When rumors began to emerge this past Fall that shed hunting in Colorado was going to be pushed back to May, I didn’t really know what to think. Ever since my hunting addiction began to take hold, I’ve always associated March with picking up antlers and a time to get outside after a long Winter to help cure cabin fever. There’s no doubt the shed antler craze has skyrocketed in recent years for a few reasons; any serious hunter loves antlers and the market value is high. A brown elk or deer shed can bring as much as $12 per pound and can be worth far more if they are deemed “trophy” quality or sold as a matched set. It’s no wonder why more and more people setting off into the hills in search of brown gold.

As the number of people entering wintering areas increases, the animals are affected, hence the reason for further restrictions. For those of you who are in the dark about the new shed hunting regulations, here is the simple rundown:

All public lands West of I-25 will be closed to antler collecting from January 1st through April 30th, annually. For 2018, these new dates went into effect on March 2nd. Private land does not apply to this restriction.

Believe me, I’m all for a shed hunting restriction because it’s what’s best for the animals but it does present some challenges. Here are my perspectives from both sides of the fence.

Pros

• Increased Protection For Herd Health

My life literally revolves around deer and elk hunting, from my job in the hunting industry to my hobbies and this blog you’re reading right now, so their well being is in my best interest. The fewer people we have walking around during a critical recovery period means a decreased winter mortality rate and increased fawn survival.

• I Won’t Get Harassed

Yeah, you read that right. I’ve caught major flack from my Colorado Shed Hunting Video I posted last year for “exposing” secret shed hunting spots and for promoting shed hunting. I’m being completely serious. It was ridiculous the amount of hate mail I was receiving but now that no one can shed hunt until May, it is safe to assume that the animals should be recovered and no more winter kill will occur on my behalf.

Secluded pockets of aspen trees are great areas to find elk antlers in Colorado’s high country.

Cons

• Bad Guys Don’t Follow The Rules

We all know that bad guys don’t abide by the law so unfortunately there will be more antlers than usual for them to pick up and less for the guys who play by the rules. I’ve seen it first hand in an area where I’ve shed hunted in Southwest Colorado that has had May 1st restrictions in place for many years. Someone always goes in early and unfortunately, I think this will be a common occurrence going forward, especially with a nominal violation fee.

• Tough To Enforce

Coinciding with the point above, other recreational activities such as hiking, biking, four-wheeling, snow-shoeing, camping, etc. are not prohibited in the same areas where shed hunting is restricted. This means that there will still be human activity in wintering areas during these critical times. Bottom line, it will be tough to police shed hunting and I have a feeling we will see a fair bit of antler “stashing” during the months of March and April.

• Neighboring States will see Influxes

With the new restrictions put in place by Colorado, it’s safe to assume neighboring states will get pounded. This (new law) is good for Colorado but can have negative consequences for Utah, New Mexico, and other western states that don’t have a May 1st opening day. I witnessed an influx of Utah license plates parked along the roads last year during March in Colorado when Utah instated their shed hunting restriction until April 15th. Coincidence? I think not. 

Is There A Better Approach?

I’m no biologist and the severity of Winter can vary year to year but in my opinion, May 1st is a bit excessive. By the time April ends, the grass is green and the antlers become tough to spot. However, if the extra time ensures the animals roll into Spring healthier, that is in the best interest of everyone.

Like other natural resources, I think we need to look at antler collecting in a similar manner to fishing, hunting, mining, tree harvesting, etc. People are using and/or monetarily benefiting from a resource so there is an opportunity for income generation, which could ultimately go back towards conservation efforts. When a team of guys go into an area on horseback, pick a hillside clean of 30 antlers and sell them for thousands of dollars to an antler buyer, shouldn’t the state make some money? Many would disagree, but I for one would be happy to pay a license fee if it means more money goes back to protecting the resource.

A mature Colorado bull elk sprouts new velvet growth after shedding its antlers during the Spring.

With Utah opening before Colorado and Nevada instating a shed hunting restriction in select counties for 2018, I think all western states should get on the same page in regards to closures. Utah is looking like a prime candidate for heavy foot traffic this Spring, which could have profound long-term effects on the animals.

For a full FAQ page on the new regulations pertaining to Colorado shed antler hunting, visit: http://cpw.state.co.us/antlershed

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers but starting a conversation will help bring awareness to the issues presented. What are your thoughts on Colorado’s shed hunting closure? Share your comments below.

For the past few years, I’ve struggled to find elk antlers in the mountains of Colorado and quickly became frustrated with the lack of my success. One consistency I’ve come to realize over the past two seasons is that elk shed hunting is simply a different ball game. Comparatively to both whitetails and mule deer, elk antlers always seemed to elude me while deer antlers were relatively easy to find.

