be rude or judge you for being naive but how is it do you think you were born? From your parents, who was born from their parents, who were born from their parents so
justinwp - February 29, 2008
Hopefully I can get out and find some sheds here in the next month. There is definitely a lot of snow this year and that might make things a bit more difficult.
Stilley D. - March 06, 2008
I found a 170 class pair already and his shed from last year. Hoping to go out this weekend. You find anything justin?
justinwp - March 10, 2008
I got out a for a couple hours today, but no luck; although, I did find where the deer have been heavily concentrated and hope to get out again this week.
austin - March 18, 2008
well yesrday march 17 i found a big deer horn 6in g1 10in g2 and 6in g3 and a 5in mase on the base it is a nice one in 14 now
Josh - November 05, 2008
I have a field that I hunt and it has three ponds. It appears that all of the deer in the area travel to these ponds. Is the story true about the squirrels eating the antlers? It is odd that I cannot find sheds anywhere around the pond. Additionally, the ponds are thick with briers around the edges...
hunter fishman - February 01, 2009
heck ya! squerrels,coyotes, raccoons, rabbits,
every critter with teeth that can naw on antlers will! I've even seen cows chompin on em.
mike march 2 - March 02, 2009
I went for the first time today so I am new at this I had a blast found a small shed mice had got to it but I felt like I won the lottery any hints since I am a rookie
The Kurt - March 22, 2009
all kinds of animals chew antlers. Ive found sheds almost completly chewed. Ive also found hem sitting on logs, notches of trees etc where the animal has moved them. The base of trees are also a good place to look, exspecially if there is some brush around them
Brandon - December 11, 2009
i liv ein stanley wisconsin and i was wondering what would be the best time to go out and look for sheds if ur not familier with my position its near Eau Clair
Justin - December 11, 2009
Anytime from late January to March would be optimal for finding sheds in WI. I usually start looking in late February.
Josh - January 11, 2010
I have a shed last week that was nice, my buddy found one to weeks ago that was real big so its starting off good, it was hard to say if they were a match.
Jordan - January 26, 2010
I've only got this week really to go out and hunt for sheds because of college, and im curious what i can expect for drops
Tim - January 29, 2010
I saw 3 nice bucks still sporting their racks here in Waukesha County yesterday so I'll wait a week or so yet.
Andy - January 31, 2010
My lab found his first shed today. I've been training him for a couple of weeks. When training I put scent killer on some horns, then put a little tinks buck lure on them after that. Just to eliminate human scent on them. Put them in the middle of the woods and the dog will find them. Give them a treat when they find them. Good luck!
Adam - February 10, 2010
My friend and i have found a total of 16 in about a week of looking, which was about 2 weeks ago
Adam - February 12, 2010
check that last comment i found 4 yesterday. now we both have 10
bushnell 62 - February 22, 2010
Have not found any yet cuz have not had a chance to get into the woods been to busy but am looking forward to going out this weekend in Pleasant Plains IL, Hope to find some.
Adam - February 24, 2010
Just found another one this last weekend not i'm at 11
avngal - February 27, 2010
I'm in SE Wisconsin. Anyone going out in my area want to show a newbie the ropes?
Adam - March 08, 2010
Found another spike this last weekend at 12 now and so is my friend. Think we are going for 50 this year!!
bushnell 62 - March 15, 2010
the deer around my part of the woods have not even started to lose there antlers yet and that would mean that i have not found any yet but hope to find some soon
shedder234 - March 30, 2010
jeez how do you find so many im lucky to find 1
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