New Years Eve Day

Well, as many of you know I no longer head up NHSHC. Although I am still involved, I play a much smaller role assisting James Smith, jr the new owner/President. James is a hell of a guy and has a fire in his belly for our sport unequaled by anyone that I have met in many years. He has many new ideas and a clear goal in mind in what direction the club can and must go in to best serve the shed hunters of NH. James is an official scorer for both the NH Antler and Skull Trophy Club headed up by Roscoe Blaisdell and the NE Big Bucks Club, so I urge all of you to contact James about scoring your sheds. In coming days He and I will do a little shedding around the old farm just to get our feet wet.

And now for today's adventures. I met up with a lifelong friend Chris Palermo up in his home turf to go on the first antler hunt this season on the hunt for the sheds for his double main beam buck. This deer is by far the biggest bodied buck I have ever seen on digital trail cam. Given the fact I have stood where the pic was taken, I was blown away at his size. I would guess dressed weight at 250 anyways! The rack looks average until you factor in his body proportions.
It may be a little early but who knows. The terrain reads like a text book on where to find some soggy bottom old swamp beast, hemlock swamps that go on for an eternity with mixed hardwoods that surround in the highlands and open fields to the northeast and apple trees and rural lawns mixed in here and there. We first ran a ridge that fed down into a swamp (one of many I mentioned before) I found a rub line crossing a bottle neck where Chris will be placing a bow stand next season. We covered the area but judging by the pink doe pee the buck's testosterone had not dropped enough yet because of the does still being breedable.

We then noticed a snowshoe hare be-bopping in and out of some hemlocks and seeing that Chris loves to eat bunnies, we put the stalk on. Well after some masterful stalking and some careful aiming ....he missed. We chased the little guy around for near on twenty minutes and then Chris decided to eat pizza instead.

All in all, it was a good day because we now have a better understanding of how that bruiser is moving . I just wish we had a better understanding of his antlers. but I will go back in a few weeks

Bird Season moose skull

October 1st Steve and I headed to Pittsburg to do some grouse hunting and to roam the woods of the north country. I was accused early on in the 3 hour ride of using the opening of bird season to shed hunt. I assured him that my intentions were pure. But, I had fully intended to shed hunt and shoot any birds that just happened to cross my path but I did not state that to my friend Steve.

As dawn broke the next morning I could hear rain pattering on the roof and knew our tradition of only going to Pittsburg in the rain held. I swear every time we go it rains the whole time no matter what the weather says. At about seven we headed to Happy Corner for some belly stuffing. We drank our coffee in deep thought about the day, me dreaming about antlers and Steve fantasizing about the cranberry sauce and stuffing we had toted along in anticipation of some fat grouse breast for dinner. We had ordered our standard; the Rhode Island red (corned beef hash served on a bed of home fries covered with cheddar cheese) the breakfast of shed hunters...I mean bird hunters.

We finished our feast and headed into the woods. I strategically suggested a spot that had been very productive in the past and the best part is that even though it gets hunted hard in Pittsburg this spot gets overlooked because of its simplicity. it also has birds. I generally am fairly open in giving up the general location of my spots but this place is top secret. We both took a side of the brook and headed north, after 10 minutes or so I noticed a leg bone . Then a scapula. Then another leg bone. I then decided to follow the gruesome scavenger hunt.Through the spruce boughs I caught a glimpse of tines "that's cool", I thought... an antler! But as I pushed through the scrub, what awaits but the holy grail ! A moose skull with antlers attached!


So at this point I called for Steve to no avail. I hoofed it back to the truck myself .Not a monster by any means but for this shed hunter a giant just the same.

The rest of the weekend went by fast, but soaked to the bone. But we did see a cow and a bull doing the courtship thing and in another spot I called in an absolute monster of a bull within 15 yards. But sadly not a single bird. At least Steve got to eat his cranberry sauce and stuffing.........with pork chops from Young's store.

Bought a moose

Well a shed anyhow. Had a chance to buy this big Pittsburg Moose antler that was found by the son of a friend while snowmobiling. It was about to be turned into a lamp and I could not bear the thought.

Big and impressive describes this beast. And yes that is a full grown female Rottweiler.

Skulls, Skulls, and bones

Broken moose

Today's trip was shortened to a half day due to obligations beyond my control. Do people know what time of year this is? Moving right along, I returned to the place I was last week but I was going up higher today. Right away I found a well used moose path, wait, no, this is a moose road!

It went up along a ravine onto a expansive mixed hardwood and hemlock flat. Not 200 yards up I found a rub line. Yes moose, like whitetails have rub lines,they are just bigger and farther apart in distance. The first rub was on a thigh sized spruce what I would consider a marking post tree one just upon entering an open area known as a breeding arena. I did a grid back and forth of this area and found nothing. I entered a huge hardwood flat and grid searched that also. As I reached the far end of my last turn I found one, I have never found one before in a area like this, devoid of browse with all mature hardwood. It's a great shed because of its uniqueness, the palm is broke off not chewed! It also has a kicker off the back. It is I believe a year old.

