If I go out now and scout, and I find a trail that is wore down to the dirt, will the deer still be using this trail come next fall? Or will their pattern change?

That's a great question. I can't wait to hear the replies from some of these seasoned hunters for myself.

Unless something drastic changes in the landscape you can bet on it. This is the best time to scout for next season. Everything is dead and it is easy to see what is going on. Also look for skinny trails next to thick areas and creek or river bottoms. These are usually buck travel routes and arn't near as worn as the one you mentioned. After the rut bucks have their own travel routes that you can find and ambush them next season. Hang your stands and clear your shooting lanes 2 months before season. Good luck.

It all depends in what the trail is used for. Where it is going and coming from is the key factor. Some areas are hot and cold depending on the time of the year. Food, rut, water, cover, weather all influence deer behavior and the tracks they leave because of it.

Whitetail seem to be as predictable as the sun rising in the east, at least when compared to elk. We have hunted the same spot in oklahoma for 3 years and they will come if you sit there. This year, we killed three in one spot, each kill being no further than 200 yards from the other and all of hte kills fitting within a 300 yard circle. We field dressed them righ there leaving the gut piles for scavengers. The scavengers didnt come but there deer continued to come back everyday and sunup and sundown. The bucks will change to unpredictableduring the rut of course, but the does continue to do the same thing. The good news is that the bucks follow the does no matter what during the rut so the bucks are still somewhat predictable where we hunt. I hope this helps, my hunting experience is limited, I have only killed 4 deer and I have only been hunting deer for two years. EJ

Chances are it is all about the food. Late season trails that are being used tend to correlate with the HOT food source. I think the most important thing to know about the travel routes is what food they prefer early season and late season.

In my area they hit the beans and alfalfa early season and the corn and winter wheat late season. Oh and of course the white oak acorns early until they are gone then the red oaks all season. Just my experience lord knows I am no expert though, I still can't figure em out!

Scouting now I look for the past years rub lines and travel corridors. Finding decent trails is good, but at this point of the year deer can be concentrated up and heavily using places that come next fall will be barren. So when you are out there now, finding super fresh sign isn't that critical, as they may or may not use an area year round. FInd your bedding areas, potential feeding areas and just note all of them. Once the season rolls around and you can see which places the deer are hanging out in, you'll already know what trees/stand sites that are good for those areas.

All of the points made here are valid and should be kept in mind. This is a good time to follow the trails back towards the bedding areas. While following the trails back look for trail intersections and open areas where they tend to mill around. I have found that if you find an area where 3 or more trails intersect and there is sign the deer have milled around (new poop and old poop), this will be a potential stand site as it may well be a transistion area where the deer come first before heading to the various food locations. I've seen deer use these transition areas all season long before heading out in differnt directions for seasonal food and the bucks will visit these areas during the rut to catch the scent of a hot doe. There will probably be old and current rubs and scrapes in the area as well. Don't get to hung up on the rubs but note the scrapes for certain.

Good luck!