Scouting?

[longcruise]

Getting that time of year for some preliminary scouting. The area I Hunt is large enough that there are some pockets of country I have not seen yet. This time of year I look for last years rubs.

What do others here do scouting wise?

 

[roundball]

What do others here do scouting wise?

I hunt the same 2 old farms every year now and have local spots pretty well figured out.
But one thing I did back when I started with this acreage was find a couple low spots (bottom, swamp, etc) where there's always bound to be a drainage ditch / little creek winding through that low area. Then walked it and found a couple routinely used deer trail crossings.

On one crossing, with the wind direction in mind I made a natural ground blind 35-40 yards from the crossing, and take deer at that crossing.
On the other crossing, I followed the deer trail in one direction and located what turned out to be a dense pine bedding area, set up a natural blind 35-40yds away from the trail's entry/exit point, and take deer there as well.

Bottom line, the lowest ground usually has water running through it, deer usually like to travel through thick low places (funnel) and the natural lay of the land usually channels them to cross a big drainage ditch or creek at the easiest place...so that might be one good way to start scouting your new acreage.

 

[Vaino]

If hunting on private land {restricted access}, scouting should yield better results come hunting.

If hunting on public access land, scouting could be useless....who knows where the other hunters will stand. When I was young, dumb and stupid, I would scout the intended hunting area and opening AM revealed the futility of doing so ....hunters everywhere disrupting the deer patterns.

Many "so-called" hunting programs even show diagrams of deer patterns which in public areas would be useless come opening AM because of the other hunters.

So...I never scouted my public land hunting areas , but through the years found the "best spots" by trial and error. Judging by the successes of many hunts, these favored spots really paid off......Fred

 

[Rat Trapper]

All ya need to do is find a spot that is easy to get to, and the wind will be in your favor. Then dump a pick up load of corn out in front of the blind. :haha: :grin:

 

[Eric Krewson]

I hunt the same land every year. My scouting consists of finding the white oak trees that are dropping the most.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I think out west scouting is a bit different. I know bow hunters that are already "on their elk" they go most every weekend & try to find the bull they intend to hunt, and they watch him (from a mile or so) patterning his water holes and such. And Yea they are most all single :haha: and young.

Yes the elk will change up for the rut, but water holes, mud, rim trails are all habitual if the bull stays in the area.

 

[Robert Egler]

"All ya need to do is find a spot that is easy to get to, and the wind will be in your favor. Then dump a pick up load of corn out in front of the blind. "

That would be illegal here in NC on public land, you can't hunt over bait on public land. Its been years since I hunted in PA, but if I recall it was completely illegal to hunt deer over bait at the time also. I was quite surprised when I moved to NC that it was legal to hunt over bait anywhere. I grew up always being told hunting over bait was cheating.

Its legal to hunt deer with dogs here also, another BIG surprise, since when I took Hunters Safety in PA (in the early 70s) we were encouraged by the Game Commission instructor to shoot any dog we saw chasing deer.

 

[FishDFly]

"This time of year I look for last years rubs"

That is like going to a bar and looking for last years 10 sitting on a bar stool.

Last year I had pictures of a 13 point in velvet on 01 Nov. He moved on me, I found a large scrape and put up a camera, there he was a mile away. Hogs moved into the area and we put up a trap, buck disappeared as soon as the trap was there and we started checking it.

He moved back a mile to where he was to start with and became nocturnal.

Some will argue but some bucks are nocturnal and cannot be killed, this buck as soon as we invaded his area could only be found on the cameras at night.

At times I think scouting is not a wise thing to do, especially close to the start of the season.

Actually I think cameras are better way to know what is in the area than wandering around and disturbing the woods.

 

[jamesthomas]

With a limit of a deer a day here in Alabama, bucks and Does become nocturnal very fast, you will only see them very early in the morning or right before dark. There are so many "Hunters" on public land I don't even hunt them any more. Some clubs have a lot of land and "green fields" so they can regulate the hunting pressure but I don't consider shooting a 10 point at 200 yards hunting.

 

[longcruise]

This topic brings up some interesting differences in how we hunt in different areas of the country. Round ball points out the classic whitetail ambush method based on travel patterns. That's the way I'm accustomed to hunting whitetails and it is very effective.

Eric focuses on their feeding areas and knows exactly what to look for. Also very effective.

Richard is focusing on bar stools! :shocked2: Not sure how that works out?

My hunting "area" is about 200 sq miles. About 85% of that is either national forest or BLM land. As well as I know this area, there are plenty of pockets and hidey holes to be found. The key to successful elk hunting is to be at least a mile from roads or ATV trails. Sure, there is game to be found closer to the roads, but generally, not so much. I came across one guy who shot his elk sitting on his ATV alongside of an ATV trail. A nice herd bull. I have been into that piece of country many times hunting deer and his dead elk was the first one I've ever seen there! :haha: Luck can sometimes take over!

I know guys who set up on "their" bull just like Sean is describing. Wish I had the time to do it. Like he says, they are mostly young and single. :haha:

So, I just look the country over and try to find last years elk sign. The idea is to determine where they are hanging out during the september rut. The best indication is old rubs and old wallows. Now, the idea is not to find that "10" who was on the barstool last year, It is to find an area where elk in general and bulls in particular were hanging out last year. If the signs show they hung out there for the past few years, that is even better. Thats a good indication that they were not particularly disturbed by hunters in those hang outs. Might not be undisturbed in the coming season, but, it is called "hunting". :haha:

Elk are funny animals, when they are disturbed they will often vacate areas and relocate miles away. They know exactly where they are going when they beat feet. OTOH, if undisturbed, they tend to hang out in areas that they are comfortable in.

