Favorite summer scouting strategies
Massachusetts
Thought this would be a good discussion. For NEW areas, what are your favorite summer scouting strategies from finding deer traffic to picking a tree/blind location. I'm on the phone, so I'll toss some out next time I'm on a PC.
Looking forward to everyone's ideas!
I just checked out a swamp I haven’t walked since my teens. I bust through all the prickers and the thickest crap ever to end up at a high oak knoll by the swamp with a nice deer run. I said hell yeah this is the spot and of course look up and see a stand. I thought apparently someone else has the balls to plow through the prickers and crap too. Their goes that idea!
Most stands i find have not been occupied for some time. Put a note in a ziplock with a pen and ask respectfully if its still being used. You might be surprised next year with no answer. These days lots of halfway hunters set up and then give up. Just my 2 cents.
Kayak scouting. I find spots deer drink or beter yet river crossings and work my way into the woods from thier. B.B. is right thier are a ton of abandoned stands out thier.
This was a hang on that looked brand new.
Put a note on the tree,.. ya might pick up a hunting buddy,.
i went out today to do some pole saw work on a couple of new stands and i was quickly reminded why i do all that stuff in the winter . Sketters the size of terridactles horse flys that r relentless and spider webs across the face .its all done now just checkin cameras
You guys might think I am crazy but In ME near my camp where I am now I actually look from my truck at tracks where deer cross and try to figure out where I can set up blind or half blind. Driving slow on these dirt roads with my door half open must look to onlookers like I am about to puke! Ah, things we will do to chase the Almighty Whitetail! Have never shot deer in ME with bow and will try early this year as I am hunting the RUT in KS .
Sit in the AC and watch hunting shows. I did all my scouting and trimming in February. But now with the new start date to the season and a brand new 340 acres I have access to I am going to have to get out and put some cameras in September and hang stands at the same time. Will adjust in late September when I pull the cards and I can set up accordingly with the climber if needed
Brook trout One of my spots has a logging road and I do the same when their is some snow on the ground. I found they typically crossed in the same spots each year.
I wait until it’s not so hot. Use to get in there all summer but no more. Most of my spots are established and deer will be pretty regular come the fall. I spend my summer months prepping equipment and shooting. It’s always exciting buying tags, checking gear and getting ready.
Interesting ideas guys. My favorite method this time of year is riding my mountain bike. I am constantly scanning for 1.) concentrations of tracks and 2.) freshly falling micro acorns.
Example, last week after some strong boomers, on a ride I noted a small oak branch on the ground which had a ton of little acorns on it. That specific spot is not one I hunt, but I know some folks who do hunt the area and share info with them. That same strategy has helped me find areas loaded with acorns every year.
The track's part, it's excellent. I note the locations, then consult google earth - using a period of the year when deciduous trees are bare - and look for areas which are funnels or could be. I note that, and as things cool off, Ill go back and hit those targeted spots to see how concentrated sign is or maybe set a cam.
That car thing is really the same deal, just using roads/jeep roads vs trails.
The boat idea makes a lot of sense, and you could go fishing at the same time - win win!
I'm still convinced I suck at picking deal closing trees. I can pick good trees where I see deer. I'd say above average in that category. But picking that one tree in a potential set up that put's you in the best shooting spot... Ooph. Over think like crazy.
Just going to offer Moons a hundred dollars to tell me where to go this year.
I don't hang any stands anymore. I have my proven stand sites on my property in VT and two now in MA but I've switched to a lightweight hang on and climbing sticks in/out every time approach. For NEW areas it all starts online. Find a target location on the area usually away from the main hunting access/pressure and start there. I find a deer trail and back track/forward track it to bedding looking for sign along the way. Topo maps get me in the general area where I actually "begin" ground scouting. For hill country/ timber areas I stay higher on ridges and look at perpendicular outcroppings/points which usually contain a deer bed or several deer beds depending on the size of the point then figure out which wind will work best and mark trees on the GPS for when I return in the dark. For swamps I look for high spots with bedding and locate access/escape routes and mark trees on the transition line usually less than 100 yards from the deer beds. Same tactic for clear cuts, always check the transition lines for a deer trail and back/forward track it to find the bedding then set up within 100 yards of the beds and figure out what wind would work best and pick your days during the season. That's why it always helps to have a dozen or so spots picked out that can work with any wind. I don't have that kind of money for stands/equipment so I went with the hang and hunt approach. I've just read something about thermals and I'm going to research it a bit more but it makes total sense how wind doesn't always direct scent where you think it does and how thermals effect everything, it's something to think about. Its probably why I always see deer the last minute usually blowing out of the area or they are on super high alert.