I checked along the rest of the flat and found nothing ,but again saw some areas I will be back to go over again if I get time.The shear size of this particular wilderness is overwhelming and poses more than a few challenges. But I just know in myheart that there is more and bigger sheds in here.

Chewed up "yard ornaments"

One of the things I've tried to do this season is expand myhunting grounds. The more I talk to people about sheds, the more places Ihear about. I have found that Stoddard ,Munsonville, Windsor and Washington to be hidden gems, with immense open land opportunities and abundant moose and deer population.

I headed out to a place that I have been in before but not really looked thoroughly over. Almost immediately upon entering the woods I found significant moose sign. While creeping down an old abandoned farm road I looked out across a slough and noticed a hemlock covered peninsula jutting out into the summer moose feeding grounds. I noticed a number of winter chews on trees and some antler rubs on some sizable spruce and I knew in an instant that this was going to be the place to really start looking. I followed a game trail littered with moose and deer pellets over a spongy moss laden bog to reach the spit. Once I set foot on solid dry ground I could see up close that the moose spend alot of time in there. I covered the spit in three waves, outer edge by following the trail around the outside of the tree line where the rubs were all the way around. Inside edge ,This area the small hemlock was all browsed up and showed the most use and the inside where the moose bed down on the ridge that ran down the center of the landmass. When searching it is very important to go over a piece of ground with a fine tooth comb.

While scouring the inside edge I picked up my first shed of the day. A big but chewed side laying in the middle of the browse. Still with a lotof mass and weighty for its size ,would have been a cocker of an antler whole. I strapped it to the pack to use as a garden antler.
I Finished scouring the spit without any luck of finding the match. So I moved off the spit and followed the inside edge around the east side following astream. I climbed up a small rise and laying on a flat rock like an altar is a small fork moose shed chewed on the end . I am always amazed at some of the ways I have found antlers, hanging off logs, sitting up on stumps, stuck points down in the mud, in the middle of the road ,submerged in streams, just amazing.

Well the rest of the day was devoid of antlers but I did make note of a few trails and clearings that I will check into next week.

April swampin and slippin

So, as usual I am a little behind in my post.

On Thursday the I went back to Unity to attempt to find the matches to the antlers I found last week. But first I stopped to see my friend Dave Gokey at the taxidermy shop. He had mentioned that he had been ill so I wanted to check up on him. He had some real giants on the wall that duh, stupid me neglected to get photos of not to mention a splendid caribou that I was very impressed with. We talked for about 2 hrs I showed him the sheds from last week as Dave who keeps tabs on the deer around town is familiar with the area I had found these two. He let me in on the whereabouts of another buck in that vicinity with some very distinct set of antlers that he saw early last fall. Without giving much detail, it has a lot of junk sticking out all over the place. Along with a long tined 10 and a even bigger 8. Well with this new info I set off to my secret spot with visions of non-typicals dancing in my head. With strategic precision I placed my truck out of sight and headed up hill to Fields to access my spot.

I took extra care to not leave man tracks showing my entrance to the spot. While others may know of this spot during the rut, I need no competition for the treasures that await me on the ground. As I crept my way along a deer trail beside a grassy marsh area I scanned the matted down reeds and 40 or fifty yards out I could see what looked like a couple large tines poking up. the view through my binocs confirmed my suspicions. As I slogged out to my intended target It grew to the point that I thought it was a yearling moose fork. Imagine how awestruck I was after I examined it and found the basic conformation and brow tine of a whitetail!
A basic fork with the nub of a brow,measures around 22-23 inches long and from about a 2 years old. I Had not even reached the yard yet. I Traveled another hundred yards or so and crossed into the hemlocks on the backside of the pond and found the spot I picked up the 5 point antler last week. i followed the packed trail toward the south and not 40 yards away next to a dug up area where the deer had been searching for acorns was the match laying in the snow as plain as day. How in the hell did I miss it? My tracks where still visible in the snow not 5 feet away!. With that said it goes to illustrate the importance of searching an area from different angles and the necessity of turning around and examining the ground behind you. Case in point, I had traveled this same path last week only coming from the south toward the north. I have found so many that I had passed by simply by occasionally turning around to survey were I have been.

After some as it lay photos I pressed on to try to find the match to the 4 point side from last time or an altogether different antler After a lengthy search and a few misadventures with knee deep snow and more than a few steep icy deer trail and no more antlers I retreated from the woods with my two treasures, being as careful coming out as going in. It will be just a matter of time before I find more in that spot.

Next time I am heading to Croydon with Steve to try to find the match to my January moose shed or other moose sheds and hit up a big deer yard. This will give this spot about two weeks to melt out some more, Easter I will be at the farm. After that who knows, the far North? We will see.

March melt

Today I decided to go to Unity. After weeks of fighting snow and finding only one shed so far this winter the snow was finally leaving some of my best spots and Unity seemed to be at the Northern most edge of spring melt. That is at that point I like best, patches of open ground and just enough snow to give a hint of wintering activity.