The entire purpose of my blog is to document my findings as I embrace a new lifestyle in a much more extreme terrain and environment. With that being said, I believe any midwestern whitetail hunter can have success in their first season shed hunting for mule deer because a lot of the same principles apply. Mule deer are found at lower elevations during the winter months, making them easier to pattern and are easily accessible. They seem to hold more of a consistent pattern for longer periods of time, while an elk herd has a much larger range and can be found in a completely different area from one day to the next.

Below are a few tips to help shorten your elk shed hunting learning curve and to get you on the fast track to finding brown gold!

Get Higher

No, I’m not making a 420 reference here; I’m talking elevation. As a general rule of thumb, the majority of mature bulls are going to be found at higher elevations than the smaller bulls and cows. Although mule deer and elk wintering areas will have some cross-over, most of the lower elevation elk sign will be cows and young bulls.

Bull elk prefer seclusion at higher elevations during Winter months.

In areas of extreme snowfall and harsh winter conditions, even the herd bulls will get pushed down to lower elevations out of necessity to survive. The key thing to remember is that elk typically shed their antlers much later in the Spring than deer, so it is important to pay attention to snow accumulation. This past Winter, snowfall was heavy in December, January, and February but March and April were mild with very little accumulation. A mild Spring caused the elk to move back up to higher areas of the mountains during the time that the majority of shedding occurs.

Locate Secluded Basins

The key word here is seclusion. Bigger bulls and elk in general, prefer seclusion and will not tolerate human interaction, which is why you also find them at higher elevations. A great way to locate these areas is through the use of Google Earth, which shows the terrain features from a birds-eye view before ever stepping foot on the ground. Looking at maps prior to entering an area lets you visualize the terrain without wasting time and energy scouring areas that are unproductive.

Mule deer and cow elk will be found closer to roads and human traffic, but don’t be fooled by these visuals. Bull elk are seeking solidarity out of eyesight over the next mountain top.

Go Where The Grass Is

Much like livestock and cattle, elk require an average of 20 pounds of grass and browse vegetation to sustain themselves through a harsh Winter so it’s imperative to locate food. These large grassy meadows, which are predominately found on South facing slopes can be easily identified, once again from Google Earth. By keeping this information in mind, it will help you locate potential feeding areas that elk will utilize on a regular basis.

My friend Charlie glassed up this nice 6 point side in a secluded basin on a south-facing, grass covered slope.

No matter how good a secluded basin looks at a high elevation, if it doesn’t have a plentiful amount of food, the elk will be nowhere in sight. This seems like common sense to many people but this is something I struggled with early on and I wasted a lot of hours searching areas that did not hold bulls or any elk, for that matter.

The Trifecta

If you want to start having serious success with elk sheds, locate the ultimate elk wintering area; A secluded basin, with an abundance of food at high-elevation. Once you find an area like this, the probability of it being a great spot year after year will be high. For some added advice, be sure to check out this quick video from Mark Kayser, Tips For Finding Elk Shed Antlers.

It is also important to be in very good physical shape if you want to attempt getting into secluded areas of elk country. The terrain is tough, the air is thin and the distance is far, but If you are willing to put in the work, shed antler success will follow.

For additional shed hunting tips and helpful information, be sure to check out 4 New School Tips For The Beginner Colorado Shed Hunter. Happy shed hunting!

With shed hunting season well underway in Colorado, I thought I would offer up a few tips for the novice shed hunter looking to find that precious prize. If you lack experience in the world of shed hunting, sometimes you can feel overwhelmed when it comes to getting started. As with anything in life, the more you practice and the more time you put in, the better you will get. To make things easier for the inexperienced shed hunter, I’ve put together a “new-school” quick-start-guide to get you off and running in pursuit of that brown gold!

1. Utilize Technology

When it comes to shed hunting a western state like Colorado, the amount of public land can seem endless and finding a spot to start can be overwhelming. Luckily for you, there are numerous ways to utilize technology to your advantage before you ever step foot outside.

One of my favorite programs is Google Earth, which is an invaluable mapping tool and can be downloaded for free. If you aren’t familiar with Google Earth, think of it as a much more interactive, detailed version of Google Maps, where you can see land contours and mark locations much like on a handheld GPS.

Now you might be saying, well this all sounds great but I still have no clue as to where to begin to find shed antlers. Luckily for you, Colorado Parks and Wildlife have developed Google Earth (KMZ) Species Maps that are available for download for free and provide a map overlay of species activity. For example, if you were looking to specifically pursue elk shed antlers, download the elk .kmz file, study their winter concentration areas and figure out an initial game plan based on that information.

