How many don't scout?
 

I hunt pretty much exclusively on publis land that is about 1 hours drive from my house so I never go and scout it. Plus with keeping things up around my house and doing the family thing I really don't have the time. I was just wondering how many of you don't scout either and still consistently kill deer.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I scout every chance I get, public land and my own Private land. I enjoy it!!!! Plus I incorporate a little predator hunting while scouting!:)

RE: How many don't scout?
 

Not really the same situation as you but I got access to 10 acres about a month ago and its' about 10 minutes from my house. I went in there the day I got access and walked for about 15 minutes and found some good sign. Found a spot to put my stand, cleared some shooting lanes and made sure everything was in order and put up my stand. Went back there last Wednesday and sat for an hour and killed my first buck with a bow and saw 2 other bucks. My feeling is unless your hunting some place where you can stand back and watch deer 400 yards away without being detected your best bet is to find a spot that looks good (trail crossings or ridges and the like)go there once and get everything in order and then back out until you hunt the place. I'm sure other's have different opinions but this is what I've done the last two years and I've shot deer at both place's I hunt.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I don't scout.....much. Not a reason to scout. My woods are small....and I know where I saw them, last year. IF they change their patterns.....I can observe that from stand, mostly.

Later in the year....they'll be crossing the property I have access to for mast crops in outlying areas. I might set up on a stretch of road to see where they're crossing......and set up in that area if I have access to it. But....I am way too intrusive if I go in there. So when I go.....I hunt.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I scout, but probably not as much as most do. I live a little far from my main hunting spot, but I have also been hunting it for 20+ years. There’s not much more I can gain scouting, that I can’t gain in a night or two of “observation” hunting. If the woods change (logging/storm damage) I will check it out and go from there. My other hunting spots I just check out and learn when I first got them. Then I kind of keep tabs on them and adjust as the season goes.

I do a lot of scouting in spring turkey and during boring weekends in the late winter.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I don't get to scout much, my main property is 4 hours from home. I get there about once a month during off season and have stands up all year round though, so it's easy to shift hunting patterns depending on the movement I see. I do wish I lived closer to my hunting grounds though.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I was going to post a similar question.

I scout sign and not deer. I mainly hunt in the mountains so if I see promising sign; I hunt that. I don't necessarily know what size buck I'm hunting but I know theres at least one buck nearby.

However, I gained access to alot of land last year and will start hunting it this year. As I was driving by I saw a very nice buck on the field edge, wallhanger. Well, I've went back numerous times to "scout" him but haven't seen him since. Guess I'll go back to my old ways of finding a good spot and then hunt. I rely on scents and calls and have had much success with these.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I am like most the other guys in here that are saying that they scout more for sign than deer. I am not much of a trophy hunter so just knowing that there are at least some deer there regardless of the size is all that I want to know.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I hunt my place mostly so I don't really have to do scouting since I know where the water/food sources are, the bedding areas and the travel routes are.

However, I wanted to scout a mil-base that I'll be bowhunting this fall and they won't let you. I have a topo-map of the place so that's all I'm scouting.

I think it you can at least stomp out some of the terrain your chances increase, but not-scouting a lick has also killed many a big buck.

Either way...good luck.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

this season i have done more work than for any season EVER...i thought i scouted for spring turkey hard in the past...but this year i really did alot of scouting for deer season.

still only have 4 good spots. 3 at school and 1 at home...really need more at home...but i poured over ariels and topos for hours on end...alot of spots simply turned out useless. but found 3 GOOD lookin spots here at school im excited over.

really need atleast 1 or 2 more at home. i got a few but they arent hotspots...we will see....but i put alot of time into scouting this season...hopefully it pays. last year i got lazy and figured my old spots would be great....WRONG. forest has changed since then...so has the deer patterns. hopefully i got them figured out now

RE: How many don't scout?
 

scouting lets you know were to start hunting. after you have been sitting during season you get a better idea i scout from the end of bow season until it starts and usually have a lot of areas i am familiar with. then you have options

RE: How many don't scout?
 

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RE: How many don't scout?
 

Don't hardly scout, property is rather small around 35acres that is long and skinny. Can watch a couple of fields that they feed in by looking out the window.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I'm also on public land and it's about an hour or so from the house. So I go in there a couple times a year, there's a large lake near by so I take the kids fishing and check it out on the way back.

I get some info from a couple other guys that I know hunt the same public ground and then by what I see when I go in to hang my stand.

This year I guess I got lucky, I've been seeing deer, no shots yet but it's been close. I choose not to risk a bad shot, but the deer have been there.

I'm not holding out for any big antlered critter, I have four doe tags and I'll take them as they come in and if I get a shot a t a buck. It's a bonus.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I scout when I can....my land and leases are five hours away. I know the land pretty well, I've been hunting in that area for over twenty years. Still, it is nice to know if there are conditions that are making the deer behave differently than they have before.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I hunt public about an hour from home as well. Try useing "google earth"it is free to download, and the satalite imagry is great. I only get 4-5 days in the fall to scout so i use the imagry to find all of the "good lookin" spots, then check them on foot when i get the chance. It realy cuts down on the amount of time spent wandering the woods.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I scout very little before the season. In fact when I see some sign of a good buck, I back out. I'm afriad I'll make them leave if I keep stomping around in there. I'm pretty sure that tracks are the only way to really predict the size of an animal. So if I see even a small rub and some big tracks, I'm gone until it is time to hunt.

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RE: How many don't scout?
 

I'm scouting all the time..............driving down the road I'm looking for deer and new possible hunting spots........most of my scouting is done from long range with a spotting scope or bino's, the only time I scout in the woods is during season with the bow in my hand & stand on my back. My main hunting area is 300 acres and to go into the woods in the off season just contaminates the area and pushes deer to the nieghboring land. So my definition of scouting my be a little different than others,but it garners the same results.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

Hunt only PL that it's 2 and 3 Hrs from home...I don't get much time for scouting or hunting for that mater, but I still try to do all my scouting with maps and other info over the internet...By the way...have not kill any deer yet (this is my 1st year:))

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I dont really scout, ive been hunting the same property for 6 years now. The first year I scouted a lot but didnt see a big need for it after that. The stands are always up from the year before and if the deer patterns change i can change my stand location during season. Just gotta make sure I do it quietly. We go in a few months before the season on the 4-wheelers and check to make sure the stands are in good shape. We look around a bit while we do it but not much.

RE: How many don't scout?
 

I have 2 Cudde backs they do my scouting for me!