Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby stash59 » Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:53 am

Thanx for the bump. Lots of good stuff.


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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Lockdown » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:38 am

Bump
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Babshaft » Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:12 am

Thanks for the bump Lockdown.

I had my first opportunity with the bow at a decent buck this fall because I was late finding the beast and just followed fresh sign to a suspected bedding area. I think the best of both worlds would be to have a ton of quality post season scouting done and then continuously do in season scouting as you hunt those bedding areas. I've heard Dan say (or seen him write) that a lot of times he doesn't even get where he's going because he sees fresh signs, has good suspected bedding and sets up for it.

That's going to be the bulk of my strategy this season. This thread is awesome, thanks again for bumping it for us new guys.
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Tim H » Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:17 am

This is a great thread! There is also a link to Dan's Q and A with Andrae. ;)
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Dpierce72 » Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:15 am

NorthwoodsWiscoHnter wrote:This is a great thread! There is also a link to Dan's Q and A with Andrae. ;)


I bumped it because I thought it was so good...
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby jbone23 » Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:34 am

When in season scouting how much of an emphasis do you put on being quiet or do you move at normal pace to cover more ground?
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:51 am

jbone23 wrote:When in season scouting how much of an emphasis do you put on being quiet or do you move at normal pace to cover more ground?
when in season I scout slow with bow in hand you never know if your going to get a shot and I've killed a bunch of deer walking around during rut you never know what's going to happen the bucks are so pre occupied you get away with alot.
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Rob loper » Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:29 am

Babshaft wrote:Thanks for the bump Lockdown.

I had my first opportunity with the bow at a decent buck this fall because I was late finding the beast and just followed fresh sign to a suspected bedding area. I think the best of both worlds would be to have a ton of quality post season scouting done and then continuously do in season scouting as you hunt those bedding areas. I've heard Dan say (or seen him write) that a lot of times he doesn't even get where he's going because he sees fresh signs, has good suspected bedding and sets up for it.

That's going to be the bulk of my strategy this season. This thread is awesome, thanks again for bumping it for us new guys.



I agree im doing or in the process of the same game plan
Babs i wish we lived by one another we could team up bro. One hunt one film. Would be great times
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Babshaft » Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:47 am

Lopedog699 wrote:
Babshaft wrote:Thanks for the bump Lockdown.

I had my first opportunity with the bow at a decent buck this fall because I was late finding the beast and just followed fresh sign to a suspected bedding area. I think the best of both worlds would be to have a ton of quality post season scouting done and then continuously do in season scouting as you hunt those bedding areas. I've heard Dan say (or seen him write) that a lot of times he doesn't even get where he's going because he sees fresh signs, has good suspected bedding and sets up for it.

That's going to be the bulk of my strategy this season. This thread is awesome, thanks again for bumping it for us new guys.



I agree im doing or in the process of the same game plan
Babs i wish we lived by one another we could team up bro. One hunt one film. Would be great times


Man that’d be awesome! If you ever get the hankering to come up to Canada for a hunt it’d be awesome. I’d love to hunt down your way too.

The only problem with up here is the liberals are every where and there’s too many people who’ve never seen a firearm and have no idea what the vast majority of people do with them. So hunting in the states (I’ve done Mexico as well) is no problem. It’s coming home that I get hammered at the border for trying to bring animal parts or a weapon home.

I’ve been scouting a lot here, but haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for yet. A trip to Dan in March will help with that. Then I’ll get onto it and some good in season scouting/observations should put me where I’d like to be.

I’m excited to watch you film a massive buck getting zipped this fall lope!
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Rob loper » Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:36 pm

Oh i cant wait my brotha i think im on the right track
When you go see dan you gonna learn a ton. He is great my friend you ever wanna take trip to delaware. You always got a spot here to hunt bro
Just say the word. Plenty of room for you babs ill film you sticking a big boy on the marsh anytime
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Missionshooter » Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:22 am

I have 4 spots where I scouted suspecting bedding on windy days during the season and bumped bucks out of their beds. They were all immature bucks, but I marked the beds on my GPS thinking that the spot may be a primary bedding area and I caught a buck in it. We will see. I hunted one spot 4 days after bumping a bordlerine shooter and saw multiple small bucks out of it.
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby Missionshooter » Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:22 am

I have 4 spots where I scouted suspecting bedding on windy days during the season and bumped bucks out of their beds. They were all immature bucks, but I marked the beds on my GPS thinking that the spot may be a primary bedding area and I caught a buck in it. We will see. I hunted one spot 4 days after bumping a bordlerine shooter and saw multiple small bucks out of it.
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby buttonbuck » Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:29 am

PredatorTC wrote:I did a lot more in season scouting this year in the early and late season and my results we actualy pretty good to my surprise. To sum it up, I knew where there were a lot of good deer hanging out because of shinning. Most of these bucks were in areas that I never hunted before so I had to do some in season scouting. One of my biggest helpers were muddy cornfields. Whenever there would be a rain I would walk cornfields and look for where huge tracks were cutting into swamps or thickets. Most of the time it would be a faint trail where the big tracks cut in and I worked my way in and took it from there. I would walk this trail until it looked like it could be a bedding area and then I would set up. I had a few kinda close calls doing this. If I did not hear anything or see anything where I set up I would move in deeper the next night. One time, I moved in deeper and deeper like this three nights in a row and on the third night I ended up settin up too close to the bucks bed and jumping the buck.

