Good ole days of shed huntin

elkguide · Jan 22, 2007

I miss the good ole days of shed huntin when there wasn't anybody out there lookin for them and pushin the animals all over god creation, anymore lookin for sheds is a joke. I am not tryin to raise any hairs or start anything here I would just like to say that the animals get harrassed and pushed around enough during the hunting season and come the winter and early spring it starts all over again for them, I think personally that they deserve a break. Once those animals shed and start moving away from the area thats when people should be shed huntin, it is no wonder that states are starting to put a season on shed huntin, the animals can't take being run around for those months when they are trying to find enough feed to make it to the next huntin season. Just my two cents and I am prepared to hear everybody bash this one.

wackn' and packn'

Chesterwyo · Jan 22, 2007

I couldn't agree with you more. I remember back in the early 90's my dad, brother and I would go out looking for sheds in the middle of May and we wouldn't see anybody else and there was plenty of horns laying around. Anymore the blood on the base of of a shed horn dosn't have the chance to dry before someone picks it up.

hunterofelk · Jan 23, 2007

Take the money and the trophy status out of sheds and maybe just us collectors will be out there.

Bambistew · Jan 23, 2007

>Take the money and the trophy
>status out of sheds and
>maybe just us collectors will
>be out there.

I dissagree, 90% of the shed hunters 15-20 years ago were in it for the money. IMO the 'trophy hunters and collectors' have ruined it. Most of the guys that did it for cash knew the longer they waited around and didn't disturb the animals the easier it was to scoop em all up at once. The guys that are/were in it for the money didn't get attatched to the horns, nor nearly as addictted as the guys that want to show off his 'huge pile'... The days of 8-15+ elk sheds are long gone. My buddy's dad used to pick sheds in teh 60's and 70's and said that they only packed out nice brown 6 points or better every thing else was left on the hill.

When I was growing up in the late 80's early 90's I had 3-4 springs where I found 75-80+ elk sheds, left many, many deer sheds on the hill. I only hunted about 5-6 days a year too usually only on the weekends. The last few times I went out I was lucky to find one shed in the same areas. I'd rather waste my time catching fish in the spring. At least I got to experience it before it was ruined.

bittersweetmuleymeat · Jan 23, 2007

Bambistew, you are correct. Its very, very sad anymore. Spring 20 yrs ago was great, other areas I hunted even in the fall were full of unfound, fading bone as well. Now I find it harder and harder to escape 4 wheelers and motorcycles. Any bone I used to leave on the hill as "seed", I now pack out or hide in a tree or behind some boulders. You guys on the four wheelers should get off your butts and look behind some boulders.

bittersweetmuleymeat

hunterofelk · Jan 24, 2007

Before the price of antler was above minimum wage, you could wait around till June to go look. Once it became profitable it was hard to find even an old white one. If I find one or two good brown elk antlers I feel my season is complete. I leave plenty for the others to find and enjoy.

bonepiler · Jan 28, 2007

I agree we hunterofelk. If the $$$ and trophy status were out of the question, you would see shed hunting decrease substantially. Most all shed hunters I talk to are in it for the money and to "brag" about how much $$ they got off their antlers. It would be hard for many folks to put in as much time as they do if the antler $$ wasn't there to pay for the $2.25 a gallon gas. I recognize that isn't the sole reason and motivation for people to be out there, but eliminating the $$ issue would go a long way to minimizing the problem out there.

MichaelJ · Jan 29, 2007

Interesting to hear you guys say it's about the money and bragging rights... Well you're 50% right!
I personally don't know anybody around here that sells their sheds, but they do like to see who can find the most.

Michael
"What I could do, I was doing, and that was simply putting my butt on the line for my country, the country that I loved, so that all the protestors and the academics and the liberal intelligentsia back home could enjoy the right to protest against people like me, the hated middleclass." --Gary R. Smith, US Special Forces

Boots · Feb 5, 2007

ELkguide,

Bullcrap, I think the problem is elkguides leading out of staters to kill elk is what kills elk.

Get a friggen clue, man!

elkguide · Feb 6, 2007

Boots I agree that elk guides to take out of staters to kill elk, but that is during a hunting season, and when you guide as a source of income and to provide for a family that is legitimate. When people are out there chasing the wildlife around just because they are droppin antlers isn't ethical is what I am sayin, give the animals a chance to recover from the hunting pressure. If you are worried about guides taking out of staters to harvest animals, may be you should go to game board meetings and things of that nature and try to reduce the amount of tags issued. Sorry for naggin, but just defending my point and my families way of life.