One thing I have read on here in books or magazines and have noticed many times by friends of mine is how much "in-season" scouting hunters do. To follow is what I have adapted as some of my strategies which I believe has gone hand in hand with whatever success I have had in the whitetail woods. Bare with me it is a long read.....

I religiously follow my guideline of no in-season scouting or "walk abouts" before or after a hunt. I believe the lowest impact possible on the way in and out of stand is critical. I refer tono in-seasonscouting as "damage control".

I call it this because the more time you spenddisturbing the woods increases your odds of bumpingthe deer,ultimately educating them to your human presence and altering their daily behavior. In my opinionall you are mostly doing by in-season scouting is observing what your deer herd was doing before your intrusion and if you didn't take all precautions, what they most likely won't be doing tomorrow......

The least disturbance I cause in my hunting locations increases my confidence, whichin turn increases my success as confidence is my key ingredient to staying in and sharp on stand.

I firmly believe that to be as successful as you can you must learnas much asyou can about your timber in the immediate post season through the end ofthe spring turkey season. My next step is to learn all I can about my deer herd from the start of antler growth thru the bow opener to the close of the season by first hand observation from glassing and stand time. I believe any undue stress caused to the deer on my part is only shooting my self in the foot. If you keep your woods as clean and clear of human disturbances as you possibly canthe more I am willing to bet your success will increase as well.

This is my take on scouting everyday pressured whitetails..... I can't believe some of what I have read over the years by professional hunters..... I think many of them have lost touch with us regular bowhunters, who most don't get to hunt low pressure, high quality, high healthdeer herds.....

I welcome any comments or disagreements.....

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