WHY SCOUT FOR DEER AFTER THE SEASON
Looking for Deer Sheds with Bob Zaiglin
 Editor’s
Note: Sportsmen across Alabama know Don Taylor of Birmingham,
Alabama, as an avid deer and turkey hunter, and Dr.
Bob Sheppard of Carrollton, Alabama, as a bowhunting
instructor. Bob Zaiglin, a wildlife biologist from Texas,
has done extensive research in managing and hunting
trophy white-tailed deer and is a nationally-recognized
expert for his rattling and calling techniques. These
three longtime outdoorsmen know the importance of Scouting
for deer after the season.
According to Bob Zaiglin, “Searching for shed
antlers and hunting bucks without a gun when the season
is over will help you compile the most-complete information
about the whereabouts of de er.
Hunting sheds helps you learn where deer are concentrated
on any particular piece of property. The area where
you find the most sheds will be the regions where you
will discover the most deer. Also, sportsmen can pinpoint
the corridors deer are using to feed, water, bed and
hide from hunting pressure. By hunting sheds, a sportsman
may find a rack that will score very high on the Boone
and Crockett scale from a buck that may never even have
been seen during hunting season. Once the hunter locates
that trophy shed and decides to hunt that deer the next
season, he must realize he will have to let numbers
of small bucks walk past him—if he's going to
try and take that trophy buck. By knowing a trophy buck
is in an area, a hunter can concentrate his hunting
time the next season in the  general
region where he's found the trophy's shed antlers.
“In the West, I find many sheds around watering
holes and along fence lines. Many times when deer are
jumping fences, they'll knock their antlers off. Then
a hunter can try to find travel trails between feeding
and bedding areas along fences where he locates drops.
Although each of these places is an easy spot to discover
sheds, you must go into the thicker spots if you really
want to locate the shed antlers of a trophy buck. One
of the problems with locating big sheds in heavy cover
is that rodents are more abundant in thick areas and
will consume those antlers at a rapid rate after the
deer have shed them.
“Although the dream of most shed hunters is to
find a matched pair of trophy antlers, very rarely do
deer shed both antlers at the same ti me
and in the same place. Some years ago, I finally found
more than two sets of matching antlers. Actually, I
located five sets of matched antlers. I'm not sure why
it’s uncommon to find both antlers off the same
deer, but my best guess is that antler shedding is definitely
related to nutrition. Perhaps a deer on a good nutrition
level holds his antlers longer than a deer that is nutritionally
deprived of good food.
“One year, our ranch had good nutrition, but
after hunting season, the lands I managed went into
a drought. Since the deer were somewhat deprived nutritionally,
they shed their antlers more quickly. At least this
was the best guess I had as to why I found more sets
of antlers together after the season.
TOMORROW: LOCATING DEAD DEER
WITH BOB ZAIGLIN
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