deerhunter1224

does any one do long distance scouting from there car? i seemed to have luck each time so far. each night i go out there are deer feeding.

121553

I have seen these weekend warriors not only scout but road hunt from there veheciles and most of these homeboys just want to fill a meat tag, but if you want a nice trophy, expect a little footwork to go with it, but there are exceptions like when the buck goes stupid dureing the rut as two years ago I came across this guy as I was comeing out of the bush and he shot a nice 8x5 while road hunting, and this was dureing the rut, sometimes I wonder why I work so hard at hunting deer, especially when its sub=zero temps, but I personally don' t think road hunting is actual hunting, but rather just to fill a meat tag. You may get the very odd one who stumples across one like this but far and few between.You just need to get your lazy butt out of the truck and learn the art of hunting and stalking your game. Bobby

kevin1

I prefer to do my long distance scouting via topo or aerial maps . This helps me to identify high potential areas , which I scout later on foot . There is no substitute for walking the ground that you intend to hunt . Just seeing deer by the side of the road will not teach you about their habits or movement , only where they happen to be eating at the moment . 121553 said it best , get out of the truck and do the work .

model722

Unless you are disabled why would you be hunting from the road[:@]. I' m not sure what you are saying here are you just driving around looking for good spots to hunt or are you hunting from the road? Give some more details

Rack-attack

I think its clear he is asking if anyone " scouts" from the road. Like driving past fields and woods looking for deer.

YES I DO. There are a few areas I hunt that if I drive by I can see deer. I usually do this in August to try and catch sight of some Bachelor herds in fields or road crossings. It can be a fun way to see what bucks are in your area.

I have also parked my truck along the road at daybreak or dusk at times when I thought a buck was crossing a road to get a guage of where and when.

Actually everytime a drive past woods I am looking for deer.

rockytop

There' s a railroad track that runs throught the land I hunt and I walk that track and use my binoculars for long range scouting. I try to be as stealthy as possible and I don' t seem to put much scent down walking the track. I usually start the end of august and I' ll usually see the large groups of bucks running together and I can get a good idea of what' s for supper for the upcoming season and where their running and eating. By the start of the bow season, the bucks will breaking up their groups but it seems the biggest ones are always around the area where I see them grouped up.
I enjoy riding the roads and looking for deer but I don' t care a gun. I do carry a camera.

Tazman

Good job Rack Attack, I was hoping someone before I posted had realized what was being asked.

I do a lot of long distance scouting before the season, heck last year I went to one piece of property just to scope out the fields at night with one of my daughters, I came through this fencerow entering one of the fields and this yearling went whacko when my head lights/spot light blinded it (It is legal in Va. with no weapon in the vehicle), I came to a full stop and she still darn near run into the front of the truck before finally taking off down into the woods.

I prefer to find a high point near a likely crossing area and sit down with binoculars and check out exactly where they cross and when. What this does is allow me to not have to scout an entire area up close and personal, instead I come back mid day and scout out the areas they entered and exited the field and find travel corridors, mast and bedding areas.

Angus74

Its hard to do it from a distance in very many places where I live, but I have one exception, a farm that I lease has a large bottom hayfield with a gravel road on one ridge above the field and a huge ridge covered with tall yellow (switchgrass?) and blackberry bushes on the other side. The ridge is about a half mile from the road and you cant see deer from the road, but with a good spotting scope I can see them pretty good and can tell where they are traveling through all that brush, seen some real dandies that way.

Taxman003

I do some l/d scouting as well. I live in Southern Ontario and hunt Northern Ontario (about 500 miles away). However, I have two boys 5 & 3 and they have a peaked interest in hunting.

I hunt Northern Ontario because centrefire rifles aren' t allowed in Southern Ontario and I don' t have the $$$ to buy a shotgun or bow.

So, for now, on the way home from soccer and baseball games, we drive a back road on the lookout for deer. The boys are thrilled to see them and it gives me an idea where they might be (not as good as truly scouting, but an idea nonetheless).

As well, most land (if not all) is private farm land and you need permission to hunt. So, if the day comes when I plan to take my boys out in the field, I' ll have an idea where to go and who to ask for permission.

So far all we' ve seen are does. I assume does since I would guess the antlers would be visible by now. We' re still looking forward to seeing our first " Daddy Deer" .

Straightshot

A good friend of mine is a forrester who works in the area and shows us all the areas where he sees the most deer at work. Later we go scout the areas and mark spots to put stands on our GPSs and then, a couple of weeks before the season opens, We go put up portable stands, pad lock them, and put big bags on them.