RE: Pre-season scouting: any tips?
By saying this is your first season and you've never scouted before , I take it your new at deer hunting and you don't know what to look for .
With that said .... you got alot to learn in a short time , I suggest you do alot of reading and maybe watch some DVD's as for going out and scouting around , it's getting alittle close to the openner to be wandering leaving your sent behind.
If you do go out make sure you wear rubber boots , some camo clothes and try to be sent free as possable , spray your self and your clothes down with some sent killer .
As you walk in your hunting area look for trails on the ground , a well used trail will be easy to spot it will be well worn and you'll see tracks in it.
Once your on a good trail , walk along side it NOT directly on it you don't to risk leaveing any human sent on it , follow the tracks to see where they take you.
Just keep in mind not to touch anything if your not wearing gloves , as you walk along the trail look for other signs such as old rubs and scraps from last year.
If you don't know what they look like , well a rub looks like a bare area on a tree where the buck was rubbing his antlers againest the bark to remove the velvet and to mark his domaine.
A scrape will look like a bare patch on the ground with paw marks and maybe a small damp spot where they have peed in it , all scrapes will have a low hanging limb or branch over it.
If you happen to come across an area where you can seemore than two or three trails crossing each other then you'll know it's a major intersection that deer use to get from bedding to feeding areas.
Also look for deer dropings / scat they leave behind , some dropings will look like rasinnets little pellets and some dropingswill be more clumped together.
Good luck on your scouting ventures and remember to be as sent free as possable , if you have more question feel free to ask.