I once thought that If you hunted a bucks trail out of his bed that he would smell where you were after you hunted that night and never come down that trail again. Im learning that that is not the case. I think these pressured deer are used to smelling human scent not in there staging area and your ok getting closer and closer until you get in his safe zone. THis is a new strategy for me that im going to play with because I think im onto something. Mybe Dan already talked aobu this at some time though.

Another example: Look at the buck Dan shot this year. A bunch of people were setting up over the bucks rubs that he made at night. I assume people just sat there waiting for the buck night after night. The buck knew the spot was being hunted and did not come thorough that spot till dark. But if someone would have followed the trail with the night rubs they could have gotten closer to the bed and mybe even saw the buck in the distance and made a plan of attack. I guess when I say this, Im speaking from the viewpoint of someone who is trying to figure the buck out. Not Dan who knew what the buck was doing.


Since you’ve posted this, is there anything you’ve observed thats has changed this general strategy. Any sign you used to set up on going down that trail that you now just pass up? If you start bumping satellite deer, do you just set up there? And I’m assuming there is always the threat that if the buck does go to move, he could just stand up and walk the other way but is it pretty typical for them to exit on the same trail they entered? I believe I’ve seen the buck using the same trail to enter/exit on Dans DVDs.

Also, if your going down a trail and it dumps out into ankle high grass or clearing for 50 yards and then thicket. Do you set up on that edge assuming the buck is watching the clearing or push through?
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby mheichelbech » Thu Feb 11, 2021 5:22 am

dan wrote:
MOBIGBUCKS wrote:Dan, how do you do it in comparison to Andre? Your not using a lot of trailcameras are you?

I do the majority of my scouting post season... I find the majority of the buck bedding areas, and try to figure out the best ambush spots for each bed in spring/winter...
Come season, the majority of my scouting is to determine if a decent buck is in an area... High rubs, big tracks, rumors, shining etc... Then I hunt the beds previously scouted starting with the most likely and working may way down the list.
If I never scouted a property before, I sometimes scout with topo's and aerials, or on foot and find what looks most likely to be a good bedding area and get as close as possible and set up...
Often, in some areas I don't even pre-scout, or look for sign. I just trust my spring scouting and move in and hunt the staging from the beds and see what happens... If the bed looked real good in spring, a lot of the time there will be something bedding there when I randomly pick that spot...
I am not as much of a fan of Andraes in season aggressive bedroom assaults as he is.. But, it does work.
I do find, that the more I scout, the more successful my hunts are.

What sign do you see that tells you your at the staging area of a buck? I mean obviously if I see a buck right at dark or maybe he is just too far away I can back track to where he came from but how do you tell how far back you need to be? Also, some of the places I hunt, the bucks are just not on any kind of daily pattern except maybe in the last week of the season and then it’s only if it’s been cold enough to force him to think about food more which it usually isn’t.

That’s the biggest issue I have run into every place I hunt, the bucks just don’t seem to follow any huntable pattern.
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Re: Andre's In Season Scouting Tactics

Unread postby buttonbuck » Thu Feb 11, 2021 5:39 am

mheichelbech wrote:
dan wrote:
MOBIGBUCKS wrote:Dan, how do you do it in comparison to Andre? Your not using a lot of trailcameras are you?

I do the majority of my scouting post season... I find the majority of the buck bedding areas, and try to figure out the best ambush spots for each bed in spring/winter...
Come season, the majority of my scouting is to determine if a decent buck is in an area... High rubs, big tracks, rumors, shining etc... Then I hunt the beds previously scouted starting with the most likely and working may way down the list.
If I never scouted a property before, I sometimes scout with topo's and aerials, or on foot and find what looks most likely to be a good bedding area and get as close as possible and set up...
Often, in some areas I don't even pre-scout, or look for sign. I just trust my spring scouting and move in and hunt the staging from the beds and see what happens... If the bed looked real good in spring, a lot of the time there will be something bedding there when I randomly pick that spot...
I am not as much of a fan of Andraes in season aggressive bedroom assaults as he is.. But, it does work.
I do find, that the more I scout, the more successful my hunts are.

What sign do you see that tells you your at the staging area of a buck? I mean obviously if I see a buck right at dark or maybe he is just too far away I can back track to where he came from but how do you tell how far back you need to be? Also, some of the places I hunt, the bucks are just not on any kind of daily pattern except maybe in the last week of the season and then it’s only if it’s been cold enough to force him to think about food more which it usually isn’t.

That’s the biggest issue I have run into every place I hunt, the bucks just don’t seem to follow any huntable pattern.


Dan suggested watching David Toms on youtube. Just watched this and thought you might want to see it.

Typical Buck Staging Area:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeWxwIo ... GH&index=2


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