deerhunter1224

i know to look for beds, trails, droppings, rubs, funnels, etc. when i am out scounting this time of year what should i be looking for? i have my stands up by the middle of september. i dont seem to put my stands up in the right area. what should i do?

Angus74

Try to find some food, if you dont have food plots, try to find a good patch of white oak trees with lots of acorns, or maybe a small bunch of persimmons, keying in on deer food is a good starting point, I carry binocs to the woods and try to find a white oak and scan the tips of the limbs for a lot of large acorns, they are only in spots sometimes but if I find a good one it is usually good hunting. If you can find bedding areas your up another step but that is where I have my biggest problem

FL/GA Hunter

You have to be able to look into the future, really. If you' re scouting spring/summer sign, you' re going to be right about 50% of the time, because the other 50% or so changes when fall (and hunting season) set on.

Think about it this way - where are they going to eat in the fall, and where are they going to bed down in the fall? Eliminate where they' re eating and bedding in the summer, and you' ll eliminate a big part of where you' re going wrong.

Find a logical place where it looks like they bed in the fall, then a logical place where it looks like they eat somewhere near it, then find trails between the two. More than likely, you' ll find a rubline or two on one or two trails, and there you' ll find where the big boys travel.

Good luck!

Rack-attack

This is not the best time to scout. It is a good time to set up stands,routes in and out and get a general picture of the terrain.

Know is the time of year to find the bachelor herds and get a good guage of what size bucks made it to this season. The best time to scout is right after the seson and thru the winter. The woods are still bare and the deer will be (for the most part) where they are during the season.

To find daytime bedding areas - don' t look for beds, look for the deer. Walk around during the day in likely spots and bust them out and remember. When you get a good feel for the type of woods they are bedding in then you can look for those types of areas.

Two Beards

I' m with Rack on this one. Right after the season,
is by far, the best time to scout and pick out your
stand sites. Everything is all still there for
you to look at....rubs, scrapes, beds, etc.

I learned the hard way that summer/early fall
is not the time to be choosing stand locations,
aside from the fact that it' s also more work
with the heat and bugs[:@]. I have friends
that think I' m " lucky" , I like to think it' s the
20+ days my partners and I spend working
on stand sites in Jan-Feb-Mar[:-]. Aerial photos
are another tool we use which are immeasurable
in their help choosing stand locations.

skeeter 7MM

I agree I think the best time to start the road map is right after season closes. If you missed that time, than don' t worry, plenty of other times to get out. Spring and early summer are good to see numbers and quality of bucks, but don' t plan your stands on these sightings...just yet. If you have an early bow season (like sept) than the last 2 weeks of august are a good time to try and setup an early connect on a buck. Failing that, I find that scouting while hunting usually provides the best info on deer travel, beds, food, etc. Try sitting the morning in the stand/blind and than using the wind in your favor walking areas that look to hold game...branch out if you will. I never stop adapting, planning or scheming. You' ll know the spots when you set foot into it them and be patient. I also suggest having more than one stand location to choose from, wind direction is a key, food/water, time of year(don' t put all your eggs in one basket!!!!) Once you have had a few season under your belt, chances are you' ll have a number of spot in which to choose. I always suggest keeping a journal or log, to help refresh your memory from year to year.

Keys to any location are travel corridors(fingers of bush, funnels, bottlenecks), bedding areas, food/water sources, rut activity to name a few. I prefer to get as deep into the transition area as possible and closer to the beds the better...but you must show absolute restraint when using this technique. By this I mean only hunt it on the right wind and never hunt it on a marginal. Be scent aware and take appropriate precautions. I like to tie a piece of yarn either on my riser or on a tree limb directly in front of my location, this will let me know even with the slightest wind which direction it is blowing.

Bob S

I agree with Rack-attack also. I did the scouting for this year`s stand locations from mid December until the end of January, after last season.

CatskillHuntr

I thought it was called scouting? [&:]