Shed hunting

[rosh7674]

Hi
When is the good time to go shed hunting?

Thanks,
Sarosh

[J.B.]

right now...

[duffy4]

It can depend on what you want to get out of your "shed hunting".

The bigger bucks drop their antlers earlier as a rule. So in Jan. Feb. following deer trails in the snow may be a good way to find big sheds.

If you wait till the snow is pretty well gone you get to see the woods pretty well as it was in Nov. last fall. The scrapes and rubs are there and show you areas and patterns of buck activity from last fall and it will possibly be very similar this coming fall. So if "scouting" is part of the reason you go shed hunting it is good to be in the woods March, April and May.

I like to carry a .22 and try to shoot a rabbit while I am shed hunting/buck scouting in the spring. One day I flushed a few grouse, found a nice shed, shot a rabbit and walked up on a cougar, for a fun and interesting spring "shed hunt".

[rosh7674]

I was going to check out ministik bird sanctuary. Are we allowed to take shotgun over there. I would love to shoot some rabbits when I am scouting/shed hunting

[duffy4]

Game Bird Sanctuaries
Hunting game birds and carrying shotguns are prohibited in game bird sanctuaries except with a special permit. Descriptions of these sanctuaries are available from the Queen's Printer in Edmonton or Calgary (click here for details). Game bird sanctuaries are located in the following WMUs:

WMU Sanctuary WMU Sanctuary
102 Pakowki Lake 242 Ministik Lake
148 Many Island Lake 242 Miquelon Lake
212 Inglewood 357 Saskatoon Lake
220 Red Deer 503 Lac La Biche
238 Birch Lake 530 Richardson Lake

[Hooter]

Originally Posted by rosh7674

I was going to check out ministik bird sanctuary. Are we allowed to take shotgun over there. I would love to shoot some rabbits when I am scouting/shed hunting

Absolutely not! It is a bird sanctuary and you can't have any shotguns in there at any time, and you can only carry a rifle during regular big game seasons.

FWIW, I've found a couple of moose sheds there in the past, but it's huge area, so finding sheds of any kind will be a challenge. With that said, though, it's a beautiful walk and worth the trip.

[RapStaff]

When is the good time to go shed hunting?

Dude you need to worry more about finding an actual living deer to put a hole in.
After that maybe concentrate on rack hunting.

I can hear your dog.

[kmacisaac]

I've been out a bit, with all the rain recently it's been tough. The grass has been green and high as ever. Hard to fin em' but still fun to get out there.