WHY SCOUT FOR DEER AFTER THE SEASON
Determining the Condition of the Herd 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.
“The best time to lease land or to look for a
place to hunt is after the rut,” according to
Bob Zaiglin. “If a hunter is considering leasing
a particular piece of property and wants to know the
condition of the deer on the land, he should be able
to walk over the lease and find sheds. If he doesn't
discover any sheds, then he must question how many deer
are on the lease. The same is true of public lands.
If you plan to hunt public lands this season but aren't
sure of the condition of the herd is on those lands,
walk those lands  after
the season and search for sheds. Too, sheds will tell
sportsmen how well they're doing with their deer-management
programs. For instance, if your hunting club is attempting
to produce numbers of bucks, but your members don't
find very many sheds, something is wrong in your herd.
Sheds will also tell you the size of bucks you have
on the property and the general condition of those bucks.
“I collect all the sheds I can every year. Then,
I measure every shed. Although the data doesn't give
me any age criteria, it does give me a bio mass of antlers.
I can tell by the sheer volume of antlers I pick up
whether I have a number of bucks or a few bucks and
whether I have little or big bucks on a property. Something
else I've determined from sheds is that I can better
predict what size bucks I'll have to  hunt
the upcoming year. If I find numbers of small, scrappy
antlers, then I can project that hunters on that land
may not bag very many large trophies the coming year.
Alternatively, if I locate some quality racks, I'll
know my hunters the following year can expect to harvest
some trophy bucks. So collecting sheds helps the sportsman
keep his expectations of the upcoming buck harvest within
more reasonable bounds.
“Bass fishermen have learned that bass usually
are in only 10 percent of a lake's area. Deer follow
much the same pattern in the woods. Shed hunters quickly
will learn where their chances are best on any piece
of property to find a deer. The sportsman who wants
to become a trophy hunter and consistently take big
deer must learn to hunt all year and carry his gun into
the woods only during hunting season. Not enough time
is available during
hunting season for a trophy hunter to unravel the mysteries
of the big bucks. Even if the outdoorsman does determine
what the deer in his area are doing, the season may
be over before he has a chance to intercept a buck in
the woods. Deer have learned to avoid hunters. Most
always on any given piece of land, a few certain bucks
will continually escape hunters. These deer seem to
have a sixth sense about how to avoid hunters. Unless
a sportsman is willing to hunt trophy bucks all year,
not only may he never find a trophy buck to hunt, but
he'll also never develop a strategy for taking that
deer. If you truly want to hunt a trophy, the odds of
bagging that trophy buck are best for the hunter who
makes the commitment to hunt deer all year long. Shed
hunting is an integral part of trophy-buck hunting for
outdoorsmen who understand what sheds mean, where to
look for the sheds, and what to do after they find them.”
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