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2024 Spring deer scouting

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.

Tomas, ground blinds, you set for cover in front of you or behind you, or both?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Get a good ghille suit that blends in and your opportunities will increase.

I use a kill suit ghillie, after seeing how effective they can be I wouldn't hunt without it.

I’ve been looking at those, and the leafy shirts. I assume you have to trim a lot off shooting a recurve?

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.

Thanks GH, good info

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.

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.

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