Scouting for deer?

[KyFlintlock]

So, when does everybody start scouting for deer?

When you scout, do you "play it safe" or go for it (figure the buck will forget by season)?

Good Luck
Wess

 

[Darkhorse]

About now. Or earlier.
Most of my scouting at this time of the year is looking closer at new spots that interested me last year. Of course any old rubs are noted.
I don't play it safe at this time. I'm just covering ground and getting a feel for things. Usually in July I start setting up and/or moving stands. I figure the deer will either forget about it by the time season rolls around or are not even in these areas at this time of the year anyway. I am not looking for where deer are now, I'm looking for where they will be...
Around September I am finished getting ready and I stay out of the woods until season starts. During the season I never scout the areas I am hunting.
Of course that doesn't mean someone else won't scout through your area and mess you up... or vice versa.

 

[roundball]

So, when does everybody start scouting for deer?

When you scout, do you "play it safe" or go for it (figure the buck will forget by season)?

Good Luck
Wess

I usually try to get any new scouting done and tree stands hung between July 4th and Labor Day weekends...

 

[Stumpkiller]

I hunt farmlands and lumber tree-lots, and the deer are used to seeing people year round.

I've been hunting two general areas for 25 years (one is the ever-shrinking hill at the end of my back yard), so I get a general feel of the natural features and the "normal" patterns. I also have a good idea of where the pressured deer tend to head once the season begins.

I'll take several scouts just prior to the season while small game hunting. Mostly to make sure there aren't man-made changes that will effect my choice. What crops are still standing, any new stands, unexpected posted signs or obvious human presence, etc. Where are the thick, brushy cover spots? Where are the deer entering and exiting them? What natural funnels do the deer have to transit where a sitting or still-hunting hunter might have the best opportunity? I'm not really a rack hunter, so I don't do a lot of glassing around dawn/dusk to see who's sporting a massive rack. I choose my spots based on where I figure I'll see the "smart" deer and hope the resident bucks are statistically present. That normally works out to somewhere in or near thick cover with several enterance & escape route choices.

As the season gets closer, I pay much more attention to specific deer sign. Scrapes, rubs, tracks, visible deer (where & what time of day). Where are the 12" dia hemlocks I can sit under in case of a rainy day near travelled routes? Sometimes I "groom" a spot that looks good, dragging in some vines or branches for cover.

Finally, on the day of the hunt, my choice of spots will depend on wind direction and weather.

I also scout during season for future reference. Deer behave differently once humans invade their homes in numbers. Seeing a well used trail pre-season wil not help if that is a 3:00AM travel route or is not a path the deer might take when the pressure is on. Patterns change on and after opening day.

 

[Halftail]

My Life is an endless scout for Whitetails.I see sign anytime of the year and I log it in the memory banks.For me,Stands can and will be hung in the dead of winter,Heat of Summer and during the season(if the need arises)
I use mostly the permanent type stand and have many stands in many differant ridges.
I see Deer tracks in the spring much and my pulse quickens ,the heart beats faster,Sweaty palma,dry mouth.......you know that sort of thing

Gotta love them whitetails! :master:

 

[laufer]

From Memorial Day ro Labor Day.
The more they see me without being hurt, the better the harvest is in ML season (before regular season.) I noticed that by mid- August deer just moves away 20-30 yards from where I am, looks at me for a loooong time, and if I continue towards them than they run. It says like that until the ML seson, and as soon as we start shooting, they learn overnight!
:front:

 

When I'm in the woods, which is pretty much all year long for one thing or another, I'm scouting for everything. Den trees, deer beds, what deer are feeding on, what trail they're using now, coon and coyote sign, mushrooms, berrries. Whatever is going on at any given moment.

Scout when you can. Unless you're in a true wilderness area the deer probably see as many people and people activities as we do and in my experience are very little bothered by our presence. Sure they bolt, cut 'n run, hide, go someplace else.....but never for long. Bucks will change their patterns but they're still there and most likely someone else on the next piece of property will force them to change back to the pattern they were on. Go for it! You'll learn a lot more than just what the deer are doing and that's a good part of being in the woods in the first place.

