Sign like this is a good indicator of a big buck hideout in the mountains of the western states
Since Christmas I have been wearing down the boot leather on my Kenetreks in the forests and mountains of northern Idaho. With plenty of snow on the ground, yet not enough to really move the deer from their favorite hideouts, I’ve been able to log a plethora of travel, bedding, feeding and rut information for the upcoming 2013 season. I like to invade big buck bedding areas once, maybe twice a year while looking for freshly cast antlers. Our mountain bucks always start shedding around Christmas and do so through February and even into March. The sign and sheds that I find get cross referenced and loaded into my google earth maps with dates and conditions. A big mature buck in this country, due to our late rut and early shedding will almost always shed where you can find him the following fall. You can bet when I find one that I like, I’ll be back when the time is right.