Scout same areas yearly/annually?

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MNarrow
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Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby MNarrow » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:11 am

Hello all, following the Beast for a few years but have never really applied any of the tactics.

I hunt a lot of public land in MN. Lots of marshes around here by me. In regards to scouting.......I understand the summertime observation stands/glassing/shining and basically not be intruding on buck beds.

I want to add more public properties and once I scout a piece in the spring before green-up, is it necessary to scout these same properties every spring? Or would efforts for springtime scouting be better used for new properties each year?

I'm also not quite understanding the winter vs spring scouting.......what would the benefits of winter scouting be compared to spring? I read one thread where someone said they use the winter scouting to get a feel for the lay of the land and the spring scouting to really hone in on what the sign looks like? Couldn't that be both be done during just a spring scouting trip?


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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:36 am

MNarrow wrote:Hello all, following the Beast for a few years but have never really applied any of the tactics.

I hunt a lot of public land in MN. Lots of marshes around here by me. In regards to scouting.......I understand the summertime observation stands/glassing/shining and basically not be intruding on buck beds.

I want to add more public properties and once I scout a piece in the spring before green-up, is it necessary to scout these same properties every spring? Or would efforts for springtime scouting be better used for new properties each year?

I'm also not quite understanding the winter vs spring scouting.......what would the benefits of winter scouting be compared to spring? I read one thread where someone said they use the winter scouting to get a feel for the lay of the land and the spring scouting to really hone in on what the sign looks like? Couldn't that be both be done during just a spring scouting trip?


In west central MN once the snow gets deep most properties I know of are ghost towns. Winter bedding and fall bedding are worlds apart in many cases. The deer bed much more loosely than they would in the fall when they’re pressured. It can be property specific.

I mainly use winter scouting (if it’s even possible) to get an idea of the lay of the land and familiarize myself with the property.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Smitty » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:11 am

While it never hurts to snoop around in the winter I feel sign wise your missing a lot if there is a good amount of snow. Also if you feel you know an area really well I wouldn’t necessarily scout it every spring unless you observe the deer start doing something that you don’t understand. I do think the best time to get in some time in new areas would be during the spring before green up. I messed that up this year and checked out a couple when there was too much snow and like lockdown said they’re ghost towns although I know they will be worth a sit or two in the fall. So I would say try to stockpile as many good areas as possible I feel even if you make a couple mistakes your odds will increase just by being in a spot for the first time.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Bman409 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:28 am

MNarrow wrote:Hello all, following the Beast for a few years but have never really applied any of the tactics.

I hunt a lot of public land in MN. Lots of marshes around here by me. In regards to scouting.......I understand the summertime observation stands/glassing/shining and basically not be intruding on buck beds.

I want to add more public properties and once I scout a piece in the spring before green-up, is it necessary to scout these same properties every spring? Or would efforts for springtime scouting be better used for new properties each year?

I'm also not quite understanding the winter vs spring scouting.......what would the benefits of winter scouting be compared to spring? I read one thread where someone said they use the winter scouting to get a feel for the lay of the land and the spring scouting to really hone in on what the sign looks like? Couldn't that be both be done during just a spring scouting trip?




Best time to scout is during the fall during the hunting season, after you've tagged out or stopped hunting


Its a no brainer.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby MNarrow » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:46 am

Lockdown wrote:In west central MN once the snow gets deep most properties I know of are ghost towns. Winter bedding and fall bedding are worlds apart in many cases. The deer bed much more loosely than they would in the fall when they’re pressured. It can be property specific.

I mainly use winter scouting (if it’s even possible) to get an idea of the lay of the land and familiarize myself with the property.

Sounds good. I think I'll try wait until the snow is gone and before green-up.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby MNarrow » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:47 am

Smitty wrote:While it never hurts to snoop around in the winter I feel sign wise your missing a lot if there is a good amount of snow. Also if you feel you know an area really well I wouldn’t necessarily scout it every spring unless you observe the deer start doing something that you don’t understand. I do think the best time to get in some time in new areas would be during the spring before green up. I messed that up this year and checked out a couple when there was too much snow and like lockdown said they’re ghost towns although I know they will be worth a sit or two in the fall. So I would say try to stockpile as many good areas as possible I feel even if you make a couple mistakes your odds will increase just by being in a spot for the first time.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, plan would be stock pile a bunch of prime bedding areas!!!
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby MNarrow » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:48 am

Bman409 wrote:Best time to scout is during the fall during the hunting season, after you've tagged out or stopped hunting


Its a no brainer.

