[ WRITTEN BY STEVEN DRAKE ]
There’s no shortcut to finding elk sheds. No secret sauce. No one trail you can follow that leads to piles of antlers. Like most things in the mountains, success in shed hunting is earned. It’s built through knee deep snow, steep terrain, and many miles at a time. But if you know where to start—and when to move—your odds go way up.
Here are 5 proven tips to help you stack more sheds this spring.
1. Winter Scouting: Know Where They Are Before They Drop
Shed hunting success starts long before spring. It starts in December, when bull elk begin to group up into bachelor herds and move into their winter range. Depending on snowfall and elevation, that move might be subtle—or it might be a full migration 100 miles from where they spent their rut.
The key here is south-facing, wind-swept slopes where feed isn’t buried too deep. These sunny pockets of exposed grass are where bulls will spend the majority of the winter months. Some of these slopes you can glass from a road. Others, you’ll need to lace up and hike into.
Glass often and from a distance. If you find bulls in January, odds are high they’ll shed close to that same area come March or April.
2. Find Cow Elk? Look Higher
A common mistake for beginners: finding a big herd of elk and assuming sheds are nearby. But here’s the catch—if you’re seeing cows and calves, you're likely in the wrong elevation zone.
Bulls often winter above cow herds. They tolerate harsher conditions and push higher where there’s less competition for food. So if you’re winter scouting and see cows, pull out the map and look upslope. The bulls are likely just over the next ridge.
3. Just Keep Hiking
This one’s simple. Brutal. But true. The more miles you cover, the more sheds you’ll find.
When I first started shed hunting, my miles-to-sheds ratio was about 10 to 1. Ten miles for every single antler. Now, with better instincts and more intel, that ratio has improved—but the truth remains: you’ve got to move.
I regularly put in 15+ mile days in the spring. Shed hunting is a grind. But if you stick with it and commit to the process, it will eventually pay off. So if you're getting skunked? Don’t quit. Keep walking.
4. Bulls Are Creatures of Habit
Here’s the silver lining to all those hard-earned miles: bulls are habitual. They often return to the same wintering areas year after year, especially if the habitat remains undisturbed and provides reliable feed.
That means when you find a shed, you're not just finding an antler—you’re finding a long-term spot. Mark it. Save it. Return next year and the year after that. Elk shed patterns don’t shift dramatically unless forced to. Once you break the ice with your first shed, the next ones come easier.
5. Be Patient—Don’t Pressure the Herd
It’s tempting to race into your glassed-up zone the moment March hits. But shed hunting too early can do more harm than good. Push the bulls before they drop, and you might bump them out of the zone entirely—along with your chance of finding anything at all.
Respect the animals. They’re at their weakest in late winter. Every calorie counts. The best shed hunters know to hang back, watch for “bald bulls,” and only move in once you know antlers are hitting the dirt.
A good rule of thumb: wait until the first green grass starts sprouting. In many western states, shed hunting isn’t even legal in some areas until May 1st. Always check your state regs before heading out.
Final Thoughts
Shed hunting isn’t easy—and that’s exactly why it’s worth doing. It forces you to learn elk behavior, study winter range patterns, and pay attention to subtle terrain shifts. In return, you get a pile of antlers—and a head start on understanding the bulls you’ll be chasing this fall.
So prep your gear, plan your routes, and get boots on the ground. Shed season is more than just a treasure hunt—it’s the opening chapter to a full season of elk hunting.
