Scouting
 

Hey all,

Last year when I went out I went with a friend who had hunted the land for a fewyears so I didn't have to scout at all. I was wondering how everyone scouted the land they hunt on?

RE: Scouting
 

That was your mistake. You should have been paying attention to what the woods was telling you about a deers habitat. With that knowledge you can begin to use topo's and hunt places you've never seen before with sucsess.

A good scout learns from their mistakes. Scouting 101.:D

RE: Scouting
 

Very good new question. I didn't have anyone showing me what to look for so I asked a lot of questions from exp'd hunters. One thing to remember is this: get out often, and take plenty of notes while you are out there. Not mental notes, actually put the pen to the paper. Good luck and keep the enthusiasm up!!!

RE: Scouting
 

Late Winter/Early spring: Deer are moving in search of food but back in core areas. Look for where they're kicking up leaves for the last remaining acorns or browsing saplings (maple around here usually). Scout a LOT. Look for old rublines that are being hit again. Look for sheds along ridgelines, in fields and near thickets.

Mid/Late spring: The fields are starting to sprout new shoots. Look for more activity in fields in the evenings. Identify entry/exit points in the field. Then make short excursions to find trails leading back from those points. Don't scout too much.

Summer: Put out cameras in areas found in Late winter and spring just to see who's out there. Summer activity is often very different from what it is during hunting season. Scouting is also hard. Don't scout much if at all.

Late summer/early fall: Use info gained previously to make strategic forays into the woods. Look for acorns at the tops of white oaks in these areas. Find suitable stand sites and hang them at this time (minimally two weeks prior to season, preferably four weeks).

Fall: Hunt, but while hunting observe all tracks and sign and potential food sources that may have not been prevalent or obvious before. Adjust stands as possible accordingly.

Unless your hunting one particular buck, but perhaps even if you are, when the rut is near or here you want to hunt the does. Know where the does are or will be and the bucks will come to you.

RE: Scouting
 

I'd add to what Trembow says a couple of things.

Late winter after the season if you get snow go out as soon as possible and try to find fresh tracks. Follow them to where they are going and backtrack them to where they came from. This will give you some insight into their habits, at least late in the season.

Do as much scouting from as far away as possible, especially as the season nears. Watch a field from long distances with binocs or a spotting scope. This will help find those openings and give youa good idea of what's out there without disturbing the deer. Patterning them at this time will help with the early bow season.

Take note of what's going on in the environment you hunt. Learn to identify trees (oak, pear, apple, persimmons)and find those trees that deer like and know when they come to fruit. Mark them on your map. If you hunt agriculture land notice what is planted where, and when harvests happen. If you can talk to the farmer he may be able to tell you when he is going to harvest and also tell you about deer he's seen. A lot of guys were posting last year about how the harvest, or lack of harvest, was really impacting their hunts. Have a backup plan ready.

Look for natural features: ridges, benches, saddles, draws, if you're in flat country even a 10' ditch could be a travel corridor for deer, or a small dry rise in a swamp, or an old logging road in a pine thicket. Any area where habitat changes, or "edges", are good. An intersection of three or more different habitats is a great place to start. Look at arial photos and maps for the classic funnels too. (do a search for funnels on this site, lots of those threads on here)

That reminds me of another tool. Learn how to use the "Search" feature on this forum and use it well. Read a lot of threads based on keywords you have questions about and get lots of good (and bad I guess) info about that topic. ( Scouting, stand setup, funnels, etc)

RE: Scouting
 

In late summer, if you have bean fields or clover or alfalf, take a blind and sit on the down wind side and watch the fields in the evening, scrnt contol is important, take a video camera, lots of fun and you can see where they are coming from and who is out there