2024 Spring deer scouting
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: Tomas
20-Mar-24
I've been out several times since Feb. I like scouting this time of year. Found some new spots built a couple binds, going to make a few more. Haven't found any sheds yet though. They say big deer rub big trees, if that's true this one's a whopper.
From: Live2Hunt
20-Mar-24
Tomas, ground blinds, you set for cover in front of you or behind you, or both?
From: Tomas
20-Mar-24
One brush blind I made a corral type blind with a higher side that I had little chance of a clear shot. I may try to dig the center down a bit. The other I found a natural pit near last years rubs and scrapes. I've been looking for such a spot for a long time. It's about 3.5 ft deep, a real fox hole.
From: Live2Hunt
21-Mar-24
I've been ground sitting more and more. You sure get busted easier than in a tree. My goal is to take one with my recurve on the ground. Been close, but seem to get busted at the last moment. Last year I had a real good buck come into 15 yards and never knew I was there. He never offered a shot, but never detected me either. that was on the bottom of a jackpine ridge and a dead pine tree top in front angled to the cant of my bow at draw. I like to see what others use and have had success with to try and emulate.
From: Groundhunter
21-Mar-24
I have ground hunted for a long time. Due to human pressure, and more hunters, conventional daytime movement areas deteriorated, and had to venture into more unconventional areas, to find legal time movement. This of course led to areas of limited trees, which forced me to come up with a "system" that would lead to good opportunities.
Now I am talking about hunting Public Land. No connection to undisturbed Private land, that's managed with food plots etc. Different worlds.
From: Tomas
22-Mar-24
Public land is all I hunt. With bird hunters and other archers, there was a little more pressure as in the past. But there's a lot of room where I hunt, if one spot has too much human activity, I got options. I'm using this snowless spring to find more hunting opportunities.
From: Live2Hunt
22-Mar-24
I do 100% public also. My main way of hunting was move/scout a lot and sit a little. I move through areas till I find the activity I want and then sit it. Been doing a lot more of it on the ground the past few years mainly for ease and trying to find sign now is tough. Use to be in a few days of scouting I would have multiple areas with good sign. Now I'm happy if I can find one spot with a little sign.
From: Deets
22-Mar-24
Get a good ghille suit that blends in and your opportunities will increase.
From: Tomas
22-Mar-24
I use a kill suit ghillie, after seeing how effective they can be I wouldn't hunt without it.
From: Live2Hunt
23-Mar-24
I’ve been looking at those, and the leafy shirts. I assume you have to trim a lot off shooting a recurve?
From: Groundhunter
23-Mar-24
Live, I have used a guille suit for a long time. They are not all created equal. The leafy style is the lightest, and you only need the top half, and a head cover system, in my opinion.
However, I have torn them, and really like my true guille I got at a military surplus store, in Fond du lac, for 69.00
It has a hood and veil system, and snap buttons. It covers just to above my knees. It's light and made of jute strings. It rolls up easily and fits Alice style on my back.
I put it on at set up. To prevent shooting issues, I wore a compression sock over the jute on my bow arm So then there was no interference with the bow string. I would get the sock in Oden green color, or spray color it, if I had too.
Alot of commercial suits are heavy and hot, which you will not like, and defeat the purpose to a mobile system.
From: Live2Hunt
24-Mar-24
Thanks GH, good info
From: Groundhunter
24-Mar-24
Live, shooting a stick bow, from the ground is in my opinion, the toughest way to bow hunt, and when it comes together, it's very special.
From: Tomas
24-Mar-24
It's snowing now, we're going to get about 6-8". I'm going to scout Tues. Tracks should give me a good idea where to build some blinds.
From: Tomas
01-May-24
Started to wrap up my spring scouting, the black flies and ticks are out in force. Yesterday I found an antler after many years of searching. You can see above my thumb where the brow tine was broke off.
From: Tomas
01-May-24
Did anyone ever find a scrape this time of year? I jumped a deer just before I found this possible scrape. You can see in the pic a liicking branch above the ground.
From: Hoot
01-May-24
From: casekiska
01-May-24
Tomas, to answer your question,...I have discovered open and recently used scrapes throughout the year,...any and every month. Likewise, photos of deer using licking branches throughout the year. I don't think they hit the scrapes as hard or visit the branches as often in the "odd" times of the year but I know for certain they do use them all year. I feel certain there are other fellows on this forum who have seen the same thing. Let's hear from you...
From: Tomas
02-May-24
Thanks Hoot for turning my pic.
That's very interesting casekiska, I will be paying more attention to sort of sign.
From: mooseslayer
02-May-24
I have seen scrapes getting hit year around as well. Even mock scrapes with grapevine for licking branch.
From: Hoot
02-May-24
I was out doing a little scouting Tuesday. Found some old rubs and current scraping going on. Put up a couple of cameras and will check them in a month or so.
From: Cheesehead Mike
03-May-24
I also found a deadhead ;-)
I also found a deadhead ;-)
I did an out of state scouting trip a couple weeks ago and found a scrape that had just been worked on April 18. It rained hard the day before and the tracks and scrape marks were fresh within 24 hours.
