How to scout with map?
Wisconsin
Contributors to this thread:
I was just wondering how people go about scouting with a map? I have been hunting for about 15yrs and haven't had great "success" as in I haven't harvested a lot of deer, in fact I haven't shot a deer since my first year hunting. This year I am really looking to maximize my hunt and want to try using a map to find potential stand spots. I will be hunting public land in the Chippewa/Clark county area. My question is what do you look for when looking at a map? If you could explain it in simple terminology that would be great. I always here people say look for choke points and funnels but not sure what that looks like on a map. If you could provide pics to go with examples that would be awesome! Thanks for any info, just looking to learn a new technique.
Good topic, sorry to hear you haven't killed as many deer as you had hoped by now but it's good to see you've stuck with it. I'm looking forward to hearing the responses from some of the public land guys on here.
I would say to simply look for transitions between certain types of habitat. An example would be the easily defined lines where hardwoods and swamps meet. Or pine stands and hardwoods. These are not necessarily pinch points but travel corridors. A funnel might be a thin stand of hardwoods in between two swamps, ideally it would be thin enough that you can see both swamp edges through the trees. these are simply a couple of examples to look for when using something like google earth as a scouting tool. I am by no means an expert on the matter but there are some guys on this sight who are near experts and they will get you going in the right direction.
Thanks for the reply Crusader, I put "success" in quotations because to me it is not about the number of deer I shoot but the memories I make while doing it and in that department I have had a lot of success. I love deer hunting and spending time with family and friends. It is something I look forward to every year when we get together and listen to the old stories everyone tells year after year. Now that I own a house I would really like to be able to fill my freezer and provide for my family. I am excited to see what this year brings deer or no deer I am sure it will be another successful hunt!
I learned how to read and use a map and a compass in the sixties in the service. I have used that acquired knowledge in my deer hunting (bow & rifle) too many times to count and it has paid off time and time again.
I still occasionally use a map (topo, of course) and compass and this continues to work for me. I understand the GPS units that are available are the way to go nowadays.
I would be surprised if anyone could learn how to effectively use a map & compass (or GPS) just by reading a few posts in a bowhunting forum. I feel there must be online websites which go into considerable detail on this and I would suggest searching for them. You can probably learn a great deal there. Also, I would refer you to printed matter at your local library or a bookstore. Having a document you can actually sit down and study, and then practice with would certainly speed progress on the learning curve.
Once the basics of map reading and compass (or GPS) use have been mastered, the next step would be to apply it to actual deer movement patterns. That my friend is a field of study unto itself and even the best bowhunters will admit they do not always have it figured out correctly 100% of the time. If they did, they would be shooting state records every year!
I wish you luck. You are starting an exciting journey full of discovery. You'll have fun, with frustration along the way, but the end result will be knowledge you can apply to your deer hunting forever.
I think it was nocturnal 8 who posted a thread about reading a topo map a few months back. You might want to refer back to that thread as well or maybe he can just repost the info on this thread.
I believe this is what crusader was talking about.
Maps are a lot of fun and very useful. That said they are not nearly as functional for WI hunting as they are for out West in the mountains. The topography breaks and changes are much more subtle here. The changes that affect deer here many times aren't even visible on the 30' contour maps.
With that said you can still find the funnels, pinch points, swampy areas, and look at the road layout for given areas.
Aerial photographs can be very useful for seeing logged areas, swamps, and topography changes. Boots on the ground during pre-rut is far and away the best scouting method.
What are some things to look for when looking for bedding areas? Are you more likely to find deer bedding in logged areas, or near swamps? What features on a map would you look for?
Draws are easy to figure out because they are always "V" shaped with the upper end of the draw at the apex of the "V". Where it gets tricky is the ridge vs. the low area. In the example given, the #1 could be a low spot so be sure to look at the contour intervals and which way they are going (increase or decrease in elevation). For bedding areas and funnels, look at Google Earth. That, combined with the topo maps will begin to unravel the puzzle.
Every year, with my GPS I "waypoint" every scrape/rub that I come across. Download those into an aftermarket program called EasyGPS, connect the dots, and presto - you have your buck patterned. It amazes me that the ones that make it through the season use the same pattern the next year. Sometimes the exact rub tree.
Good luck!
Deer bed in both. I don't usually see mature bedding in clear cuts until after a few years. You'll find bedding on the edges. When I hunt the big woods in Wisconsin I concentrate on swamp lines for bedding. islands in the middle of swamps or cattails are great bedding too. Fingers of hardwoods that stretch out into the swamp will almost always have buck beds.
