What a spring for scouting!

[JoeRE]

Sounds like a great spot Maine. Good luck zeroing on it this fall. I love those multi-year clusters of rubs.

Have you figured out why the bucks set up shop right there year after year? Overlooked/hard to access for other hunters? Good food and doe groups around? Sounds like its probably not just one buck.

[wickedbruiser]

I got pumped just seeing a pounded run like that. Nice find! Look forward to updates and pics.

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[mainebowhunter]

Sounds like a great spot Maine. Good luck zeroing on it this fall. I love those multi-year clusters of rubs.

Have you figured out why the bucks set up shop right there year after year? Overlooked/hard to access for other hunters? Good food and doe groups around? Sounds like its probably not just one buck.

No. It's why I need a bunch more time in there. It not an obvious spot. I would say overlooked. I did find one stand. Looks like rifle. Back in the timber...big type woods. There are a few edges and breaks but nothing that shows on a topo. Boots the ground show this stuff. But it's the old rubs in combo with the newer sign.

Headed back in this afternoon. It's crazy because with all of the scouting...the spots start shuffle in level of importance. Now it's just getting an understanding of the "why" there is so much sign.

Good news...looks like I have good access.

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[headgear]

maine post up an aerial/topo if you aren't worried about others finding the spot, it's always fun to analyze why a buck beds where he does. If you are worried about anyone else finding the spot you can pull aerials later on.

For instance the spot I found yesterday is a classic bigwoods bedding area. A long skinny island with a mess of blow downs, the island has a small pond nearby to pull thermals he can use for a smell advantage. There is also a large ridge near the high ground so in the evenings the buck can smell everything up top with the evening thermals come down. He has good sight lines into the swamp to the east and west and the blow downs provide a ton of cover north and south. This looks to be a rut type bed, its not far from the road really but it is in a spot so he can visit 3-4 large land masses split up by lakes, he might check one for does one night, bed on island and move into one of the other areas the next night. Only 2 fresh rubs that I found but numerous other large rubs from previous seasons concentrated around the bed, all other rubs on the high ground seems to be coming or going from this general area.

[mainebowhunter]

Yeah...I am worried about that. There are local guys on this board...some in the same expander area that I hunt. Plus, their really is not much to be learned from an aerial...there is a very faint edge, couple openings...but that is about it. Really no elevation changes. Pretty flat and kind of wet.

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[mainebowhunter]

Double post...

[mainebowhunter]

Just got back home. Spent good part of the afternoon scouting this same piece again until my cellphone was on the verge of dying. Really got a much better feel for the area. Walked a lot more transitions today. Found a lot of this type of sign coming off the land points. Good runs coming out of the beds heading towards this swale, swampy type area.


Here is what some of the area looks like. Really just good looking deer country. You can get definitely get a big woods feel thats for sure.


Narrowed down today that most of the best sign is in and around the beds. Once the deer cross this trail above, the sign kind of peters out. Again, another edge. Once across the swamp, turns into more open softwood hardwood mix. Really give me a good idea of the wind I need to hunt this on and access route is good to get in here. In fact, guy flagged all the way in...lol. Gun hunters have been in here for sure. But no sign of bowhunters.

Have a few more transitions to scout. Then its time to start figuring out stand placements. There will be a bunch of observation type hunts to get a better feel for what the deer are doing. Plus, need to figure out time of year these deer are here. Biggest thing I am working on now, figuring out direction of travel. Need to figure out a destination point. Since its more of a big woods style hunt, pinning down a food source is a bit tougher. Did find some big big mature oaks. But there did not seem to be a lot of acorns on the ground nor any evidence there ever were acorns on the ground.

I have not really observed/found any really big tracks yet. Been looking, but nothing huge. So still a work in progress. Another scouting trip this week, really should have things dialed in a bit more.

[hunter10]

Maine I find it very interesting how well you can decifer deer sign and put a plan into action. Many scouting trips leave me unsure how to put sign to reason

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[mainebowhunter]

Maine I find it very interesting how well you can decifer deer sign and put a plan into action. Many scouting trips leave me unsure how to put sign to reason

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Thanks! I have made a lot of mistakes along the way...but just keep pluggin. A blind squirrel will finds a nut every once in awhile

Don't get discouraged with it. Keep at it. Its why a lot of guys lose their steam scouting because its hard to take what you find for sign and put a plan of action together. Especially when you are tackling big woods. But once you start to understand it, scouting takes on a WHOLE new meaning. Its like reading a book. Personally, when I am scouting big woods type stuff, I don't walk super fast...I am always scanning for rubs, ground scrapes, edges, beds, terrain features and food sources. I also want to understand direction of travel. Meaning, when the deer leave the beds, where are they headed? Is there a food source they prefer? Why are the deer using this area? What time of year do I think they are using it? Does or bucks? How many mature deer are living in the area I am hunting? The questions are endless.

The #1 thing I am interested in any spot. How do I access it. How do I get in and out with the right wind, with the least amount of disturbance. By finding the beds, by finding the travel routes, I kind of put an X right through areas that I am going to give up.

I also drop points of interest in a map program, beds, scrapes, terrain features...anything that I find interesting. Once I get back home, pulling up on google earth helps me to pinpoint where I am in relation to a parking spot. Where the food sources are in relation to the beds. Where the trails/rubs are in relation to the beds. Also, when I start figuring out where I am going to hang a set, I know how close I am to the bed that I have marked. The bigger the woods, the more important the marks. It really helps get all of the bearings together and start putting together a plan.

Like I said, keep at it. Don't get discouraged.

[mainebowhunter]

Bugged out of work today for a couple hours to walk another edge. Walked basically most of the timber to the south of the bedding areas with all of the sign. Did end up seeing deer while scouting today. That does not happen often. Kind of confirmed mostly what I thought. The deer seem to be heading towards the apple trees nearly .5 miles away down on the edge of the marsh. Found more pounded runs today. Makes 5 that come out of the bedding areas and head that direction. Bucks are using them...finding rubs and ground scrapes every so often. The cutover is pretty old so there is really not tons of browse in the area. There are different ages to some of the cuts. Did find some really mature oak trees. Will keep an eye on them.

Ended up finding more beds today...from the looks of most of the beds, they are not super fresh. But did find some older droppings. Deer definitely do not seem to be using the same beds over and over. Definitely bedding in an area rather than specific beds over and over again. Some of the beds are reused...but looking at the runs and rubs, deer use the area a bunch and bed in the general area. Lots of good, dry, secure bedding.

Now I know my entrance. I know where I want to put cameras. I know where I am going to start hunting in this area. Going to take some observation hunts thats for sure to get things nailed down where I want to be.

The other main thing now is figuring out are their bucks that made it through last season. Did find another stand in the area today. All stands appear to be gun stands. Couple of them appear to be in the right spots. Who knows, I may not even end up hunting here that much this season. Just depends on what bucks I observe where and which ones I think are highest percentage.