Jeb we can make something work;)
Ha joking Moons. I think I’ve used up my “Moons card” with all the fishing spots you’ve given me. Plus I don’t have a hundred dollars.
Joking aside, I am trying to stay out of the woods this summer, for two reasons. First, I think what the deer are doing now isn’t too predictive of what they’ll be doing in October. Second, and maybe more importantly, I think in years past I’ve done serious harm to my spots by being present too much—walking around and stinking it up, etc. You’re going to wind up perturbing any system that you analyze too much. But this is coming from a guy with a pretty bad track record...
No woods time. For the most part I hunt the same areas that I have for many years. And regardless, the deer will be in a different routine by fall. If I am considering a new area I may ride some roads and glass fields but only to understand the general population level. I do start shooting my bows everyday, right about now. Tekoa
Just put up two cams today in zone 6 big woods. Hoping to get a monster on the cams should be interesting. Saw decent sign and even some fresh beech nuts on the ground. Nice cold morning and didn’t even need mosquito repellent. Got like 4-5 ticks on me which isn’t too bad for a 3 hour scouting run.
I did the majority of my scouting January-April based on last year's sign, but there were a handful of areas I didn't get to. I'm still looking for last year's sign, but rublines, scrapes and bedding areas are harder to identify with the foliage fully grown. I scoped out a high spot in a swamp on the 4th that had a gigantic isolated white oak with multiple scrapes from last year within 30 yards and a bedding area loaded with rubs within about 75 yards. My deer sightings the past couple years have gone way down during the rut, so I'm trying to scout a few areas that will funnel deer during rut and places where bucks can easily and safely scent check multiple doe bedding areas. I've also got two locations that I'll be glassing a few times during September.
HSFC, do you do observation sits over big swamps or clear cuts to see where deer are bedded and what direction they travel when they get up from their beds? I did this a few times last year and only hunted those locations on a perfect wind for the set up during the early season before the hunting pressure started and ended up seeing a ton of deer. Botched 3 separate encounters with some truly old smart bucks.
New areas are tough to pin down the first year. I look for a rub line by walking about 50 yards inside the woods parallel to clearings that hold deer or show trails. I try to find a few scrapes. Then I am looking from the bucks perspective. Why does he like this spot to advertise or observe from? That leads to seeing the doe travel which often involves an obvious food source. Bedding will be in a safe spot close by. The buck will be coming in from downwind or some advantage in his favor that allows him to keep an eye on the girls. I look for a way to slip in between the action and pick a few trees that have a blind spot from the ground-view perspective. Then making a path for clean and quiet entry becomes the focus.
For an area that I have already observed/learned about : I walk that area with loppers in hand. My goal is to clean up or make a path that takes me past several trees that I intend to hunt from. Each tree has some advantage over the others to accommodate deer travel or feeding trends. IE: Some oaks and hidden / protected field edge for the early season, some heavy cover and particular field edge for the late season where deer seem to hang out for warmth or protection. According to past observation during the progression of hunting season. At each location, I will circle the tree at 20-30 yards where trails/travel puts deer in a natural opening. I clean up a few shooting lanes/ windows.
The next time I enter the woods will be to bring in stands but I like to wait for just before a good storm to set up. Natures cleaning service! Then stay out and wait.
Generally, I try to hunt the least invasive (perimeter area) first and move deeper into the action as the rut/search begins. Keeps the woods less buggered.
Deer will do the same things/ seasonal patterns, year after year until something stops them. They know where they want to go ... Hunting is inserting oneself into that travel and putting an abrupt end to it.
Buckshot, that's exactly my plan. I'm planning a couple observations overlooking a large salt marsh and another overlooking a large field.
Well put pi. Always ask myself what advatage does this run give the deer, what is up wind of this seemingly obscure location. Then prep stands down wind of the run that is down wind of what im actully trying to hunt.