The areas in blue show Winter concentration areas for elk in Colorado.

My other go-to piece of technology is the OnXMaps Hunt App available for download on iOS or Android. Colorado is home to millions of acres of BLM and National Forest areas available for public recreational use but there are often private lands mixed in between. Public land versus private tracts can be tough to recognize if you are unfamiliar with the area so it is imperative to be 100% certain for trespassing considerations. OnXMaps shows you exactly where public and private land boundaries are located and allow you mark spots and utilize different overlays much like a handheld GPS.

One of the greatest features about OnXMaps is that it shows public and private land ownership, giving you peace of mind when accessing hunting areas.

This app costs $35 per year but in my opinion, is well worth the money because it is extremely important to know which lands are available to access and which ones are off limits due to private ownership. Here’s another quick tip: Go join Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) for $35 and receive a 1-year free subscription to OnXMaps Hunt!

2. Find a Shed Mentor

As with anything in life, there is a learning curve to anything you do, whether it’s golfing, playing guitar, becoming a better public speaker, weight lifting, etc. The same holds true for shed antler hunting, especially in the mountains of Colorado. If you want to more quickly overcome the learning curve of shed antler hunting, it would be beneficial to befriend someone who is a proficient shed hunter themselves.

I introduced shed antler hunting to my buddy, Sam, last year and shortly after his first endeavor, he quickly fell victim to the addiction. Fast forward to our first time out together in 2016, I had him beat 6-0 on a four-hour hike in Southwest Colorado. Did I have more luck than him that day? Maybe so, but I don’t think it was a coincidence that I found more antlers than he did. Even though we were walking the same ground in the same area, my years of experience and knack for finding antlers played a key role in my success that day.

Experienced shed hunters know how to maneuver the landscape, adjust their path based on animal sign and have a keen eye for spotting those hard-to-find antlers. I sometimes sit back and watch Sam meander off in a direction while thinking to myself, I would have went the exact opposite way! Does this mean he is a bad shed hunter? No, it just means he is still learning the ropes.

I utilize binoculars to scan a large amount of landscape, quickly and effectively.

Whenever you are shed hunting with someone who has more experience than you, pay close attention as to how they navigate the terrain and how they scan the landscape in front of them. Are they moving quickly or are they taking more of a slow, strategic approach? Is this person following a drainage full of sage brush or are they running the ridge top in a thick cover of pinion pines? Are they glassing often or are they simply putting boots on the ground? Surround yourself with people who are better than you and you will quickly follow suit to shed hunting success.

3. South Facing Slopes

I won’t elaborate too much on this topic but essentially what I am trying to convey here is to concentrate on locating and searching slopes that are South-facing because they have a higher concentration of animals during Winter months. This is because these slopes have less snow and therefore, have more food, which results in more animals using this to their advantage to survive. This is especially true for areas that have experienced a severe Winter with cold temperatures and heavy snowfall.

You will also notice if you utilize the Google Earth species map overlay mentioned earlier in this article that many of the South-facing slopes have a high concentration of wintering deer and elk herds. I’m not saying to completely rule out all other slopes but as a general rule of thumb, slopes that face South will be much more productive than others.

4. Train Your Eye

No matter how many miles you put on the ground in the most productive areas with the most amount of animals, if you don’t have the eye for spotting an antler, everything else is obsolete. Finding an antler laying on the ground is similar to finding a needle in a haystack; they can be very tough to spot. For the inexperienced shed hunter, it is important to train the eye.

I found this small mule deer shed in a bedding area on a south facing slope, laying underneath a juniper tree.

The majority of times you will not spot the entire antler as a whole but most likely a small portion of a tine, main beam or antler base. A strategy I used in my early years was to close my eyes, throw a shed into a thick area and walk towards it to see how quickly I could locate the antler. With each throw it would land in a different position; tines up, tines down, facing away, partially hidden, fully exposed or sunk in the mud, forcing my eyes to pick up on those differences. This tactic may sound silly to some but for the inexperienced shed hunter, it is a valuable practice to implement.

If you are looking for another unique way to train your eyes, check out this picture-based article from Wired To Hunt. Although this piece applies more directly to whitetail shed hunting, antler characteristics throughout all species remain relatively the same.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

There’s no substitute for the real deal which means getting outside and putting boots on the ground. Hopefully, you have a few takeaways from this article and can put them to use on your own shed hunting endeavors this year. Before too long you will begin to hunt smarter, not harder and become more proficient at finding shed antlers in the Colorado high-country.

I would love to hear some of your shed hunting strategies and tactics that you use to find antlers – share them with me in the comments below!