I was curious if any of you bow hunters simply wing it when heading out to hunt. The land I get to hunt already has stands put up, so I simply go to one and hunt. I'm not doing the homework like yall do, and I cant wait to own my own land to scout it, but right now, being in college and working tons, I dont seem to have the time. So I simply wing it.

I did just get permission to hunt two new peices of property, but am leaving for school in a week, so am not going to get much time to scout, so when I head out there to hunt, I will probably be winging it there as well.

No, i never just "wing it"

Yeah, you might get lucky one time, but odds are your going tocause yourself alot more trouble then you will good. Take the time, whether its in the field or at home to do some scouting to figure the property out. Use Topos and Aerials to find spots where you can hunt the wind and natural funnels. Even if you can never make it to a property before season you can learn a whole lot without ever leaving your house

If you can afford it, get a cheap digital trail cam to aid in scouting. Or ask for one for Christmas or your birthday or something. Would help make your outings more productive. You can move the camera around every couple of weeks and look for hotspots. Wouldn't require much time.

As for me, I have to make the most of my time in the field and so am hoping to see some deer on every outing. I don't need to shoot one all the time. I just enjoy seeing something rather than nothint while on stand or in the blind. So my trail cams and limited scouting help in terms of making my one or two outings a week a fun and relaxing experience for me. Not only do they tell me what deer are coming through but when the most productive hunting times might be.

I realize all of our time is valuable. I just can't get out as much as I could in the past few seasons as I want to be there for my kids, a 3 year old and 3 month old, right now. But I'm looking forward to a couple of year from now when I can start taking my son with me to sit in the blind. I'm even making plans for a nice tower stand that will accomodate me and both the kids. I'll start on this in a few years and will have bow hunting window slot on each side of course!

As for me, there is no possible way for me to get on the ground to scout. It is restricted property and is only opens the first day. You get caught trespassing there and your locked up in the federal pen. Not risking that.

I reap the beneifts, now.....of a year in the field "winging it". When I started hunting whitetails.....I had no idea of where to set up. Luckily....I did set up on the fringes....and I've been able to observe them from a distance......to know where to set up, now.

My hunting property isn't big.....so I have o reason to go scouting. I know where they'll be.....especially when the acorns start falling.

If you have to "wing it".....I'd suggest not going in too deep.....and watching a bit. That might be the only "scouting" you need.

Good luck.

Occasionally I "wing" it... but even then I still draw on past experiences and use the terrain to judge where to go... not just random.

Winging it is how I started...... I didn't have anyone to teach me scouting .... that's how we did it .....

Winging it was a GREAT teacher, however. It was from there that I learned whitetail behavior, and now I can walk into a strange woods and get myself setup on deer ...... so to answer your question .... I started winging it, but now I no longer need to .....

I will sometimes head to my cabin where there is thousands of acres of public land and I will grab my climber and sit in new places. I however get a lot of time to hunt.

I hunt 100% public land so "winging it" is the only real option. I can go out and scout all pre season and find out what the deer are doing but once the masses arrive opening day it all goes out the window. I do as much virtual scouting as possible, I learn the land, look for the funnels and bedding areas on topos and aerials. Once the season starts I will have a general idea of where the deer are going to be from years of experience but I have to adjust and move every day based on the pressure and what the deer are doing.

i will, but i hate to do it. the only time i wing it is when a friend askes me to go to his ranch or deer lease. if i am going to wing it then it probably wont be with a bow. id rather use a gun to wing it