Back tracking past season encounters...

[Net Guy]

Will definitely be doing this. Encountered 2 shooter bucks this past season that I want to backtrack. However, both of these areas have a ton of snow on the ground currently, so I think I will hit up both of these spots once the snow melts. In the meantime, trying to scout as many areas and backtrack mature buck tracks that I find.

[Hawthorne]

I do this and it’s how I got my buck last year on public from info I gained tracking a buck around the swamp. Last summer I had a very nice buck on trail cam till velvet shed. I didn’t have area fully scouted so i didn’t hunt him after he relocated. Yesterday I was on a mission to find his sign. I believe I was successful. Found huge rubs in a nearby bedding area and his travel routes and still big fresh tracks in the area. Game is on for fall of 2018!

[Horizontal Hunter]

BTW

Porcupine also eat the cambium layer of trees as well. It looks similar but the teeth are smaller and you will get horizontal teeth marks that you don't get with moose.

Bob

[Tim H]

I started doing this in December when I decided to pull out of the bigwoods. I wanted to get a jump start scouting for next season before the snow got too deep. As one chapter ends, another begins!

[Jackson Marsh]

Good reminder Dan. I've done this on two spots this year so far and have a couple of others I still need to hit.

[tgreeno]

I also do this to every big track I find this time of year in the snow/mud.

[RDubs44]

Going out this weekend for scouting.

Been thinking about this same post in a podcast just recently I have been relistening too.

Excited to get out scouting and keep on keep on for the rest of winter and into spring!

[addisonlee]

This is a great topic! After looking back on past years successes, failures and encounters. Another pattern I've added to boots on the ground is weather pattern and how it can relate to buck movement. It's been an eye opener, but not a huge surprise that weather helps buck movement. More so how deer move with changing weather. Something to consider and look into if you like the extra data. I like using wunderground.com as it shows weather history, barometer pressure, wind speed and direction (screen shot below).

Below is an example of when I killed my buck this year on Monday, October 30 2017 at 4:30pm. There was a major wind switch, along with raising pressure that afternoon. I've started to incorporate this into my analysis and how it relates to buck movement. To add to this, a friend of mine also killed a nice buck the following day around the same time in the afternoon and a different friend killed a buck Thursday afternoon. So they saying "before and after a major storm", really does get the deer moving. Not to say they don't move any other time. Just good extra data to over analysis your own season.

[Dewey]

This is a great topic! After looking back on past years successes, failures and encounters. Another pattern I've added to boots on the ground is weather pattern and how it can relate to buck movement. It's been an eye opener, but not a huge surprise that weather helps buck movement. More so how deer move with changing weather. Something to consider and look into if you like the extra data. I like using wunderground.com as it shows weather history, barometer pressure, wind speed and direction (screen shot below).

Below is an example of when I killed my buck this year on Monday, October 30 2017 at 4:30pm. There was a major wind switch, along with raising pressure that afternoon. I've started to incorporate this into my analysis and how it relates to buck movement. To add to this, a friend of mine also killed a nice buck the following day around the same time in the afternoon and a different friend killed a buck Thursday afternoon. So they saying "before and after a major storm", really does get the deer moving. Not to say they don't move any other time. Just good extra data to over analysis your own season.

Great point. I do the same with all my kills using wunderground. Really cool to see the patterns develop. For whatever reason SW winds have been the key to all of my biggest bucks. Very surprising to me especially during the rut. Not sure why but the data doesn’t lie. I get very excited to see SW winds now even though it means warmer temps.

I think it’s so important to backtrack buck encounters and log data especially on bucks you kill. So many guys kill one and then move on never learning from it. Each one will teach you so much that you can use on future bucks.

[JAK]

I did that to the spot I missed that big one out of this year and found where he beds and found more points I can hunt him from as well. I also plan on doing that in the spot I killed my buck from as well. I know there's bedding there but I really want to dig into hit as I had a few deer give me the slip first time I sat it.

[Dewey]

I think it also good to head back into spots you hunted but didn’t see a buck. So many times beds dry up for whatever reason and will get abandoned. No sense in wasting time hunting spots that will not produce anymore. I usually drop a few off my list every year because post season scouting showed me the beds were no longer being used. I still keep tabs on them though from time to time because all of a sudden they will turn on again. Likely hunting pressure changed or just finally enough bucks around to fill in all the prime bedding. Every year is different and this is why scouting is so important.

[Ghost Hunter]

Every time I see a good buck I think, why was he here? Sooner or later I will walk it out to see why. Especially when you are following a hit deer. It will lead you into its core area a lot times. If I have not been in there I'm marking it on my GPS.

[Killtree]

I never pass up a chance to verify where I suspected a buck has been bedding.
I especially enjoy backtracking one to its bed after I kill it.

[Josh_S]

Definitely worth doing. One particular pot hole swamp I believe is primary buck bedding is extremely hard to access without spooking deer. You either gotta A) climb down a steep bank into swamp muck within eye sight of bedding, or B) choose the less invasive access and hunt literally 30 yds from the road on some variation of a south wind. B seems like the only option for an evening hunt. I hunted next to the road on a south wind early season and pre-rut, and both times was blown at by a deer to the west of me. There was no way the deer winded me or crossed my scent trail, had to have seen or heard me. Well today I found a satellite buck bed I didn't know about 30 yds west of where I was setting up. Looks like I have to come up with a plan C yet to be determined! I did see have a 2.5 yr old in range on the last day of our early bow season traveling from direction of satellite bed, but unfortunately couldn't get a shot.

In smaller pot hole swamps, do the rest of you see that smaller bucks are bedded on the exterior transitions and the big boys are on the interior? I have scouted this 3 different off seasons and found huge rubs and tracks on the interior ever time, but have only seen a 2.5 yr old on the hoof while hunting. Unfortunately the pot hole swamp I'm referring to is right on the corner of public, with road access on 2 sides. Really tough to set up on with so little room.

[Wannabelikedan]

I hunted on cyberscouted intel and a hunch for the most part this past season. I didn’t have anything concrete unless I had hot sign or I observed something in a previous hunt. The first priority of scouting this season is review those areas to confirm if they were legitimately a bust or to nail down the details for this year. Feel it’s better to follow up on familiar areas before moving on to newer stuff.