"Comfortable" in every sense. Elk seek comfort more than deer do. Elk travel avenues are nearly always the path of least resistance. They don't like to climb straight up steep hills or even descend them. There travel routes will circle around peaks and hills that they don't feed on and will cross in the saddles between. Every saddle in elk country has a convergence of at least four elk travel routes. They will form an X right there in the saddle. They are more than able to go just about anywhere, but when they have a choice it will be the easy way.

Same with their bedding areas. It will be a comfortable and shady place in September. Usually on the shaded side of the hills.

So, my mission is to find a few new spots that will likely hold elk when the season opens. I know of a few already of course, but last year for instance there were way more hunters than usual. Mostly non res guys. I'm not sure why so many last year but hopefully not so crowded this coming season.

 

[Spikebuck]

Interesting topic. Lots of good comments. Of course Fred and I are in neighboring states and maybe that's why what he said fits what I see too.

One comment on public land hunting...at least in whitetail country...instead of figuring out where the deer are ahead of the season, figure out where the hunters generally are. That's usually easy...within 500 yards of where they can park their truck! :wink: With a map, look at the borders of that public land. What is happening on those borders? Do the people that use that bordering private land do deer drives (from any past experience you have seen in the area)? Is it a private lease or locked up to no hunting? Is there any super-thick brushy, swampy, or incredibly steep terrain (I have taken two B&C bucks on hillsides I had to climb on my hands and knees) or a waterway on the edges? These "obstacles" deter the average hunter, but not deer that are pressured. In other words, I try to figure out where the deer (especially if you're hunting mature buck deer) will go to...which may not be where they are in the summer.

Nothing like "in-season" scouting. Still hunting through an area and then setting up on extremely hot scrapes (by that I mean the pee from the last visit is sitting there fresh) is great pre-rut tactic.

Over the last three years I have used cameras extensively to "inventory" mature bucks on a private 800 acre lease. Almost without exception those mature buck deer change patterns as soon as they go hard antlered. Daytime activity ceases until the pre-rut. Oh...they are in the general area yet, but sitting where I saw them all summer would be a waste of time. In addition, 800 acres ain't all that much as the influence I and my partners and the neighboring hunters will have on these deer is still great, so I still have to understand pressure impacts on the game.

Finally, like some have said, they hunt the same property and find the same patterns year after year. This is why much of my scouting is done in the early spring before green-up. Trails, old scrapes, and rub lines are far more visible and give a good indication of areas deer are using during the hunting season. During the summer, I try to stay out of the woods as much as possible save a monthly quick visit to cameras the change the cards as quickly and quietly as possible.

 

[FishDFly]

Richard is focusing on bar stools! Not sure how that works out?

You totally missed the point, just because you find a last year's rub means nothing at.

 

[FishDFly]

We all have our opinions on what is correct. We have owned our property since 1965 and have a fair grasp on it.

Most tracts in East Texas are less 400 acres and it does not take much to push them off.

I use cameras a lot to monitor what deer are where and when they are out about. The cameras let me monitor the feral hogs and coyotes as well.

A week before bow season we start reducing our activities, the bow hunters are nice enough to push their deer over to us.

I am not sure what scouting brings in value in East Texas, tracks are small, what happened last year means nothing, finding old rubs in July means nothing in November/December.

Guess a person has to define scouting, which state for which critters, what works in Wyoming is not going to work in East Texas on 50 acres.

 

[longcruise]

Not on a small acreage in Texas. In elk country it means a lot. It's not just that simple, of course. For perspective, You may be able to walk across your property in 10 minutes. Here, you need to walk for an hour just to start hunting. Not so much for deer, but certainly for elk. That's if you want to hunt alone.

Finding last year's rub on your property undoubtedly means nothing. It's a useful clue in elk country. Not a guarantee of anything, but finding no sign of rut activities whatsoever can mean a lot.

One thing your area and mine have in common is that it's not a good thing to go blundering about just before the opener.

Hey, you're the one who brought up bar stools. :haha:

 

[FishDFly]

It was an analogy, went by most folks, it was not about bars and stools.

Kind of like Mickey Gilley Place's, looking for love in the wrong places, Pasadena, Texas and the Urban Cowboy.

Deer are not standing where they were standing last year and waiting on you to find them.

Geez.

 

[longcruise]

Flumadiddle!! :haha:

 

[FishDFly]

"something foolish or worthless : nonsense, trash:

I learned a new word, when questions are often asked here, how do I clean my gun, how to I load it, how do I do I get a ball out of the barrel. etc..................

Thanks I have a new word to use here.

rde

 

[longcruise]

It sort of applys to your willful refusal to recognize the difference between scouting on a couple of hundred acre's as opposed to a couple hundred square miles.

 

[FishDFly]

After hunting in New Mexico, Wyoming, and Alaska, I do know the difference between there and a 100 acre patch in East Texas.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

After hunting in New Mexico, Wyoming, and Alaska, I do know the difference between there and a 100 acre patch in East Texas.

Well one would be there are more wild hogs on a 100 acre patch in East Texas, then in all of Wyoming, and Alaska :wink: