I recently moved to an area of Southeast Arkansas for college. In the surrounding counties are three wildlife management areas which are open to the public: Warren Prairie Natural Area, Seven Devils WMA, and Cut Off Creek WMA. I have done my homework on these areas such as studying topo maps and in the field scouting in Cut Off Creek and Seven Devils. I haven't made it to Warren Prairie yet. My question is what do you guys do when you are confronted with a new area that you know nothing about? Where do you start first?

Like you said, you did in the field scouting and that's a great start.

The first things I look for are the bedding areas, food sources, water sources and pinch point or bottle necks. Then from there, I don't scout upwind of bedding areas and I spray my lower extremities liberally with Scent of Fall scent killer as to not leave any residual ground odor after I leave.

Once I get out there I look for larger buck tracks and larger deer scat. I don't pay much attention to visually looking around as to look for deer, but spend most of my time with my head down looking for sign.

After all has been checked out, I then figure the stands I'll have in place and how to effectively get to them and leave them without alarming the deer of my presence. Easier said than done.

There's more to it, but in a nut-shell, that'll get you started. You've come to a great place to hang out and ask questions. There's a lot of good people here willing to help you. Welcome to the forum!

iSnipe