This is good advice that I always forget about because I guess it's always on my mind that I will be hunting until season closes. But, yes, would be opportune time!
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:40 am

MNarrow wrote:
Lockdown wrote:In west central MN once the snow gets deep most properties I know of are ghost towns. Winter bedding and fall bedding are worlds apart in many cases. The deer bed much more loosely than they would in the fall when they’re pressured. It can be property specific.

I mainly use winter scouting (if it’s even possible) to get an idea of the lay of the land and familiarize myself with the property.

Sounds good. I think I'll try wait until the snow is gone and before green-up.


If the snow isn’t deep have at it. You can still separate the marginal spots from the goods, but the fine tuning can be tricky. It’s nice to be able to head strait to the good stuff when the snow melts.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Ashreve93 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:24 pm

Regarding spring scouting the same spot every year, it depends on how well you did the first time and what you saw during season. If movement was as predicted, then there is no reason to rescout. If you saw something that intrigued you, by all means get in there and check it out a second time! Rescouting the same land isn't like scouting from scratch, It's more refined. And you'll most likely find what you're looking for a lot faster. It most certainly is not a waste of time.

If you find yourself scouting the same section of woods year after year with no prevail, you may way to try honing in on your scouting skills. Or move on to a section of land that harbors the deer you're after.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby stash59 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:08 pm

Ashreve93 wrote:Regarding spring scouting the same spot every year, it depends on how well you did the first time and what you saw during season. If movement was as predicted, then there is no reason to rescout. If you saw something that intrigued you, by all means get in there and check it out a second time! Rescouting the same land isn't like scouting from scratch, It's more refined. And you'll most likely find what you're looking for a lot faster. It most certainly is not a waste of time.

If you find yourself scouting the same section of woods year after year with no prevail, you may way to try honing in on your scouting skills. Or move on to a section of land that harbors the deer you're after.


This^^^^^. Learning all of this takes practice. Going back into an area or two may help you get it figured out quicker in the long run.
Happiness is a large gutpile!!!!!!!
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:08 pm

For me it depends how well u learned the area u scouted the year before. If u still haven't cracked that one and have the same unanswered questions u did b4, then I would consentrate there b4 another attempt at somewhere knew. Atleast find out if there's a buck there some phase of the season u care to shoot. If not, then yes cut bait and find greenier pastures.

Also, depends on what kind of buck u r after. If any ole buck will do things are a lot simpler. The higher u raise the bar the tougher it gets and the more searching for just a buck to hunt u must do.

Personally, I like to know a property inside and out. I want to know habits, tendencies, food sources, travel routes, beds yada yada.... This is were I get my confidence. The scouting is the real hunting when u r in your tree your just waiting to cash the check.

Don't want it to come across as easy cause it's not. Takes time and effort. But the cool thing is when u start putting the pieces together u will notice the same things transfer over to diff properties. Which then speeds up the whole process. Anyhow good luck
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby treeroot » Thu Sep 12, 2019 1:40 am

I like to use snow for tracking. I've found it sometimes shows a travel route I might've missed.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby Crazy4bucks » Thu Sep 12, 2019 3:14 am

For marshes I like to winter scout. Preferably late December early January. You can cover way more ground when things are frozen. Sometimes the snow will be gone and the ice is still walkable in March which is good scouting too. Just be prepared to get wet scouting in poor ice conditions.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby MNarrow » Thu Sep 12, 2019 3:22 am

Crazy4bucks wrote:For marshes I like to winter scout. Preferably late December early January. You can cover way more ground when things are frozen. Sometimes the snow will be gone and the ice is still walkable in March which is good scouting too. Just be prepared to get wet scouting in poor ice conditions.

This is a good point for frozen marshes. For new marshes, winter is probably much preferable to cover lots of ground quickly and then do some spring time scouting to really hone in and any promising areas you find during the winter.
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Re: Scout same areas yearly/annually?

Unread postby headgear » Thu Sep 12, 2019 4:32 am

I am a big proponent of scouting some areas multiple years in a row, a lot can happen during the course of a season and even from year to year. Once I started scouting some spots every year it became much more clear to me what areas get used more often by mature bucks and what spots were kind of one and done areas. It isn't easy to hit them all but after you know an area you can usually cover the ground in a fraction of the time it takes you to scout it the first time. I sometimes plan my scouting routes to check an old spot on the way to a new area I need to scout more.


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