The question is when and why they are bedding there. Is it early season, rut, or late. What wind are they using when bedding here. Are the beds on the inside of the edge or is it on the outside edge. Bucks have a lot of beds in a given area. Could be 30 different areas. He could be bedding in one small area but using different beds for different winds.
I wouldn't go gun ho over scrapes and rubs. But rather fallow the trail that's marked with buck sign and see where it's going. It's going to a bed or food souce.
Doe beds will have many beds in a small area. And they point in every direction. Most the time it's not wind specific cause they rely on eyes and ears and trust within the doe group. During the rut this is a great time to look for buck bedding around it. If you can get in between or close to one of the other. It makes for great hunting.
I've used this example before on this site. Buts looking at maps online these layouts are always good indicators of good buck bedding.
Lone tree in a swamp with a buck bed under it. I hunted a bedding area. Nothing came out. But I did here a deer get up and walking in the swamp. Found the tree this spring. the only tree the deer could have come from. And what do you know.
A hunter can pick out a whole bunch of potential bedding in this photo. I did find a whole lot in the two days I scoured this area. But with time on my hands. I marked the best beds I found to give me the best opportunity.
Some really good information and tips in previous posts. If you want to take reading maps to the next level, Brad Herndon has a really good book that I believe is called, Mapping Trophy Bucks. I used to see it all the time at Fleet Farm but never pulled the trigger and bought it. It looked really good.
I also like what casekiska wrote. Good job on that!
thanks for the great info guys! I really enjoy reading everyone's tips and I look forward to putting it to good use this season.
here is a pic sorry for poor quality but this is what I am thinking for stand placements. The red line represents a logging road, the yellow line represents a power line lane and the white stars are where I am considering stands, any input would be great. It is a swampy area, where you see the white arrow that is a hill top with a pretty good change in elevation.
Very hard to see detail, but this is about how I see it.
Black line- transitions
Red- potential bedding
Green- tree stands
As I look too. Where the timber comes to a hard (turtle head) point. there's the bowl above it. I'll just about put all my money on beds being in those two spots.
I found beds all along the creek in the lower part of this pic. The edge of the hardwoods on the bottom and he left have good rub lines. All around the creek is swamp and wetlands. I was thinking about setting up in the pine tree line that runs the length of the pic. Probably at the bottom, and I want to incorporate a decoy. Hoping something cruising along the edge catches the decoy. I love sharing, but any input would be appreciated.
Reggie: this property looks awesome! Lucky guy!
I think a decoy in the spot you mentioned would be a fun go for sure.
You did your scouting. Let me know how I did, I could have circled a lot more. But this is what looks great to me, If I went in blind. I gave two circles in the lower right on that oxbow. Because I'm not sure if they'd be bedding under those pines or tucked close to the creek.
I labeled wind directions for how they would bed in those places.
I also gave a question mark on the top because I think most guys would over look this. And as you know these spots would likely hold a mature deer on a south wind.
Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts, thanks Nocturnal8 for your map review I really do appreciate the tips. These are the things that I will remember and cannot wait to someday pay it forward by passing on tips and tricks that I learn.
Willert88 - Your right - one deer in 15 years is not great success. Have you been seeing deer where you hunted?
It doesn't take long to educate deer of your presence - private or public. Try and hunt 'fresh' spots. Your best odds are the first time you hunt a stand.
For me, the most unproductive month to hunt is October, especially the first half. I end up feeling I could have put all those hours in a stand to getting other things done. November is a good month until gun season and then for me deer sightings go down until late December. January in the metro zone is good.
Remember you can't shoot a deer when your home watching the Packers.
Semper Fi - Tom
Hey Two Feathers first and foremost thank you for your service. I have spent the majority of my time hunting up in Burnett County where the last few years have been pretty rough on the deer population. I have seen a few does over the years and I saw a couple bucks last year but no shot opportunity. This last winter I bought a house in a different part of the state so will be hunting new area that I have never hunted before. I am optimistic as some of my co workers who grew up in this area say there is nice bucks out in the county forest but it gets hunted pretty hard I have heard. I am hoping by doing some map scouting now it will maximize my opportunity to at least see some deer!
I used maps to locate which public areas near me might be the most effective. The one that I chose might not be the best piece but only 10 minutes aware compared to 35-40 for others I just couldn't pass it up.
I plan on hunting this the first few weeks of September to see how it goes. When I put boots on the ground to scout it I left feeling good. I plan on setting up in the area circled in red and depending on what time of day I'll choose the southeast or southwest corner. The clearing is filled with chest high grass with plenty of tracks and spots that appear where they're laying down. The field is fallow with a marshy area in the center and creek to the north.
