Post-season scouting?

[NY/Al]

Ok, I was out driving the snowmobile through our property the other night and when I went to check the corn field out back about a dozen deer and one real nice 8pt broke out. It looks like since winter has set in, the deer are now yarding up a little bit around the best food sources, which begs me to ask the question...

What really can be learned from after season scouting?

Through the last few years I have seen deer travel a solid 1 1/2 miles to the best food source, and since the deer are so dependent on the food, how is this information going to help me next year? All of the crop fields will be different, its just that right now, ive got the hot item. It seems that all the information that I gather will be useless except for maybe telling me what buck is around. It really dosent say squat about where they will be Mid-october of next year. I might be missing something, but I would like to hear everyones input!

[GregH]

ORIGINAL: NY/Al

Ok, I was out driving the snowmobile through our property the other night and when I went to check the corn field out back about a dozen deer and one real nice 8pt broke out.Â* It looks like since winter has set in, the deer are now yarding up a little bit around the best food sources, which begs me to ask the question...

What really can be learned from after season scouting?

Through the last few years I have seen deer travel a solid 1 1/2 miles to the best food source, and since the deer are so dependent on the food, how is this information going to help me next year?Â* All of the crop fields will be different, its just that right now, ive got the hot item. It seems that all the information that I gather will be useless except for maybe telling me what buck is around.Â* It really dosent say squat about where they will be Mid-october of next year.Â* I might be missing something, but I would like to hear everyones input!

What you should be looking for is rut sign from this year and note it to this years crop locations. You can use this years late season feeding patterns for coming years where the crop rotation is the same as this years.

What I've noticed is that when the crops are the same as they were from a past season is that deer patterns will be close to the same as that of the past season.

I hope I worded this so it is understandable! [8D]

[NY/Al]

Ahh, makes sense Greg. Never thought about it like that I guess. I always hear people saying "We found this buck last winter...yada yada yada" Which could work in some cases, but not really in mine. What your saying makes better sense though. Thanks!

[MeanV2]

When post season scouting I never really look for Deer. Study the Rut sign. You can learn a lot from looking at the past years Rut sign, Rub lines, Primary scrapes. etc.

One thing if you are hunting new property or just want to check existing properties, post season is an excellent time to also look for pinch points and funnels. Maybe even make a few!Everything just shows up better here during post season.

Good luck!!

Dan