I have permission to hunt about 400acres of which175 is pasture scattered with scrub brush and trees.
Myquestion is how would you scout this close to the season with out being too intrusive on the deer patterns? The way the pasture is positioned on the property scouting from the road is not an option.
What would be my best approach? I've only hunted public property in the past so I don't want to mess it up!


I forgot to mention that they have trails cut through the property for the tractor & atv's, but they're rarely used. No one lives at the property it's just a weekend get-a-way and the pasture is leased to a farmer during the spring/summer they've given me a little info but not much.

The BEST thing to do first is to ask the propety owners, or tennants, where and when THEY see deer. A farmer working the field day after day will know exactly when and where to find them.

I hunt a large farm every year and that guy knows every square inch of the place. Thats the first thing we always ask him is where they are running. He will say "There comming through this draw over here and they've feeding in that field in the morning, and the other field at night." etc.

Thank's blumbie I was editing my post as you were typing.

Definitely ask the people that are there the most, they should be able to give you a little info. Otherwise, if you don't want to scout through the middle, you can focus on hunting the edges to start and as you observe movement, adjust accordingly.

I would use any creeks you have to make your way through and observe all crossings, hunt the crossings and observe behavior and travel patterns. using the creek will keep your scent to a minimum and sometimes you can get in close undetected. but to reiterate, definitely use the folks most familiar with the ground to help you, they probably have places that they jump deer the most(bedding areas and travel corridors), so start from there if they can help you out.

Same situation for me brother....you need aerial pictures AND topographic maps. Read "Mapping Trophy Bucks/Whitetails" by Brad Herndon. It is a very good read.

I just gained access to some sweet lookin land....and have yet to get out there with the guy who I'm going to be hunting with. SO....I've had to settle for aerials and topos until I can get out with him

MidwestJ hit the nail on the head. Here is the link I would use, http://terraserver.microsoft.com/, if I were in your shoes. The best way to scout without spreading scent all around. You can toggle between topo and aerial photos. Look for funnels, water sources, saddles and swales in the topography. Once you settle on some prime areas then do some low impact scouting to confirm what you see from the photos. Good luck!

clear for take off. thats how i would scout. find sum1 with a chopper and fly over and look for funnels.

When's the season start? If you have a day, use it. Take a look for funnels caused by natural transitions such as field/woods hardwoods/pines, creek botoms, ridgelines, normal stuff like that. Look for water holes.Be scent conscious just like you were hunnting and you should be okay. All you need is a starting point to put your stand, and then move according to where their moving.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is acting like a farmer. Deer don't seem to mind farmers
on tractors too much b/c they are not threatening. If you can't get a tractor, at least take
an atv on the trails with binos to size the place up. The deer should be used to some level
of activity on the trails.