Vic

 

[Hoyt]

I do a lot of my scouting during spring gobbler season. These bucks on the public land I hunt in SW Central Fl. keep their scrapes clean..pretty much yr. round and I keep tabs on which ones are cleaned out..find a few sheds..etc.
The place I hunt is closed yr. round except for hunting season..but can walk or ride a bike in and I will ride in and check things out in the summer if it's not flooded. I found a real good rack this spring gobbler season and where he had tore some trees up and broke off a lot of high branches over his scrapes. He had scrapes pawed out all around this one water oak and I will be hunting this deer come Nov.
This is an April scrape..not the one I just mentioned but where a buck had hit it a lick or two in a couple places.. APRIL SCRAPE

 

[sidelock]

Folks the two bigest jokes ever pulled on deer hunters are INLINES and TREE STANDS. I have taken probebly 150 whitetails---- not one from a treestand,not one with an inline. Many with centerfire, and many with caplock. I now hunt only with my TC Hawken .50--- allthough I seldom shoot any more -- just take my rifle for walks. :m2c:

 

[Darkhorse]

Sidelock,
Different parts of the country determine hunting methods. I have hunted the west a few times and have yet to use or need a treestand.
However, if you hunt down here in the southern thickets and swamps with the attitude a deer stand is a joke, then the joke is on you.
I have taken a number of deer down here from the ground but my best ones have always been taken from stands.

I must agree however with your comment about inlines.

 

[biliff]

Out here for mule deer we do our scouting while we hunt. You can't really pattern the fool things like you can a whitetail, ya just have to keep looking until ya find 'em.

 

[Hoyt]

I can assure you we weren't almost the first to crawl up those big sprawling live oaks to get a better look around.

 

[Tahquamenon]

Late August into September timeframe.

They do forget about my early vist. Or at least several are each year!

:thumbsup:

 

I killed a few mulies when I lived in Wyoming and they're nothing like whitetails (I don't believe they taste as good either). Tree stands are by no means a joke nor are they the "be-all, end-all" they're often made out to be. As with anything we use tree stands have their place and are a good and proper tool. Hoyt said it pretty well, we definitely aren't the first two legged predator to use elevation to our advantage. I don't believe in-lines are a joke but they certainly aren't in the spirit of a primitive weapon. I don't own one nor will I ever own one.

Vic

 

[KyFlintlock]

I haven't looked any yet...well not too seriously. I did nose around a bit during turkey season and found 2 smaller sheds...

I will most likely hang a few stands toward the end of Aug...but will prob use my portable the most, just so nobody else will know where I'm hunting or steal my stands.

I'll have to take a few pics when I get out to get the FEVER going! You guys do the same...


Good luck and I don't know about you, but I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Wess

 

[sidelock]

Sidelock,
Different parts of the country determine hunting methods. I have hunted the west a few times and have yet to use or need a treestand.
However, if you hunt down here in the southern thickets and swamps with the attitude a deer stand is a joke, then the joke is on you.
I have taken a number of deer down here from the ground but my best ones have always been taken from stands.

I must agree however with your comment about inlines.

Most of my game ,including whitetails, was taken in the hardwoods and swamps of old Virginia in my younger years before coming west. Montana is beautiful country, but you have much more game in GA than here per sq. mile. But keep on keepin on friend and best of luck. :m2c:

 

[hornbuilder]

ky flintlock:{
i guess you could say i play it safe and keep the does around the house and ( bait ) the bucks with the does.

[/img] :results:

 

[hobbles]

hornbuilder

I sea you hunt like I do,,,

 

[hornbuilder]

Hobbles :{
i still hunt the critters, just no longer shoot them. this way we both get our excercise and live to play another day. the hunt is always what you make it , and it has nothing to do with killing anything ! :imo: :results:

 

[hobbles]

hornbuilder

I can understand that, I do hunt, but just started huntin deer now that I'm back here, We have a lot of deer that comes in and eat's the horse hay we put out and we just sit and watch, I have always liked nature, I know when I do hunt, My biggest thing is I want to drop it NOW or I won't take the shot, I don't feel good bout gettin a deer, but I don't feel bad either, I just put meat on the table, I had friends out west that would always ask be to go deer or bear huntin with em, but I never did, Now that I hunt, they say they understand,, and nothin more, They are good friends,, My Lady helps me skin and cut up the meat but dosent want to go huntin with me,, That's ok, I used to be the same way,,