Thoughts on intrusive summer scouting

[Mibowfreak]

Think long term. Scout whenever you can. Even if you mess up the spot this year you are way ahead for future seasons.

Agreed. If I need intel, I'm getting it. Sometimes our in season scouting is intrusive, but it helps for future seasons. If your worried, hunt from the fringes then push forward. Especially new areas. Cyber or map scouting is huge, don't overlook what it can teach you.

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Solid advice above. The answer to "should I scout more" question is ALWAYS yes.

I would offer one word of wisdom. Have an objective in mind. I find summer scouting much more laborious and quite simply, harder and less productive. It's hot, buggy, muggy, plush, etc. If I'm scouting in the winter or spring, I can just stumble across bedding areas by simply wandering around in the right areas, from my experience this doesn't happen in the summer very much. I would not expect to follow a rub line back to a buck's bedroom but there is critical information that can be obtained. So just identify what intel you want to gather and then draw a logical conclusion if it can be gathered this time of year.

Great information guys. I agree with all of this.

[Dewey]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but if you find very fresh rubs in early September from a buck removing velvet you are most likely in the bucks core area. Without even knowing the exact location of bedding you can get right in his staging area. These rubs may be very faint but know of many using this tactic to kill great bucks. Ideally you want to hunt it immediately if you find it opening day but still doable if you find it shortly before the season then come back later when the season opens as the buck will likely still be in his summer patterns for the first few days of the season or until hunting pressure picks up.

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[Lockdown]

Think long term. Scout whenever you can. Even if you mess up the spot this year you are way ahead for future seasons.

Agreed. If I need intel, I'm getting it. Sometimes our in season scouting is intrusive, but it helps for future seasons. If your worried, hunt from the fringes then push forward. Especially new areas. Cyber or map scouting is huge, don't overlook what it can teach you.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Solid advice above. The answer to "should I scout more" question is ALWAYS yes.

I would offer one word of wisdom. Have an objective in mind. I find summer scouting much more laborious and quite simply, harder and less productive. It's hot, buggy, muggy, plush, etc. If I'm scouting in the winter or spring, I can just stumble across bedding areas by simply wandering around in the right areas, from my experience this doesn't happen in the summer very much. I would not expect to follow a rub line back to a buck's bedroom but there is critical information that can be obtained. So just identify what intel you want to gather and then draw a logical conclusion if it can be gathered this time of year.

Great information guys. I agree with all of this.

x2

I just hung a cam over a bed last week, and also ended up storming a suspected bedding area when I realized the mosquitoes weren't going to let me observe.

Both actions hurt my chances for this year, but the long term knowledge I gained/will gain is worth it for me.

Sitting back and wondering never gets anyone anywhere.

[ Post made via iPhone ]