Triple Crown of Western Shed Hunting

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Every shed, whether a fresh dropped brown or an old, chewed-up chalkie, is unique. For any individual shed, there has never been, nor will there ever be, another one exactly like it.

 

Some of us are still looking for our first shed. Some of us (not me, though) have found many, many sheds.

 

Most of my shed-hunting trips do not end in me finding a single shed (or even a part of one) but they are still successful trips because I'm outside, seeing unique sights, gaining experience and finding other cool stuff (or at least picking up aluminum cans or other litter).

 

Shed hunting also gives me time to think. (Dangerous, I know.)

 

With the final leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing approaching, during one of my recent walkabouts, it dawned on me that we have the Triple Crown of Arizona Shed Hunting because we have, by my count, three deer species in AZ (elk, mule deer & coues white-tailed deer).

 

In years past I had found some elk sheds and a few coues deer sheds but I had never found a mule deer shed until this year. So, when I found a muley shed I thought to myself, "Hey, I have a lifetime Triple Crown of Arizona Shed Hunting!"

 

Then, on a scouting trip in April I found a very old mule deer shed. Then, a couple weeks later, I found an old rag-horn elk shed. Then, in May, I found an old coues shed. So I thought to myself, "Hey, I have the Triple Crown of Arizona Shed Hunting , in one year!"

 

So then I started thinking of all the Triple Crown permutations. [Triple Crown in a life time, Crown in one year, Crown in one day, Crown of Browns, Crown of Browns in one year, Crown of Browns in one day. Not to mention double triples (matching sets), lifetime, year, day, etc.] Im sure Im missing some combinations, but you get the point.

 

So, I got to wondering what have my fellow CWT.com members found?

 

Please post up. Stories and pictures are welcome.

 

If nothing else, it will help pass the time while we wait for the fall draw results, or, as Snapshot aptly called it, "the silly season" when we all guess, theorize, speculate, engage in rumor mongering and generally drive ourselves nuts waiting to find out if we were drawn.

 

Thanks.

[DesertBull]

I've never found the triple crown but I have had a triple shot of crown.

[muledeerarea33?]

Triple shot of crown is where it's at!!! I have found mulie sheds but to me it's the hardest one to obtain.

[az_shooter]

I too have never found all three, I'm missing the biggest one, elk. Don't get much of them down here in southern AZ, but would love to find one. But I am about to find a triple shot of crown if I open my freezer! Haha I probably couldn't handle a triple shot.

[IA Born]

Cool thought! I've been fortunate enough to find the triple crown of antlers. Doing wildlife surveys in SE AZ several years ago, I used to stumble across whitetail sheds and have several of those. I found two muley sheds down in SE AZ, one of which is a huge 3pt side that was over near the Dove Mountain development north of Tucson. I haven't done as much elk shed hunting as I'd like, but I've been lucky to find a few of those, except that none have been fresh browns. My wife found a fresh brown this year while we were out one day!

[NM_Shedder]

Well I'm not from AZ, but there is a Triple Crown of Shed Hunting in New Mexico too. We have Elk, Mule Deer, and Whitetail Deer as well. I have managed to do it this year. But remember this, where I am at in NM the Whitetail population is almost non-existent. So it is very hard to do so.

[jim]

_{I have done it on the same day down in the blue. Fresh brown elk and a older whitetail in the same bed. I found fresh brown muley sheds that day also. I will have to see if I can find the pics.}

[PackerMenges]

Cool topic. I actually just completed this challenge unknowingly a couple weeks ago for the year.

 

What about antelope sheaths? Obviously they are not antlers but I think finding those are the biggest challenge of them all.

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Well I'm not from AZ, but there is a Triple Crown of Shed Hunting in New Mexico too. We have Elk, Mule Deer, and Whitetail Deer as well. I have managed to do it this year. But remember this, where I am at in NM the Whitetail population is almost non-existent. So it is very hard to do so.

Congrats! Post some pictures if you have them. (And thanks for the reminder that this is not AZ specific. I amended the topic to show "Western" shed hunting because there are many members from other states.)

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Cool topic. I actually just completed this challenge unknowingly a couple weeks ago for the year.

 

What about antelope sheaths? Obviously they are not antlers but I think finding those are the biggest challenge of them all.

Good point on the Pronghorn sheaths. They would be sweet to see. Post pictures of your Triple Crown (and the antelope sheaths) if you have them. Thanks!

[Jimmer Negamanee]

_{I have done it on the same day down in the blue. Fresh brown elk and a older whitetail in the same bed. I found fresh brown muley sheds that day also. I will have to see if I can find the pics.}

Wow! First I've heard of someone finding them in one day. What a day that must have been!

[mpriest]

I have managed the double triple in my lifetime but the elk and and mulie sets were hard white. also the mulie set was just a spike set but a set none the less. It took me 3 years to find them all.

[hunter4life]

I have done it in a single day in NM. However, they were not all fresh browns so I still have room for improvement.

[Weston]

I've done it in a day in 6A and I've done it with all browns but not in one day. I've got sets off of all and sets of browns off muleys and elk but not whitetails, I found 3 sets off the same bull in one day all within a 400 or so yard radius in a canyon (actually found 9 horns in one small area which was the coolest day of shed hunting I've ever had)

[az_shooter]

Cool topic. I actually just completed this challenge unknowingly a couple weeks ago for the year.

 

What about antelope sheaths? Obviously they are not antlers but I think finding those are the biggest challenge of them all.

Good point on the Pronghorn sheaths. They would be sweet to see. Post pictures of your Triple Crown (and the antelope sheaths) if you have them. Thanks!

I found an Antelope sheath before, but it was in a burned area and was a little crispy and didn't smell very good, so I didn't keep it. But the coolest sheath I've found was a ram sheath in Nevada, but it was also in a burned area and wasn't much left of it when I found it.