Whitetail Deer Shed Hunting - Luck or Skill?
Whitetail deer shed found behind Drew’s apartment in Milwaukee County - 2023
As a cash grain farmer, meaning I only raise crops and have no animals, people often ask what I do all winter. While I can admit to enjoying the occasional “Price is Right” episode and very seldom miss “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” which airs shortly after lunch, I can actually find myself at least a little busy on some winter days.
A considerable amount of time is spent planning for the upcoming growing season. Then there are countless educational grower meetings and continuing education events to attend. Training and recertification in regard to properly and responsibly applying crop protection products occur every winter season as well. Spending time maintaining equipment also takes up quite a bit of time during the winter, fortunately, my father-in-law had enough foresight to have a shop erected and even on the coldest of winter days, the shop is very comfortable.
My least favorite task in the winter is trimming trees and vegetation out of the fence lines. Fence lines are the borders along or in between fields. Many of the trees are boxelder maple (Acer negundo) a fast-growing, short-lived tree, and buckthorn (Rhombus cathartic) generally considered to be an invasive tree by many.
Keeping fence lines “in check” serves several purposes. Some of the wood is harvested for home heat and/or the occasional campfire. As these trees crowd increasingly closer to the crops I am growing, they steal moisture and precious nutrients away from the desired plants. Branches, twigs, and vines can also damage farming equipment. Scratches, torn-off mirrors and antennas as well as tearing apart electrical components are all expensive wastes of time and money.
After pulling on my TideWe boots, and checking the oil and gas levels in the Stihl chainsaw, I hopped into the John Deere Gator and headed out north of the shop to endure a day of trimming fence lines. On the bright side, there was a fresh few inches of snow on the ground from the night before and the temperature was projected to reach the mid-30s.
After a few hours of trudging through the snow and brush, I was feeling relatively good about the progress I was making until I looked back and saw I had only traveled approximately 100 yards. I headed back to the homestead and after a short lunch break which included an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, I entered the Gator again, a little slower this time as my back was beginning to feel the repercussion of spending the morning at a 90-degree angle with a chainsaw in my hands.
With the Gator parked where I had left off and the chainsaw growling, I began to head to my next target. After a few more hours spend climbing in, around, and sometimes through the buckthorn, the chainsaw ran out of gas. I decided this must be some sort of sign and decided to quit this project for today. As I headed back to the Gator with my eyes on the ground, being careful not to trip, I noticed something off-white on the snow covered ground in front of me. Probably a stick, but possibly a shed.
A few more steps turned the possibility into a definite shed. Four tines in total, one half of an 8-point buck.
Now I’ve shed hunted before, doing everything the so-called “experts” tell you to do. Focus on deer trails and paths. Spend extra time along ditches, creeks and fence lines where the bucks might have to jump and then the antler gets jared from their head.
I’ve logged countless hours in fence lines with the chainsaw. I think I have found a total of 3 sheds, 4 if you count the one I had to pull out of the tire on the corn planter one Spring. This was the nicest shed in my collection to date, and a lot cheaper than the one the corn planter found. I’m not complaining, sometimes it's just better to be lucky I guess.
As I ate dinner later that evening with the shed on the table in front of me, 3 Tylenol deep and aches still setting in, I decided I would trim some more fence lines tomorrow.
Maybe I’ll find the other half of my shed and have a matching pair.
Michael “Flow” Sanders 02/21/2023
