Elk dropping?

[wyobackcountry]

I know I'm jumping the gun. I've been waiting for someone else to post the question but I'm getting antsy, anyone seeing any slope head bulls yet. I have some good deer sheds located but can't/won't pick them until may 1st if they're still there (which most likely they'll be gone). I shed hunt elk in another state and I've seen one unicorn spike which is a little odd but all the big boys are still packin'. I'm starting to see a bit more sparing then i've seen in the last month or so. Also talked to a couple guys that were headed out (for elk) in a prime area but I have a feeling they didn't find much. What do you say, 1-2-3 weeks before we start seeing some fresh elk bone?

 

[rackman]

April is usually the best time to look for elk sheds. but I'm sure each state is a little different.

Randall Limb
Limb Creek Outdoors
www.limbcreek.com
www.facebook.com/limbcreekoutdoors
Wac'em Broadheads Pro Staff

 

[wyobackcountry]

April-May are my favorite and most productive shed hunting' months. Just a bit worried someone might stumble upon a bull my buddy or myself have picked up in the same spot for the last 3 years. He has grown around 25-30 inches a year and last year he was roughed at just over 365. The guys I talked with were headed to an area a little too close to where the big one usually ends up. I typically wait until I see the Wyoming feedground bulls drop before I head out, but with guys hittin my spots already I'm getting' a bit nervous!

 

[BigMedicine]

You crazy? Go in there in Febuary/March and push him before he sheds and you'll never find those antlers. Leave him alone.

I just realized that I freaking hate shed hunting.

Big Medicine

Burn, Chain, 1080

 

[LongRangeBangin]

April 1. Some Antlers on the ground, some still on the heads.

 

[wyobackcountry]

Hey big jackass, where did I say I was going to go in there and push anything around? If you read my last post it said I wait until I see the Wyoming feedground bulls have dropped, in the past once that has happened most of the bulls that I shed hunt have dropped and long moved on. If I happen to see elk were I want to go regardless if there's horns on the ground I'll always turn around and come back later. I also can't stand the competitive nature that shed hunting has turned too, I knew the guys I talked with wouldn't find jack but they had their snow machines and snow shoes and were determined to try.


"I just realized that I freaking hate shed hunting." ha ha, me too

 

[whiteshadow]

Best thing you can do is if they are going in is keep your lip zipped about the bull and his location act indifferent when they go, they are a month or more early let them burn out and find nothing and chances are you an our buddy will get him again if he is in the area

 

[bonepicker]

Well I can speak for my area, the earliest that I have found elk antlers is April 4th. I've heard of one guy finding one elk antler March 10th a few years ago but on that trip he saw 10 other bulls packing and they didn't drop until April. I don't even bother going out for elk until April 15th. Even then I am seeing bulls, large and small, still packing. I'm sure that there are areas that drop earlier, my area is pretty late for deer and elk (many deer still packing here) My general rule is March 1 for deer and April 15th for elk.

 

[wyobackcountry]

Whiteshaddow, bonepicker, thanks for your replys! I definately did not mention the big bull or any of the areas I hit. In fact I said nothing about me shed hunting. They were parked on my buddies property so I stopped and ask them what they were doing and they said looking for elk sheds. I figured they wouldn't find much if anything. Usually the elk in this area will winter in one location and shed in a completely different one. Thanks again.

 

[BigMedicine]

I was trying to help you out and get called a jackass... You bump him now and you won't find those antlers, so go for it!

Big Medicine

Burn, Chain, 1080

 

[wyobackcountry]

BigMedicine, I apologize for the name calling. Your assumptions just got me riled up. The anticipation is building and driving me crazy but I do have patience and will wait. I'd rather find a dozen on the ground than 11 on the head any day.

 

[yoteyelper]

Saw an Elk yesterday that had shed both sides, Feb 21. I don't start hunting Elk sheds until April, but I thought it was kind of cool that he had shed this early.

Brady Utley (atfirstlightguides.com)

 

[daydream]

I know of a 380 class bull that dropped both sides a couple days ago. Thought about going to pick up his sheds but I didnt think I could make it over that 8' fence.

 

[NVPete]

Feb. 5th 2005...this is what got me hooked on shed hunting: I'd been chasing a couple of cow elk, just to get their picture, when I was walking along a fence...I thought too early for sheds, but found these piled on each other. The bull had leaped the fence, and the hard landing knocked them both loose! Yet I've seen some still packing some years as late as mid-April! Shed Hunting, always an adventure!

 

[wyobackcountry]

Nv, those are some nice early finds!
Last year I found a group of 7 bulls in Wyoming ( the smallest was a 260 6x6, the big boy was a 370+ 7x7) on April 15th. All were packing except one had dropped one side. I went down the last day of April just before dark and glassed up one good 270 class shed sticking straight up in the dirt by its 5th( you could see it with the naked eye from the road). I thought I was going to hit the jackpot in the morning, so I slept in the back seat of my truck on the side of the highway. I hiked up may 1st at 5am and within feet from the road started seeing boot tracks. There was four or five different sets (about a week old) that side hilled the canyon every ten feet or so up the slope, needless to say they had poached all the sheds except the one that was easiest to see. After that I quickly headed to another spot that I knew two good bulls had shed in and wouldn't you know it, there was also boot tracks all over and no bone= poached again! These are just a couple of reasons I no longer shed hunt elk in Wyoming!
Thanks for the replys fellas!