Snow depth and scouting season?

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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby B Hunter » Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:14 am

Thanks Dewey. Great info!


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isitseasonyet?
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby isitseasonyet? » Thu Feb 28, 2019 10:41 am

How about chest deep snow? :lol:
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Dewey
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Feb 28, 2019 10:54 am

isitseasonyet? wrote:How about chest deep snow? :lol:

Luckily we don’t have to deal with that in the southern 1/2 of WI but I will be up in the northwoods soon enough and plan to strap on my snowshoes and do some exploring.
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby tgreeno » Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:52 am

greenhorndave wrote:
tgreeno wrote:
I'll be out Friday & Sunday, looking for a few of those primary bedding areas Dewey.


Same here. I might be asking guys that might I bump into if they’re tgreeno. :D


Never heard of him ;) 8-)
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby JAK » Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:04 pm

Dewey wrote:
isitseasonyet? wrote:How about chest deep snow? :lol:

Luckily we don’t have to deal with that in the southern 1/2 of WI but I will be up in the northwoods soon enough and plan to strap on my snowshoes and do some exploring.

Just ordered a pair of snow shoes its bad up hear :lol: . Wife wasnt to happy but i told her i need to scout.
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MN_DeerHunter
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Sat Mar 02, 2019 3:00 am

JAK wrote:
Dewey wrote:
isitseasonyet? wrote:How about chest deep snow? :lol:

Luckily we don’t have to deal with that in the southern 1/2 of WI but I will be up in the northwoods soon enough and plan to strap on my snowshoes and do some exploring.

Just ordered a pair of snow shoes its bad up hear :lol: . Wife wasnt to happy but i told her i need to scout.


What kind you go with? I've been wanting to order some too but don't want to spend $100 on em
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creepingdeth
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby creepingdeth » Sat Mar 02, 2019 3:52 am

Hate to jump on the Dewey bandwagon, but when he chimes in, hes got some great bits of wisdom to share.
1. Better lay of the land makes me more comfortable
2. any rubs seen will be higher on the tree made by a bigger buck
3.I hunt mostly in hill country, but unseen land formations can be seen easily in snow cover opposed to green-up. Can I find a better way in??
4. Beds, I know its already been discussed as far as yearround or temporary, but I can go back later and find out.No matter what the outcome, I'm going to be able to 1+1 together and learn something.
5. I just love being out. I know I'm going to see something cool AND learn something. Wanna be a good guitar player, play alot. Wanna be a good hunter, put in the time. I already know I cant buy$$ my wat there...time to get busy :mrgreen:
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JAK
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby JAK » Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:26 am

MN_DeerHunter wrote:
JAK wrote:
Dewey wrote:
isitseasonyet? wrote:How about chest deep snow? :lol:

Luckily we don’t have to deal with that in the southern 1/2 of WI but I will be up in the northwoods soon enough and plan to strap on my snowshoes and do some exploring.

Just ordered a pair of snow shoes its bad up hear :lol: . Wife wasnt to happy but i told her i need to scout.


What kind you go with? I've been wanting to order some too but don't want to spend $100 on em

I got some yukon charlie one not sure what style they had a big sale on them 53 $ ill try to post link
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JAK
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby JAK » Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:32 am

JAK wrote:
MN_DeerHunter wrote:
JAK wrote:
Dewey wrote:
isitseasonyet? wrote:How about chest deep snow? :lol:

Luckily we don’t have to deal with that in the southern 1/2 of WI but I will be up in the northwoods soon enough and plan to strap on my snowshoes and do some exploring.

Just ordered a pair of snow shoes its bad up hear :lol: . Wife wasnt to happy but i told her i need to scout.


What kind you go with? I've been wanting to order some too but don't want to spend $100 on em

I got some yukon charlie one not sure what style they had a big sale on them 53 $ ill try to post link

Image
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JAK
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby JAK » Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:34 am

JAK wrote:
JAK wrote:
MN_DeerHunter wrote:
JAK wrote:
Dewey wrote:
isitseasonyet? wrote:How about chest deep snow? :lol:

Luckily we don’t have to deal with that in the southern 1/2 of WI but I will be up in the northwoods soon enough and plan to strap on my snowshoes and do some exploring.

Just ordered a pair of snow shoes its bad up hear :lol: . Wife wasnt to happy but i told her i need to scout.


