pre season scouting
 

How many of you long time hunters that have been hunting in the same area for along time think scouting is crucial to your success? If I am hunting in my favorite area I don't see a reason to scout it out. I will only go out maybe two or three times and make sure the stand area is ok and the deer are pretty much still using the same travel routes. My entire family hunts and everyone has taken deer out of that spot several times including several nice bucks.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I've hunted the same land for 15-20 years now. I know every inch of the place. I don't need to go tromping around before the season. Enough can be determined from spotting the fields and picking up in season knowledge of the hot areas. All the generalities are in place, sometimes its just a matter of finding where a particular buck may be spending most of his time.

RE: pre season scouting
 

i'm not a "long time" hunter but i have been hunting and roaming around my fav. hunting ground in kentucky for as long as i can remember but i still like to go back and check over the summer and see if they're using the same areas and moving the same ways and everything. also i like to check for new stacnd areas and ground setups and clean them out. so that's my two cents.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I go out and watch from a distance just to see how many deer are in the area and I like to see how the bucks are turning out and if their is one in paticular that I want to concentrate on. As far as trying to pattern them I try to wait just before hunting season because in past I have noticed that once the crops in my neck of the woods come down they change their travel routes. I have enough land to hunt on that I can hunt a different piece of land every year for about six years before I would start the cycle over again if I wanted to so it is almost impossible to know the way every deer is moving year to year.

RE: pre season scouting
 

admittedly, it may be a lot differnet because its open country mule deer but...........

i scout a ton every year . ususlly that means starting early july, as soon as i can tell by antlers what is what, im out there once or twice weekly, sometimes more glassing. i like to know just how big the biggest i can find every year are, and if there is anything noticible that they are doing often.
brad

RE: pre season scouting
 

For ground that I'm already familar with I won't go in and tromp around a bunch, there really is no point in that. I find myself relying on my trail cams set along certain food sources and other areas that I can access with minimal disturbance. I also glass alot of the bean and alfafa fields all summer long to just try to keep tabs on the areas bucks.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I have two private areas that I hunt. I usually go out about 6-10 times between June and September. Bow season opens Sept. 15th in Md. I like to check on my ladder stands and look for a couple of new sites. I also have to make sure that no trees have fallen and changed the travel routes of the deer. That happens quiet a lot around here. I will either cut up the tree or move my stand. I always wear rubber boots and gloves to keep my scent out of the woods.
On the public areas I hunt, I will scout more often because other hunters always keep the deer moving. It's aggrevating to have another hunter ruin your stand site but there's nothing you can do about it.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I have a couple of small pieces I hunt that I've hunted for years and I still get out and walk it to ensure nothing has changed. A new house (often a problem where I hunt) or a fallen tree can force deer to abondon a prefered travel route.

Last year I expanded into some more "big woods" properties and although I didn't score I was set up in the right place (confirmed by tracks in the snow). Most of the scouting I did there was this time of year. I found some good rubs on a "shelf" of a ridge that was constricted on both sides by a fairly steep drop and a steeper incline on the up hill side (classic funnel). My point is scouting is important. It's imperative on a new property and even still important on smaler properties you've hunted before or even know like the back of you hand. Things can change in the woods and IMO is best to be aware of any such changes.

RE: pre season scouting
 

Since the land that I hunt is mainly leased timber land, the loggers are cutting in the spring, summer, and fall sometimes. Even adjacent land being cut will change the way the deer move through the area. I am usually working on my lease through September preparing for bow season in October. The deer are mostly used to it. I check for changes in the way they are moving through the area mostly by their tracks. I don't need to see the deer, just their tracks.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I've hunted the same area now for about two seasons, and altho I do go and scout, I know where I am going to go and pretty much which trees to hunt from. the patterns of the deer don't change too drastically. altho I do like to scout, I pretty much know where I am going. the only real reason to go into my area is for a tack trail and just general curiousity...

RE: pre season scouting
 

While i dont have that large of a property, 48 acres
and tend to hunt the same areas,
I do try to scout as much as possible,
to check on the status of the game,
if i dont see many signs, i tend to leave them alone that season,
i may hunt once every 2-3 seasons
also to check on predators,
if i see lots of coyote signs, i will try to go after some,

RE: pre season scouting
 

I scout year around for two reasons, I'm always searching for the next 4 or 5 potential bucks I want to target and theres plenty of public land here to access. There's always something to do whitetail related and tons of ground out there that doesn't get covered.

RE: pre season scouting
 

Exactly! I have been hunting a peace of property sence 1996 And over the yrs I have noticed that the deer seem to always use or come close to using the same travel patterns, Bedding areas, Rub lines, Scrapes, ect..
I hardly ever go into any of my key spots other than to check or to place a stand a month or two before the season starts. I love going to a stand that I have hunted in the past seasons and having the confidence that there is going to be good action on a cool Oct or Nov morning;)..rta47

RE: pre season scouting
 

Goes back to the ole big woods vs. farmland comparison. On a small piece of farmland with predictable travel routes, scouting is almost optional once you get the general lay of the land. But wouldn't you want to hunt shed antlers if you could?

In big woods on the other hand, you'd better be out every chance you can, year after year, because the deer movement is much more of a puzzle and can be altered by the sublest little thing.

RE: pre season scouting
 

i was out scouting today it didnt do much good the crops havnt been planted yet

RE: pre season scouting
 

I've always been in the mind set that there are 2 things a hunter could always do a little bit more of; practice and scouting.

Now I'll agree that if you've hunted the same area for 15-20 years you probably don't have to do very much scouting at all but an occasional walk in the woods could help for a few reasons; 1. Changes could happen. Weeds or a bug infestation could ruin a regular food supply, trees you've put stands in could get struck by lighting and fall, etc.... 2. Poachers. If you're not on your property you may have no idea that poachers are taking your game. 3. Transient deer. The vast majority of deer stick to their regular territory but some deer don't. In my opinion those deer that don't tend to be better and consider all territory theirs. They don't come by very often but when they do you WILL want to know their patterns. 4. You could always discover something new.

RE: pre season scouting
 

For me the scouting builds excitement and is part of the fun! I also need to scout because I hunt thick woods on public land and the deer are always movin all over the place. They are tough to pattern! Im hopin to go out tomorrow.

Jim

RE: pre season scouting
 

I scout in upper michigan every year and each year it seems like the deer are moving from place to place.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I have 3 favorite hunting spots and scount them year round. In my opinion there is no better way to fine tune a hunters abilities and chance of success than preseason scouting.

RE: pre season scouting
 

I have a favorite hunting spot where there are many swampy areas and a natural pinch-point/funnel. I have hunted the same exact tree since 1990 only switching the direction I face when up in the tree. It seems every year I end up facinig the wrong way and end up with an awkward shot. Altough this year I did something right and the deer came in perfectly. As far as scouting that area goes, I hit it about 2 weeks prior to opening day and spend maybe 10 minutes in the area.

I have many areas I go bow hunting, but they are tough to scout during the off-season due to the fact they are located 45 minutes from home and I am just too darn busy to scout. Come opening day of bow season, I start off in the area where I last saw deer the season before and concentrate that area and use the first few hunting trips as my hunting/scouting period.