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Tips into shed hunting for toddlers

HuntNV

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I am an avid hunter and father of two living in northern Nevada. I want to get my kids interested in hunting and thought that shed hunting would be a good way to peak their interest. I’ve never shed hunted before and my kids are three and five so crazy long hikes are off the table. Any tips on where to start would be incredibly helpful. I’m trying to figure out where the deer and elk winter in northern and middle of Nevada or if they have to migrate at all.
 
Shed hunting is a lot of glassing. Maybe look at rabbit or bird hunting? My 4yo loves rabbit hunting with me.
 
I take my kids on the wheeler when I am almost certain we will find some sheds checking fields. Ask a farmer in your area where you see deer this winter if he’d let you take the kids around his fields to look for sheds. Antlers in a tractor tire are a bad way to end the day so they usually are good about granting permission for that.
 

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Kids have the attention span of a house fly I feel like. So the long glassing sessions might be tough for them. Also their little legs take about 4 steps to your 1 so keep that in mind to.

Keep it fun and light plant some horns maybe. My kids would carry out femur bones all day if I let them.

I think about taking mine which are 10 and 7 sometimes then I think about what it takes to get into some areas. You definitely do not want to over push them.

Break them in slowly then work up. Good luck and share some pics
 
Kids have the attention span of a house fly I feel like. So the long glassing sessions might be tough for them. Also their little legs take about 4 steps to your 1 so keep that in mind to.

Keep it fun and light plant some horns maybe. My kids would carry out femur bones all day if I let them.

I think about taking mine which are 10 and 7 sometimes then I think about what it takes to get into some areas. You definitely do not want to over push them.

Break them in slowly then work up. Good luck and share some pics
I took my kids for a hike last October found a antelope sheath and a horse carcass the boy had loaded up with bones.
 
I took my daughter “shed” hunting at four. My only intentions were to just hike around off trail though and get her used to hiking not on a maintained trail. Brought lots of snacks and covered about a mile. She actually found a little forky mule deer shed so it was icing on the cake! But I would just say go for hikes! If you find a shed it’s a bonus!
 
Lots of snacks, short hikes and planting a few keeps things going. But any bones are good, mine never really cared if it was a rib or an antler. A dog is good to have too. If no bones are showing up you can always entertain them by throwing sticks for the dog.
 
If possible plant a few ringers to keep there attention and keep spirts high

^^^ This!!
I took my wife and three year old out a lot this past spring. The first morning on one of our trips I woke up before them to heat up coffee and breakfast (pro tip: keep them warm, full, and comfy). While waiting for them to wake up I glassed up a couple sheds on the hillside, and didn’t tell them. When it came time to head out I sent my girls on a line that happen to cross those sheds. They were absolutely beside themselves to find them. To this day I have not told them that I knew where those sheds were hahah
 
I am guilty of this, Frustrating though when the kids walk right by the ringers and never see them.
This always amazes me. I haven't ever planted ringers but I do routinely let my son "find" sheds that I have spotted from a long way off. I swear he has nearly stepped on some even when I am giving all the signs that he should be looking extra hard because there is a shed nearby.
 
This always amazes me. I haven't ever planted ringers but I do routinely let my son "find" sheds that I have spotted from a long way off. I swear he has nearly stepped on some even when I am giving all the signs that he should be looking extra hard because there is a shed nearby.

I walked by a whitetail set 3 times one weekend while turkey hunting before seeing it. And it was public land where some others had likely already walked by it. So many others I must have walked by.
 
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