Found a couple hours to scout after work yesterday. Hit up a public tract close to home that I’ve been very curious of. Been meaning to get there for a couple years but never seem to find time.
I heard a story of a big buck that got shot last fall, and after thinking about it, I know of 3 big ones in the last 15-20 years that have been killed or seen in this 5 mile stretch. I’ve glassed and shined the area here and there but never see much for bucks.
Curiosity finally got the best of me...
I put on 3.5 miles and didn’t find much for buck sign. A couple small rubs and only 1 scrape. There were a couple fresh sets of tracks in the less than day old snow, and one set caught my attention.
I was focused on the back side of the property. There is a draw that meets up to a wooded slough edge. It’s not a classic buck bedding scenario. Upon reaching it, I don’t think there’s any way you can sneak back here and get into position without bumping deer quite often. Not to mention I’d leave a TON of scent.
They’re bedding all through these trees and on the edges watching the open on both sides. Another issue is it’s hard to know which direction they’ll head in the evening. The bedding runs east and west but they’ll likely be heading South to food.
Shortly after reaching suspected bedding (thick willow trees and buckthorn) 6 deer ran out the other side. One appeared to be a buck with a floppy/damaged ear.
he wasn’t huge but was noticeably bigger than the does. I’m thinking the 3 finger track was his. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for him since he’s so close to home. He almost has to be a 3.5 this fall.
I didn’t find any crazy bedding, it was spread out. I did find a jaw bone in a bed though.
The lone scrape I found did look legit. It was smack dab in the middle of trees (bedding all around) and had trails coming to it from multiple directions. It was concave from years of use and the licking branch had seen some serious use.
The buckthorn made hunting from a tree an issue. However the understory was pretty open. I found a likely ground blind locale and drug some deadfalls in so the canary grass could grow up through them this summer. I’ve got 3 wide open shooting lanes and several more lanes to sneak arrows through. The plan is to wade the slough or kayak to it on a morning hunt. Scent will blow out over the slough. If there’s no wind my thermals should suck down toward it too.
If there’s a shooter in the area this spot will be a solid bet. Still have to scout the other side of the property. Between this public and the neighboring land there were 28 deer out in the stubble field when I left. Only 8 of which were visible from the road...
I’ve said it a million times. If you can’t see the low spots, well... you can’t see.
