While I agree with " no walk abouts " in the immediate area that you hunt, I disagree that you should not scout during hunting. I am constantly scouting " while " I hunt. When Iam not hunting, Ilong range scout and watch areas.Our area is much different from yours though.Our area is open and pretty much voidof trees.

The deer are constantly changing patterns as the fall progresses due tofood sources,the pressure of waterfoul hunters/rifle hunters and changes in cover. It is pretty much ag land here and there is a lot more cover for the deer at the beginning of hunting season versus the end of hunting season.

Heck our summer scoutingis just for locating certain buck's main bedding areas. They are not feedingin the same area once bowhunting starts which means they are traveling through an area differently then just a week before bow season started.We know from experience what theyprefer to feed on and seek out these spots well before bow season starts. Once we find the bucks bedding areainlate summer, we plot which travel route they are more likely to takethe 1st of September when season starts. Since it is open we carryspotting scopes and good binocs to watch the area we hunt to adjust depending how the deer use it during hunting.

Scouting is very important to us during hunting. What was hot one week could be cold a week later. From experience we know what to expect in the yearly habits of the deer. In-season scouting is for fine tuning our hunting. We scout " all year ". Well the1st two weeksof June, we take a break. That is how important scouting is to us.

Tim