The yellow dot on the bottom left has very good signs crossing the creek. I did sent up a brush blind but last Friday some guys in a pick up setting up a blind. I called them in (no motorized vehicles are allowed or tree stands besides climbers) but I feel that they'll probably be set up there anyhow. Maybe if I can get in there very early on the 17th and hang some pink ribbon so they know someone else is already there? The joys of public land.
Where do you and others access this place? And does it get hunted hard? Are you able to get in other ways or is it just a one way
There's an old driveway that I can park on the southwest end (the bottom of the photo is a road) and also on the southeast end. I assume it gets hunted hard (its suburban) but I'm hoping to get in early.
Tweed, I don't see the yellow dot you mentioned. What I would do if I were you is, depending on where they were aetting up that blind, consider their access in and out, and pick your spot with that in mind. Use their disturbance to your advantage.
Thank you BearBowFan - The guys illegally setting up are by the yellow dot in the center and the stand that is near me that's on private property is in the northeast facing east. It looks like they're set up to catch them as the deer move from the woods to the far east, cross the power line clearing and back into the woods.
*When I first saw the stand on private property I did not know it was private (No signs were posted) until I got back home and double checked my map.
So if they come in from the south or west, I'd come in from the east is possible, especially with any west wind. If they are bedding anywhere in between, they'd likely come your way first.
I just got approved to hunt this and want to spend either Saturday or Sunday evening hunting it. Any suggestions just from looking at the map where might be the best place to set up?
If you could label what crops are where. Thatwould help a little more. My advice would be scout this area first. More than likely you'll be wasting your time setting up on instinct with a layout like this.
The crop fields are fallow now. The last time it was planted it was with corn (2014). The surrounding area is exurb large properties with prairie type grasses and wood lots.
One thing that people haven't mentioned that I do a lot of is stacking multiple maps and images of the same parcel. I like to use google earth, the 3-d terrain feature, the satellite image, the USGS topo maps, the County-GIS, other websites that may have images to purchase with copyright logo in them just to see different photos of the same piece of property in different conditions, some images will have snow, some will have no leaves, some will have trees with leaves. This helps me make a more accurate judgement about what I will find when I get there. And different conditions sometimes makes a trail pop or not. Sometimes you can see what the farmer was planting, and others not so much because they are barren fields. Fall pictures in color can give you an idea about what deciduous tress are there easier than their green colors, reds are maples, yellow aspen, Purples oaks, etc... I find the g-earth terrain images are good for giving you a good idea of the overall lay of about a half mile, but nothing that says put the individual stand here, but might give an idea about where to look for the spot within the spot. The USGS topos give more accurate little saddles and ridges. Zooming multiple images can reveal thicker vegetation and looser vegetation and things that could funnel to make a spot within a spot. As I refine my stand locations more and more for during the rut I am considering how a trail or funnel plays into the larger landscape in hopes of getting the cruiser to pass through and less and less about how nice the 100 yard swatch looks in person. In places I have control over the trails I am working to connect them to the larger landscape.
Where can you go to get the most up to date map imagery? The public land area i've been hunting for the last 25 years had 2 large sections logged off last year, but google earth doesn't have the area updated.
I've looked at a few other satellite images from other web sites, and they all have the same thing. Based on the logging that happened it would be nice to see the whole area now.
Coming in from the north? Is there a house by that pond? I'd walk the east edge assuming wind will be west or northwest this weekend. If it was a first sit going in blind I'd probably be on the SE edge of where the mature trees end and the grassy stuff begins.
Did you ever check out that other place you posted?
If you sit on the south east edge with a north west wind. There a very high chance you will bump bedded deer. Farm land bedding is very consistent/predictable. Be careful if you take up bear bowfans advice.
Black arrow is wind, red dot is stand, white area is assumed bedding. I'm not worried about deer bedded in someone's backyard to the SE
Thanks Bear
There is a building by the pond but it is not a house. I'll be parking on the road (red dot). I'm not thinking of parking on the east side at the dead end of the subdivision that buts against the property (if a house hasn't been built yet).
Oops sorry bear I misunderstood you. Picture being drawn out is better.
Here are my tips:
Go to the Sheriff's dept (dont call) and ask if they have a map of crashes that have occurred in the county (some do some dont) Some agencies record car/deer crashes on large maps which shows where deer tend to cross.
Or simply ask people who travel the area alot- a deputy (when he's not busy), milk man, farmers, mail man, ect.. They tend to see lots of deer mmovement simply because they are always outside.