Shed spot around Pine March 10 too early?

[Norteno]

My family spends one weekend of every spring break in a rented cabin with two other families in Pine. Im always in charge of organizing the outdoor activity for the guys since the other husbands are city slickers. Last year was a boring and we fished Green Valley. We saw tons of elk and coues around Pine. No bulls because they werent with cows or they already dropped.

 

Is March 10 too early to go looking for elk sheds this year? It would be awesome taking these guys on a hike and coming back with some browns. I dont know 22 and if anyone can send me some areas to start that would be great. Im trying to get these guys interested in outdoors since they are husbands to wifes best friends. Long term goal is to get them hunting.

[knothead]

I'm not a shed hunter but I can tell you my cameras used to always get stolen between 3rd week of march and end of April. I have always assumed it was the shed hunters. March 10th might be a little too early from my what I know about shed hunters in my area but bigger bulls might drop earlier than the majority.

[nateNAU]

March 21st is the earliest I've found a brown.

[Norteno]

Thanks everyone. Ill have to find a plan B (not abortion pill). Blue Ridge is too far and I havent heard Verde is any good. Maybe just pick a point on the map and hike it

[Big Browns]

March 10 is early for the main drop, but their will definitely be browns on the ground. Plus you can always find older sheds from previous years.

[kwp]

March 10 is early for the main drop, but their will definitely be browns on the ground. Plus you can always find older sheds from previous years.

Agree completely.

[Mathews]

Wouldnt recommend taking someone youre trying to get into the sport that early.. definitely horns on the ground, but will be a small percentage.

[COA]

lol they are on the ground right now.

[brian390]

Thanks everyone. Ill have to find a plan B (not abortion pill). Blue Ridge is too far and I havent heard Verde is any good. Maybe just pick a point on the map and hike it

If you're going to just pick a spot on the map and just hike than you might as well look for sheds too. There's still chances to find browns on March 10th and it will likely be a bigger elk shed at that date. Just hike in the cedar trees and warn them that it might be a little early but there's a chance. I've found three browns all within 20 yards of each other on February 28th one year and they were in the 340 to 360 range sheds. This was the earliest that I've found browns but it happened.

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Maybe you could take them for a hike on the Highline Trail?

 

Years back, I actually found a shed literally lying directly on the trail itself. I'm not saying you guys will too but I'm saying it's possible. And don't think you can't find a shed because it's a well traveled trail. People step over or walk right by sheds every year and never notice them. (Not to seem immodest, but I'm pretty good at that.) I've also found chalkies that were spitting distance from very well traveled trails so although 3/10 is a bit early for 2018 sheds it's possible to find them or you could find sheds from earlier years.

 

It's also a well-marked trail and the kiddos will have to work hard to get lost. There are also lots of places to stop, investigate and teach on the way. Work on survival skills. (Rule # 1: Don't panic!) Start a fire with no matches. That will thrill them. And teach them the importance of putting the fire dead out. Pack a lunch and have them eat it on a log. Have them use their safety whistles.

 

Certainly tell them about sheds but I wouldn't make that the focus. Tell them to expect to find 3 cool things every day and especially on your little walkabout. I bet they do. Heck, they may have their pockets full of cool stuff after the first 100 yards.

 

You'll have a blast! Let us know what you decide and how it goes.

[cjl2010]

Please dont start any fires near Payson haha

[Norteno]

Maybe you could take them for a hike on the Highline Trail?

 

Years back, I actually found a shed literally lying directly on the trail itself. I'm not saying you guys will too but I'm saying it's possible. And don't think you can't find a shed because it's a well traveled trail. People step over or walk right by sheds every year and never notice them. (Not to seem immodest, but I'm pretty good at that.) I've also found chalkies that were spitting distance from very well traveled trails so although 3/10 is a bit early for 2018 sheds it's possible to find them or you could find sheds from earlier years.

 

It's also a well-marked trail and the kiddos will have to work hard to get lost. There are also lots of places to stop, investigate and teach on the way. Work on survival skills. (Rule # 1: Don't panic!) Start a fire with no matches. That will thrill them. And teach them the importance of putting the fire dead out. Pack a lunch and have them eat it on a log. Have them use their safety whistles.

 

Certainly tell them about sheds but I wouldn't make that the focus. Tell them to expect to find 3 cool things every day and especially on your little walkabout. I bet they do. Heck, they may have their pockets full of cool stuff after the first 100 yards.

 

You'll have a blast! Let us know what you decide and how it goes.

Thanks, that is my plan. We are starting at the cabin, cutting across forest (Im having them download topomap in their phones), checking out Dripping Springs and then intersecting Highline. It will be fun for them to navigate using a topomap and the landmarks around them.

[CatfishKev]

You can also take them glassing. Newbies are always fascinated that you can just sit on a hill and watch wildlife like that. Sitting behind a pair of 15s is one of my favorite sources of Zen.