Bryan Ross hunts sheds religiously in Kansas. He’s located some spots that consistently produce nice sheds, so each year he hits them up looking for freshly fallen antlers. (Photo courtesy of Byan Ross)
February 25, 2022
By Blake Garlock
In early February, Bryan headed to one of his reliable shed spots. He had high expectations, and just 20 minutes into the search Bryan found an 80-inch left side while walking a known deer travel route.
“I was pretty amazed that I found it so close to the road,” says Bryan. “I had never seen that deer on camera before.”
Bryan walked up on this 83-inch left side because of how bright the sun was. This shed’s main beam measures 27 inches. (Photo courtesy of Bryan Ross) Bryan spent the next several hours walking trails and creek bottoms looking for the buck’s other side, but he never found it or any other sheds that day. So, Bryan headed home and decided he’d go back and hunt the spot in the morning.
“I went back to the same area in the morning, and again I didn’t find anything,” Bryan remembers. “So, I decided to go back and try again in the evening.”
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For the evening hunt, Bryan walked a field edge along a known bedding area where he’s seen mature bucks bedding. As he walked, he saw a shed antler laying 50 yards away.
“I knew it was the right side to the shed I found the day before, because it was pretty big and unique,” says Bryan. “But the squirrels had gotten to it, which was disappointing, but it was still cool to find it.”
Bryan pushed as deep into the property as he could after finding that shed. He walked a little over two miles without finding another antler, and as he approached a creek crossing, he saw another huge antler sitting right in front of him.
“It was really bright out that day,” Bryan remembers. “When it’s that bright it can be easy to walk past sheds. The brightness allowed me to walk right into it. It was awesome!”
The big left side that Bryan walked into is an 83-inch, 6-point side. Perhaps the antler’s most impressive measurement is its main beam, which measures 27 inches.
Bryan found this right side a full day before finding the matching antler. It took him another two trips to the area before he found the other side.(Photo courtesy of Bryan Ross) The match set that Bryan found is impressive, too. Even after the damage from squirrels chewing on it, the set scores 175 with an 18-inch spread credit. The antlers sport over 40 inches of mass, and both H-1 measurements surpass six inches.
“It was awesome,” Bryan says. “Sometimes with shed hunting it’s just 90 percent luck.”
For more shed hunting stories, keep following along with North American Whitetail’s Just Dropped campaign through shed season.
