Clevinger

I hunt about a 160 acres of woods on my father-in-laws property. It has great bucks (got a 12 pointer this year).

I intend to go scout it this week as he got some fresh snow and I have time. My plan is to mark out some spots for tree stands and ground blinds for next year. I already marked all the potential hot spots I could identify on Google Earth photos of the property.

How do you guys mark spots you are interested in? Do you use small flags at the spots? Do you mark good entrance points to the woods? Any other tips for scouting?

DeppedyDogg

You have to get out there to determine stand locations. A good stand this year does not necessarily mean a good stand next year BUT, that's a good place to start.

Go out during the spring to see where deer are. Go back out in summertime to determine what areas they're using. Go back late summer to determine pre-rut activity.

Use trail cameras to see what deer are utilizing what areas.

Mark potential stand sites on a map or GPS.

There's so much more but you have to start somewhere.

Bukmastr

To me, everything revolves around bedding... Deer are night animals and only move in daylight at the edge of darkness except during rut, and some of the oldest bucks rarely move in daylight then... Rubs, scrapes, trails, by them selves tell me very little. That type of sign just tells you a deer was there... Find where he beds, and you found where he spends the majority of his daytime hours. This is especially true if you want to shoot mature bucks.
The problem with your scouting plan is that going out in the snow now, will tell you where the deer live, bed, and travel now, during winter. This info will no doubt help you, but not nearly as much as going out right after the snow melts and scouting the sign that is preserved under the snow from during he fall.
When you get scouting advice on a public forum, also be careful whom you take advice from. Lots of keyboard hunters out there who really have not killed much and just write things they heard or read or think... No offense to anyone intended, just my over all opinion...

Mojotex

My experience tells me that effective scounting is highly dependent upon the amount of area that you are trying to learn about as well as what type of habitat makes up that area.

For example, Bukmastr mentioned how important finding bedding areas is. And that is true for sure in some areas that I have hunted .... particularly in eastern Montana. We hunted along the edges of the same 3-4 bedding areas day after day. We saw the same 12-15 decent bucks almost every day. And about the same times of day leaving from or coming back to this same 200 +/- acre stretch along the creek. And finally I got a clear shot at one of the better ones.

But just try that tactic here where I hunt in SE Alabama .... on 3150 acres, 2000 +/- of which is unthinned 12 - 15 year old planted pines! I have hunted this property for over 10 years now. I can't find "the" bedding area. And I consider myself a decent white tail deer hunter. There are just too many great spots for deer to call it a day and bed down. So, they feed here and there and yonder, then slip into the close by pines and sack out.

What I have had clear success doing on this property has been locating travel routes to/from bed to food and water, or finding that "hot" feeding area. Some of these trails and areas are often heavily "marked" with multiple scrapes freshened regularly and rubs ... on trees a large as a man's leg. Some have none of these "buck sign" at all. For sure rubs and scrapes are exciting to find, but my experience has been that they are seldom visited in day light hours. In going on 50 years of hunting white tails now down this way I have killed a buck either working a scrape or rubbing a tree only 6 times that I can recall. Each was a decent buck.

The better bucks I have killed, including my best (180 1/4) have been killed while they were pushing does. This is why I try my best to stay abreast of where the does are hanging out, and be in the woods when the rut hits.

If you can find a great bedding area or good trails or acorn bearing oaks, you should be able to find a good spot for a stand. Good luck and Merry Christmas !

Clevinger

Appreciate your input.

To an extent, won't some patterns stay the same? For example, won't the thick bedding areas be used year round?

There's a spot at the back of his property where a ditch, long ridge, swamp, and funnel of trees (leading from the ridge to the forest) all meet. It's hard as hell to get to but I figure it will always produce as long as I don't over hunt it.

Some of the other funnels, ridges, and thickets can be keyed on this time of year. Wouldn't what I find there be valid for later? I guess what I'm asking is, how do they move differently this time of year that could lead me to incorrect conclusions?

I'm not arguing, just trying to learn from others.

Clevinger

The property I am hunting is limited enough (160 acres, I think) to where I could key in on the bedding areas, as suggested. However, I am with you on the travel routes. I have poured over Google Earth trying to figure how I would move to and from the fields in the North, East, and South (surrounding his woods) if I was a buck.

Will bucks cut directly through a swamp? The entire eastern edge of his woods (with fields beyond) is marshy/boggy where it's tall grass and water/mud that will go to your knees in places but no more.

Given how open it is, will they cut directly across that? There isn't a great funnel for them there. Here's a picture:

Bukmastr

Some bedding will stay the same... Some of the best stuff is used year round. But some great spots lack cover once the snow hits, and deer tend to move closer to food sources when there is snow... Ideally, you would scout both when there is snow and without.

Clevinger

I posted the map above of what I am hunting. That's the overall view. Here is the swamp. It's low and surrounded by forest but there doesn't seem to be a true funnel for them leading from the fields to the East to the woods in the center of his property. The vertical white line there is the Eastern edge of his property. Thoughts on ambush points?

Clevinger

Forgive my ignorance, but what do deer eat this time of year? I have mainly thought about them preceding and during the hunting season.

I see you are from Wisconsin. I am from Minnesota. Everything is frozen right now. What do they do for food?

Clevinger

Finally, my last mystery is the Sourthern edge of his property. There are extensive fields in his neighbor's property beyond, but as far as bedding we have the best show in town. They are moving north into his property in the morning I think. There is a long ditch running east/west to mark the Southern border of his property. Does anything jump out to you here for a potential stand site?

I intend to go out and try to figure where they are crossing the ditch. Other than that I want to figure out where they thickest cover is running from the field to the bedding (i.e. the funnel).