So much scouting, so little time...

[Lockdown]

Does anyone else want to be 5 places at once? I used to spread myself too thin in my early days, but nowadays I always try and explore SOME new ground. You never know when you’ll find something great.

I had to laugh the other day when I was pinning bedding on OnX. This year I decided stuff that I NEED to get to would be purple. I was trying to pin only the best bedding and properties, but next thing I know I have 12 pins

There’s no way I’ll get to all of it and see everything I need to at my go to spots. Especially this year with all the extra pressure I need to scout human sign.

I wish green up lasted 4 months...

[backstraps]

Im there with ya Lockdown!!

Im going to cancel my onx account just to prevent myself from continuously adding more “want to scout” pins

[ButtonBuckFever]

I'm starting tomorrow. Need to walk off a pile of Christmas food - and drink.

[justdirtyfun]

Told myself that I was bouncing around too much this season. Then....





Went yesterday to drive past a conservation area that I didn't hunt. Plan to scout it good for next year. But I have an explanation. It's thick enough to hold deer all season and most of my other stuff is hill country which goes cold late season.
So you see, I HAVE TO SCOUT IT!

[jkelley1487]

I’m in the same boat. There’s just so many areas I want to check out. We have a new baby this year so time is way more limited. I’m always looking for that next great few spots but haven’t found anything that has me really excited lately. A LOT of human sign on my local public lands though.

[UncleBuck3268]

Haha, this is so true. My OnX is littered with pins that I would like to get to! Some from years past that I still haven’t made it to but keep adding more. Never hurts to have all of the new places to find though. I started my scouting a few days ago and came across a pretty solid bed and a nice rub really close to match it!

I found human tracks at almost off of the beds that I found except for this one.

[Dewey]

I have over 2,000 markers in OnX and over 4,000 marked in my Garmin GPS. Is that a lot?

[Boogieman1]

Must be nice. December scouting usually only means one thing. Tag punched! I applaud those who find themselves in such position and definitely gives u a leg up on the competition. Not exactly the situation I find myself in at the moment. About to be nose to the grindstone for me in hopes of getting one last chance to punch my tag. Been a really crazy season for me. I’m not sure exactly what I am gonna do post season. Feel there are a couple spots I need to spend some time just to make better vs running all over the county putting myself in another close but no cigar situation season. Either way u go it comes down to time and gut feeling so I dunno. But must say I wish I was sleeping in then going scouting at the moment.

[Lockdown]

I’m just glad we haven’t got a bunch of snow dumped on us yet. We have about an inch that we got on Wednesday. That’s perfect for what I want, especially since season is still open. It’s technically in season scouting, so doesn’t get any better than that.

Making it out Sunday and yesterday helps a lot even though they were both short trips. Feels good to get a head start. Got the green light for a scout this weekend too.

This one will be a fun one... just trying to decide if I want to go get kill trees ready at my brand new spot (that looks super promising) or go figure out some remote bedding that I’ve had in the back of my mind for 3-4 years.

[briar]

I had a big area i wanted to look at this year. Tagging my buck october 24, I used my time to scout it. A few Saturdays, and I have as good of a handle on it as I need to. This all for a place I may visit maybe 3 or so times in a year.

The funniest part of it was, id say 75% of this property was of no use to me, but this time narrowed it down a lot. That added to my previous inventory I see no need to further scout until its way closer to hunting time.

I've had my moments where I was feeling pulled in a lot of directions, not anymore, id rather be good at a few places, than throwing darts at a 100 spots. I need my options to be realistic, travel time, access and productivity. Other than that it's just another piece of woods and I may as well go in my backyard.

[Lockdown]

I had a big area i wanted to look at this year. Tagging my buck october 24, I used my time to scout it. A few Saturdays, and I have as good of a handle on it as I need to. This all for a place I may visit maybe 3 or so times in a year.

The funniest part of it was, id say 75% of this property was of no use to me, but this time narrowed it down a lot. That added to my previous inventory I see no need to further scout until its way closer to hunting time.

I've had my moments where I was feeling pulled in a lot of directions, not anymore, id rather be good at a few places, than throwing darts at a 100 spots. I need my options to be realistic, travel time, access and productivity. Other than that it's just another piece of woods and I may as well go in my backyard.

I hear ya. It’s really easy to spread yourself too thin. I did that several years. I have my main stays that I know hold big bucks (usually) and I know those spots like the back of my hand. It’s very important to. Like I said in the podcast I did with Seaz, if you don’t know what to expect, then how do you know exactly what you’re looking at?

Much of my problem is checking out and breaking down new ground is my absolute favorite thing to do. Especially if there’s legit buck bedding there. So I’ll always be on the hunt for the next best thing. It can be tough to find that balance...

[tbunao]

It's really difficult when you start adding several different species into the mix. Prioritize spots and keep adding new spots each year. Become efficient with your scouting. Typically what one piece shows for sign will have similar sign in the same terrain features as another. Recognizing those spots kills wasted time. Certain spots, sign, features, etc. click with everyone differently.
Find what works for you and run with it but continue to grow and learn new things.

Only been here for 2 years and still have a lot of state left to cover along with figuring out different big game animals. It will take a little to cover the 4th largest state but I'm working on it.

Screenshot_20201218-181652_onX Hunt.jpg

[Wannabelikedan]

Ever since I started hunting public ground back in ‘17, I’ve hit that post rut period where I cut loose of what was hot during rut about mid December. Everything dries up and the majority of deer find those thick and nasty retreats no one touches all season. Every year those places can change depending on what the foot traffic is around them. So basically I’m kind of already post season scouting in hopes of kicking up a good buck or throwing a sit at new to me stuff with encouraging sign. It’s put me in the late season game every year and chips away at my post season “work load” for next season. I think what separates what most guys here have to work with and what I’m up against is the shear size of public ground and the amount of potential bedding options. It’s a double edged sword but it’s nice to have something potentially untouched all season that’s housing your last tag.

[mauser06]

I've been trying to add an area or 2 each season. Might come out with a couple different stand locations. That's boots on the ground really diving in and figuring it out the best I can. Doesn't take too long and I have more than I can hunt in a season. Especially when it pays off early in the season. Sometimes end up with nothing...last year I pounded a bunch of stuff and came out with nothing I wanted to go back to hunt.


I also spend a lot of time in the woods through the year. Jun-sept is about the only time I'm not out there doing something...so I'm always dropping pins.


When I'm doe hunting or turkey hunting, I often times purposely head to unknown ground just to see it.


Kind of interesting...my early season buck bedding hunts...seems like the 2nd year is when it pays off. Scout it, hunt it a time or 2...then the next year is when I kill one there.

[briar]

I agree lockdown, scouting, in good weather, especially with a friend is my favorite thing to do all year. Generally her, its a one month a year thing...April. this year we had snow by early December, which im not messing with, and from May til hunting its leaves and bugs and I generally never enjoy that.

If you get an area that looks promising imo the best info you have is collected within a couple days of when your hunting. Outside of that, at least here, things are changing so rapidly in the season, that if your not on that new sign in a few days, your chasing ghosts.

I tend to focus way more on eliminating unusable spots. Im no beast, I'm not driving 2 hours, walking in a mile, using a boat, or fighting a bunch of briars or cutovers. I love exploring, but when it comes to actually hunting, I need it to be realistic, or its just not useful for me, that makes my scouting so much more concentrated and time efficient.