Sheds And Missed Opportunities
Photo from Created Outdoors Archives
It’s that time of year when the bucks start shedding their antlers. Many will hike miles searching for these treasures. Most will walk past way more than they will find. While we all dream of big trophy bucks, a shed hunter’s trophy is the hard-to-find shed spikes, or buttons of a button buck.
Shed hunting is one of those activities that the more ground you cover, the more you will find. The more you find, and the easier they become to spot. Practice truly makes perfect. However, no matter how skilled you become at finding antlers, there will still be some that you will miss. It’s best to walk areas more than once. This will help you recover some that you missed the first time.
Do you think they we will miss some of the signs, and roads that God wants us to take? We are in fact human, so most definitely we will miss paths provided by the Lord. What does it mean when we miss these opportunities? Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”. This means that much like a GPS, when we miss a turn, God will recalculate our route. God will provide another exit ramp to His path.
Shed hunting can be very difficult. Humans are not the only one’s searching for them. Rodents will eat them as a source of minerals and calcium. Coyote’s and foxes will chew them, and carry them back to their dens for their pups to teeth on.
Searching southern facing slopes where the sunlight reaches, can be beneficial places to search. Bucks will bed on these slopes and ridges to warm themselves in the sun. Walking a north facing slope that runs parallel to a south facing slope can be a great place to glass from looking for antlers, and beds.
Walking fence lines, and field edges can be another productive route to search. Bucks will lose their head gear as the brush them on branches, and other field edge cover. As they jump a fence, log, or other obstacle, the impact at landing can be just enough to knock off the antlers.
Photo by Derek Denlinger Created Outdoors Staff
Walking trails may pay off as well. As you walk, glass the ground ahead. Stop and glass behind you also, the change of angle may help you pick out an antler that you just walked right past. This tactic may seem tedious, but can be very effective. This tactic may also teach you the most about shed hunting, and deer hunting.
Much like walking trails for sheds, God’s way is rarely the easy way, but also rarely the hardest way. Learning lessons the hard way seems to be the human way of life. When things seem to be harder than they should be we tend to ask “Why are you putting me through this Lord?”, but is that the right question? Maybe, it’s our negative, entitled way of thinking that humans tend to have that make things more rigorous than they need to be. What if we asked this question instead, “Lord God, what are you preparing me for?” You see, God knows that we do not learn much when we do things the right or easy way, rather, our greatest lessons are learned from our mistakes, and difficulties. Don’t forget to look back at your path in Christ to look for those missed opportunities.
Until next time, hunt hard, and pray harder.
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Written by,
Evan Gersper Created Outdoors Staff Writer