rhino1

I wanted to know if anyone could help megetbetter at scouting. I read all the time about finding the bucks bedding area or finding what trails they use at different times of the day, etc. How do you learn all these things. Scouting with my dad and another guy we hunt with is usually about finding trails that seem used, areas that have heavy trails, or around food plots. I just wanna get better at my game. So, all help will be great.

Little Yellowjacket

First of all, I would sit in my stand one saturday, or whenever you have some time, all day. the next day, I would spray the bottoms of my boots and pants legs with scent killer, and walk the deer trails and thick stuff. That is what I did. I would try and do this in the off season though, or do it one weekend and wait until the next to hunt it.

OFTK

Copper31

I myself have invested in a couple trail cameras for starters. For me scouting really starts in the late winter when deer are starting to separate from being yarded up.I will look for sheds as well as any bedding areas while there is still snow on the ground. Once spring gets here I will then hit the woods in full camo and sit with a video camera and watch deer movment from a distance. Observe where they are coming from and try to identify any natrual food sources or possible water sources. If you hunt the same land as I do then that should stay pretty much the same from one year to the next. One property that I hunt is a 170acre parcell that is bordered by a large body of water.(green bay) I also hunt a 200+ acre woods that is surounded by farm land crops that very from year to year.2 months before archery season I will take mid day walks and just look for tracks in some of the game trails that are out there. At this point I will rely on trail cameras a great deal. Not so much to see what is there but when and which way the deer are moving. With this info I will then hang or move stands to places that I feel will produce. I will also glass the fields and food plots from a distance at this time again just to see from where; to where and what time they will they are moving. I also continue to scout through out the season. Be ready to move a stand if need be. Pre rut activey can vary greatly from rut to post rut. It is very important that the deer don't learn a pattern otherwise you have to start the whole process over. When scouting I also treat it as if I were hunt. That is esentialy what I am doing. Nomatter what time of year I will make sure I am sent free and even going as far as using a cover sent such as fox or coon urine. I try to never hunt a stand more then 2 sits in a row. I also never want to return to that stand for 2 or 3 days after. Basically for me time is the key and having an understanding wife doen't hurt. I don't know if this helps but it is what I do and it seems to allow me to see more deer. Shooting them is a differnet story. HAHA

GobblerTX

Most people say if you find deer scat (poop), chances are that deer beds down within 100 yards from where you found the scat... I didn't know if it was true, but I started looking for scat and found some from these doe we'd see in the evenings... Was walking through the woods out there one day, about 30 or so yards from where I had seen all of the scat and I ended up jumping the does, they were bedded down there... but as most of the scouting I do, it was before the season...

Covering your scent is very important as the previous reply stated... What I do is purchase and new spray bottle and collect leaves, sticks, grasses and whatever else vegi-like from the place I plan on hunting and boil it in water for alittle bitand bottle it up...Those are the things thatthey're used to smelling, so don't cook it, just get it out of the subject...

Copper31

I have never thought of doing that for cover sent. I am going to have try that. I gather you just strain out the left over and use the broth

GobblerTX

Just go with your gut on that scent stuff, man...

I gathered my stuff up last fall...my fear was having touched it that my scent would be on the leaves etc... when I boiled it and that it would become pointless, but I didn't want to wash off the leaves etc... and let 'em dry because I didn't want to wash off any of their scents, but I think it worked, maybe use rubber gloves when handling it if it makes you feel any better...

It was shortly after season last year when I tested it out, though I had used it that whole season... I went to check one of the hog traps... I rounded the corner of the scendero, about 200+ yards from the trap and I could smell hogs, so I moved slow and quiet in an attempt to spot one or two that may have been in between me and the trap... anyway, the trap is about 5 yards into the woods from the scendero, so they can't really see you until you get within about 15 yards of 'em, plus their eyes aren't their strong-point... I got within 50-60 yards of that spot and I heard crashing up against the walls of the trap and squeals etc...there were 4 hogs in there and theysmelled me (one pig nose is enough, 4 is a smelling machine)... so I decided this would be a good time to try out that scent stuff I made for that season...

I puton the scentand went out there, followed the same pattern, wind had actually shifted and was not in my favor, butthey didn't react until they saw me, so I guess it worked...

Also I apply it heavily on my face, esspecially around the mouth, I hear that's where the majority of your scent comes from...

NorthernHunter

Scouting: keep your eyes open to look for deer chutes, worn paths, poop, food sources, escape routes, natural terrain of the woods and hills and gulleys. Add all these items up and you will figure out their main trails and bedding areas.

I've taken my stand into the woods in July and sat there until the mosquitoes got too bad. I've taken my stand into the woods on Sundays when we're not allowed to hunt and sat there from 6AM until 9AM eating a bagel and watching deer move about without pressure.

All of these things add up to scouting. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes some technical stuff like trailcams, etc. But, it pays off!

Chuck7

Also...depends if your hunting on public or private property. That can make a big difference as far as leaving cameras in the woods. Where you want to begin scouting at etc.

Windwalker7

I believe one of the best times to scout is right after you get a deer or right after the season closes. Usually there is snow on the ground at this time. You can find tracks and trails that the deer use, when the pressure is on. Whether you get your deer or not, get out there and scout. This is how you find a good spot for next year. Snow makes it easier to figure out what they are doing.

If you are out scouting, after the season, and you jump deer, back track them. find out where they bed. Are there old beds and new beds in this area? If so, you may have stumbled on a bedding area. Usually the woods look really thin, in the winter, with all the leaves gone and snow on the ground. If you see an area in the woods that still looks thick without the leaves and all the snow, check it out. Deer, especially bucks like to bed in the thickest area of the woods. Finding these areas is easier in the winter.

How about earlier in the fall. Here's a couple tips. They are rather basic but maybe you didn't know.

If you find a rub line, back in the woods several yards from a field, you can tell if they were made in the morning or evening, by looking which side of the tree they are on. If the rubs are on the tree facing the field, then most likely the buck made them as he was leaving the field in the morning. If the rubs face away from the field, they were most likely made in the evening as the buck entered the field. I'm talking about rubs back in the woods, not ones at the very edge of the field.

If you look at the rubs or even the tyracks on the trails, you can thell if they were made in the morning or evening, letting you know when the best time of day would be to watch those trails.

You can also back track these trails to find bedding areas to set up for an ambush there also.


I also like hunting food sources, especially apples corn fields or white oaks. I'm not sure if you know the difference between white oak and red oak, but here it goes. White oak, a deer's favorite, have rounded lobes on the leaves. Also the acorns are rather elongated looking. When they first fall they are a yellow/green color. They usually don't have the caps on the end of them, either. White oaks usually only drop acorns every 2nd or 3rd year. Red oaks drop almost every year. Red oak leaves are pointed at the ends. The acorns are short, fat and stubby looking. Deer will eat red oaks, especially later in winter, ( remember this in late season. remember where yousaw them early in the fall and hunt them late in winter. )but they prefer the white oaks first.

Hope this helps!

rhino1

we hunt private land. there is no problem seeing deer, just tired of seeing smalled bucks and does. we take a few nice, smaller bucks each year. i have taken two really impressive bucks for this part of ga. i will try and get pics of them with my digital.

i would just like to get better at targeting big bucks. i do not really shot smaller bucks.