There u go rock port best advise I've seen on this whole site. Lol

Aint that the truth Rockport. Go out completely unprepared to hunt a buck and i guarantee ya you will probably see a buck. Happens everytime. Go deer hunting squirrels are out going crazy. Come back with 20g for some squirrels and end up either jumping some deer or hiding so dont spook one you spotted and not seeing a dang on squirrel.

Garmin GPS.

Lots of good advice on the tools, now lets talk timing.

I've found that one of the best times to scout is after our rifle season... This shows me what the deer are doing when they've been under pressure. We always have snow by then, so I get a great look at things.

As to pre-season scouting, stop 2 weeks before you plan to hunt the area to allow the area to settle down.

Around here scouting is done during the hunting season. Where you find deer this year you'll find them next year. They spend their summer and early fall far from where they will be in mid Oct when gun season starts.