How early is TOO early to scout?
 

I bow hunt, muzzleload hunt, and firearm (shotgun only) hunt, making a much longer time in the woods. I have 3 hunting spots and 2 of them are standing corn this year. I have cameras in there now, but by just changing batteries and pulling SD cards to look at, I almost feel like im messing up by going into a prime bow hunt area. Besides the camera aspect, I have to go in and clear lanes, find climbable trees, etc. because I have never bow hunted this particular 200 acre ag field. I know I want to hunt the edges, but I also want to get in deeper to find trails, bedding, and find the areas they are coming in and out of the corn fields.

When do you guys usually start to scout and pattern your deer population on your lease?

Is it better to just wait until late summer and just go in a couple times before I hunt it? What would you do if you knew this place was not only holding deer, but is a honey hole for big racks.

TIA

Never too early. Just don't bump them out of bedding areas. watch from afar!:s4:

My wife tells me that I'm only temporarily not scouting. There is no bad time to scout.

I do a lot of deer hunt scouting during turkey season .... Mar. 15 was opening day. Once it gets hot ... I quit !!! I used to scout more frequently than I have these past 4-5 years. I usually wait until a cool snap in September to do my serious pre-season scouting. I am getting to darned old to spend hours on end scouting in heavy woods during the blazing heat of a SE Alabama July - August. Heck is was 90F+/- today where I hunt. If this keeps up, we'll see many, many days well over 95F come late June! Lord only knows what August will look like !!

Never too early to scout. This year I've got 800 acres all to myself and a couple buddies of my choice. I started walking the edges of some of the fields this past weekend.

Never to early. I get out as soon as the snow leaves & it has always paid off...

scout all off season.

yeah i dont think its really ever too early to scout, i think "how late is too late to scout" is the more important question.

Im down in the woods right now adding little patches of clover and thro-n-gro. Been clearing lanes and thinning new spots for archery. Ide rather do it now, let it settle then move in there at archery season knowing everythings a go. Wont hurt to target some old rub lines or find smaller cedar trees that got rubbed last year, and target those paths for archery/ clear a shooting lane near them. Good luck

I already have my areas picked out and will start hiking to the various springs to confirm water sources in July.

While hiking I will be looking for sign and doing a lot of glassing. We don't know what actual area we got drawn for until June. I feel pretty positive in my choice, and confident that I will get drawn, as the area I put in for has OTC Tags for sale every year due to the illegal alien and dope smuggler problem. I could start scouting earlier, but I'd rather not stir them up too much, as whitetails here tend to spend their whole lives in a one to two section area, depending upon availability of water.

FYI: 1 Section is 640 acres and it's a four mile hike to get to the ridge I want to be on by the time the sun rises.

Biker