In years past the brunt of the deer stayed close to the old homestead and ate the buried apples and yarded in the two hemlock groves bordering the old orchards. However, an earlier trip this year in February reavealed the deer had abandond these well used yards that I had succesfully hunted for many years. Time to think outside the box.

After reviewing some sattelite images and doing some thinking I settled on a plan of attack. I would hike way back in to an area I could remember from earlier scouting trips. I could gain access by snowmobile trails most of the way in, according to the map 1.75 miles. Then it was up to me to bushwhack back in and make good on my hunch. After walking almost 2 miles on mud snow and ice I came to a bend inthe trail that marked the bushwhacking portion of this trip. Up to this point I had not seen a track.

Walking 500 yards weaving through what seemed prime wintering ground,bingo! The deer yard. The sign was over whelming, and so wasn the smell. If you don't know what a deer smells like let me take you to one of these yards and you will not ever miss that smell again. This yard was large, maybe snaking around 5 acres, most likley more. The first thing I noticed were some giant rubs on some thigh sized hemlocks from last fall. My excitement rose when I realized the caliber of deer that may be in this spot.

I started to follow the packed down remnants of the trails. I crossed a small stone wall a headed up hill. I noticed an open quarter acre patch of oak leaves to the right of the trail, good I thought "maybe I will see something in these open spots."And up I went. There was still spots back in the yarding area that I had to strap snowshoes on and follow the packed down trails. An hour later as I reached the top of the yard I still had found nothing and started my swing backdown. Some how after alot of looking and a slightly unscheduled trip around some mystery river not on any map I arrived directly back where I had originally crossed the stone wall and as I began to follow trail # 2 along the wall, I noticed in that same open patch of oak leaf coverd ground was an antler!

How in the hell had I missed that before? There in the middle as plain as day a nice 4 point side, not the giant that had been rubbing those big trees but a nice one none the less. More than likely from a 3 1/2 year old. At this point my watch read 5:00 so I decided to start heading out by following trail#2 to the Northeast back in the direction of the truck, attempting to exit the woods at dark. Ihadn't gone thirty yards and there not a foot off the trail at the melted out base of a big spuce was a beauty of a 5 point side. Dark and with nice mass.

I was amazed at how perfect it had fallen. After a few pics I hefted it up and just marveled at how dark it was. Short stubby points but from a 4-5 1/2 year old I would guess. I looked around quickly for the match but to no avail. I started move along at a quicker clip to get out and made the truck at 7:00 pm with a good take for the day.

Bear steam

Well last weeks trip turned into a health and welfare check of one of the three deer yards at the farm. Seems that so far I haven't lost any of the mature bucks in that yard,but no antlers for they must be under some the 3 and a half odd feet of white and not so fluffy snow.



The deer seemed to be eating the fir, cedar and hemlock buds and not so much the bark. Found a few south facing edges on an oak ridge that the deer had scraped up acorns. My brother is doing some forest management where his sugar-bush abuts the drainage that connects two of the deer yards and is having the logging outfit leave the tops of the sugar maples down for the deer.This seems to be working as the deer are flocking to the site and even bedding down in and around the cut. The other two yards are primarily does and small bucks and fawns, one of which has access to the topped maples. That other yard unfortunately will be where the winter-kills will be more than likely, not to mention they will be tougher to get into because of geography.



I will wait about two more weeks before I attempt them. As far as for the next trip ,I will probably go to Wilmot and try to get into some traditional deer-yards that are in along rte.4a, or I may attempt the moose yard in and around Fowlers Town. It will all depend on snow conditions, some places are accessible by snowshoes and the crust is enough to hold you up and then there are the places you just bust through to your waist. and that my friends makes for a long miserable day.



Here's a picture of the bear den I found. The snow edges are all "melty" and when I put my head to the hole, I could hear the bear softly breathing in it's sleep!

Finally out again

Well its that time of year again when our winter weary souls start itching to get out and find bone.





I can say that the moose are bald now to the most part in our Granite State, antlers in the upper valley falling like rain somewhere around Jan. 19 or so around a full moon. Deer though are being a bit more stubborn. Some are still sporting crowns according to some local game cams but I have it on good authority that some tines are poking out of the 3 odd feet of snow.





I have going out regularly since Dec 24 keeping an eye on the ground and on a large moose-yard that holds about 7 or 8 moose, at least 4 are bulls, one is a brute with big wide palms, then another good one about 45-48 inches wide, I found his left side in Jan.

Since then conditions have gotten absolutely miserable almost impassable in the woods, I have broken snow shoes twice because of the inconsistent but heavy crust, and its just too damn deep to slog through. Mark my words we will have extreme winter kill this year. Not only can the coyotes run quite effortlessly over the the crust BUT the conditions alone will be deadly, and not just to the deer. So far this year I have heard of many owls and hawks being found dead. Seems with this crust mice and other prey can stay under the snow in tunnels. Even the mighty moose will fall victim. Even though 3 feet of snow is manageable for them ,the crust is tough even on their movement. But despite conditions I may venture out today on this presidents day and evoke the adventurous spirit of Teddy Roosevelt and do a little low impact scouting in Stoddard N.H.

I'll let you all know how that works out. .