What kind you go with? I've been wanting to order some too but don't want to spend $100 on em

I got some yukon charlie one not sure what style they had a big sale on them 53 $ ill try to post linkhttps://www.bobwards.com/yukon-charlies-mountain-profile-snowshoe-kit-163330
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby tgreeno » Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:32 pm

Dewey wrote:
The key is primary beds. These are preferred beds that are used year round no matter what the conditions are. When you find one you will immediately know it because it has the perfect mix of security cover and the buck has the ability to detect danger from a long distance. Find a few of these and plan how to hunt them and you will increase your mature buck sightings dramatically. Like I mentioned before if your not snow scouting to find those beds you are missing out on a big piece of the puzzle. The problem is if you wait till snowmelt especially in marshes and swamps more than likely you may not be able to access those primary beds. Mature bucks have a knack for finding primary security bedding that is surrounded by water giving them even more layers of security. As we all know the closer you can set up on the fringes of this the better your odds of seeing the buck in daylight. Get outside that staging area too far and your just wasting hunts. Gather up as many of those primary beds as you can. It will pay off later I guarantee it. Don’t let the snow scare you away.


Dewey, I was out today, and found some really good looking bedding. Big beds & tracks. Looked primary. But nothing for rubs. Have you seen this before in your "good" stuff? I've heard from Dan say, in some of his primary bedding areas, the mature buck don't feel they need to rub. So he doesn't see much.
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Dewey
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:00 pm

tgreeno wrote:
Dewey wrote:
The key is primary beds. These are preferred beds that are used year round no matter what the conditions are. When you find one you will immediately know it because it has the perfect mix of security cover and the buck has the ability to detect danger from a long distance. Find a few of these and plan how to hunt them and you will increase your mature buck sightings dramatically. Like I mentioned before if your not snow scouting to find those beds you are missing out on a big piece of the puzzle. The problem is if you wait till snowmelt especially in marshes and swamps more than likely you may not be able to access those primary beds. Mature bucks have a knack for finding primary security bedding that is surrounded by water giving them even more layers of security. As we all know the closer you can set up on the fringes of this the better your odds of seeing the buck in daylight. Get outside that staging area too far and your just wasting hunts. Gather up as many of those primary beds as you can. It will pay off later I guarantee it. Don’t let the snow scare you away.


Dewey, I was out today, and found some really good looking bedding. Big beds & tracks. Looked primary. But nothing for rubs. Have you seen this before in your "good" stuff? I've heard from Dan say, in some of his primary bedding areas, the mature buck don't feel they need to rub. So he doesn't see much.

I rarely find rubs right in primary beds. Usually nearby in the staging area but it’s not unusual to find no rubs at all. Some bucks don’t leave many rubs for whatever reason so I don’t base a bedding area just on that. Measuring beds in the snow along with the tracks will help you figure out if your dealing with a mature buck or not. When scouting I carry a fabric tape measure to check sizes of beds. If I find any over 48” I know I’m dealing with an older buck. Many don’t believe dropping size matters but I disagree with that. If I find 3/4”-1” dropping I get pretty excited because more often than not I have associated those with a trophy class buck.

Here is a link with some good tips.

http://www.drnordbergondeerhunting.com/ ... Areas.html

I have followed Dr. Ken’s stuff for many years and find it to be very helpful. The part talking about overlooked velvet rubs is especially interesting.
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby B Hunter » Sun Mar 03, 2019 11:39 am

I rented a pair of red feathers today at a local nature reserve for $4. With the light, powder snow I still sunk well over a foot. I was pretty wore out after 2 miles. I can't justify $100 + with only being able to go 2 miles a day. The shoes seemed good quality though and I'll be looking for a used pair to buy. Just not worth the new price to me.
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headgear
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Re: Snow depth and scouting season?

Unread postby headgear » Sun Mar 03, 2019 11:54 am

isitseasonyet? wrote:Does a lot of snow make scouting season longer?


I've seen it where the scouting seasons are actually shorter but a lot depends on the weather, we had some brutal springs a while back, maybe 2011-2014 or around those years. I remember one fishing opener mid-May there was still a foot of snow in the woods and we went from snow to green up in no time. The best scouting years to me are not a ton of snow so I can scout most of the winter and then a cool spring that keeps green up from coming too early. Even then the prime scouting season up north can be a kind of tight window, once those days start getting longer things can happen fast.

This year isn't looking good, April and May are usually my prime scouting months with the end of May usually about the end of it. With the amount of snow we have it might take all of April to melt everything, might have to buy me a scouting snowmobile just to keep up. :lol:


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