What do you do?

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Coalcracker
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What do you do?

Unread postby Coalcracker » Sun Feb 14, 2021 3:04 am

When winter conditions are worse than they've been in quite a few years? My area of Pa has been socked in with snow for some time now and it looks to get worse (ice and more snow on the way).

I'm an avid late winter, early spring deer scouter but when we do have winters like this I wait until later in the year (April or Turkey season- May) to do my "post" season scouting. My thinking has been #1. The deer have been seriously stressed and don't need me bouncing them around. #2. IMO anyway, Its hard to figure out much when it comes to "fall" deer sign with heavier snow cover. Yes, you find rubs, potentially preferred travel routes in certain terrain and possibly preferred bedding locations, but, I would think much of that has to do with winter food sources and staying out of the weather. Don't get me wrong, that's all good to know, anything is good to know but its certainly not specific to fall sign.

Is this a good approach to wait until April/May? Should I completely disregard "post" season scouting this year and wait for summer to evaluate herd conditions/populations? Or am I being dramatic and continue with my regiment soon as snow melts off?

I know some of you deal with this every year.

Thoughts?


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MichiganMike
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:10 am

I still like to wait until March or April when the snow is melted and you can really get a good look at previous fall sign- Rubs, scrapes, beds etc. This time of year I think you can still get some good intel and see what's still around and their primary travel routes, but its just hard to cover ground in deep snow. The only sign your really relying on this time of year though is tracks, poop, and browse.

I certainly wouldn't disregard post season scouting- but keep in mind, post season scouting is usually only relevant for pre-rut and rut time. Usually its not conducive for early season or even late season for that matter. They'll usually change their pattern and location- unless he locked in to a core area that holds everything he needs. Big bucks can be home bodies, and they can move. I've seen both. For early season hunting, I scout in summer up until a couple weeks before bow opener. My early season scouting revolves around AG or white oaks if their dropping, not usually where I post season scouted rut sign. But again- if there is early season sign where I believe is/was a rut location, it'll get my attention and I may set up in there. It all depends on what I find then. I hope that makes sense
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Lockdown » Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:50 am

Everything changes so much that I don’t scout much at all when the snow is super deep. Like you said, the sign from last fall will be buried. If I do scout, I’m mostly interested in knowing which public properties are still holding deer. That way if we get dumped on in early/mid December, I know where to look on those last days of bow season.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Lockdown » Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:55 am

If I was hard up for spots, I would certainly utilize those mid winter days for speed scouting new areas. Get a set of snow shoes and go get a work out! You can still see rubs often enough, as well as licking branches and hunter sign. Even without deep snow, once in a while I like to go in and get a feel for a property before getting really invasive.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Moose » Sun Feb 14, 2021 6:36 am

We have been hammered with snow and COLD! When it gets this bad i wait. The highs have been -5 and windchills -30 or more. Thats just to much for me personally. Sounds like it will finally warm up in a week to the Teens! Im also in the transition to turkey mode now. Stay safe in these brutal conditions.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:16 am

Lockdown wrote:If I was hard up for spots, I would certainly utilize those mid winter days for speed scouting new areas. Get a set of snow shoes and go get a work out! You can still see rubs often enough, as well as licking branches and hunter sign. Even without deep snow, once in a while I like to go in and get a feel for a property before getting really invasive.

Exactly. That’s my main reason for mid winter scouting. Snow shoes were a must last weekend and I covered a lot of miles. Great time to get out and get a feel for the land. Also perfect time to track bucks back to very secure primary bedding they use year round. I found many of my best fall bedding areas while snow scouting. Contrary to popular belief some winter bedding is also the same the rest of the year even though many think it’s totally different. When you find those super secure spots it’s easy to understand why.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby mauser06 » Sun Feb 14, 2021 10:51 am

I'm with you....I wait till weather breaks.



I've read deer can handle really cold....and they can handle deep snow or heavily crusted snow....but real cold and tough food conditions is what equates to high(er) winter kills.


Like you said, I don't wanna be out there bumping them around. I'm in NW PA...we don't have a ton of snow right now...but what we do have is heavily crusted. I know that makes wildlifes job of gathering food even tougher.


I do like to get out in winter conditions to see where they are because I like hunting late season. But I try to catch a warm sunny day or I don't go.



Bucks especially are in bad shape. I came from SW PA shooting farmland bucks. They weren't bad. Now living up north, I see post rut bucks and it's amazing how lean they get. My Ohio bigger woods buck was the same. Just don't have the agriculture and get really lean.


Definitely something I take into consideration as much as I wanna be in the woods...this is a tough time of year for a lot of wildlife...not just deer.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby brancher147 » Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:44 am

I am waiting. We have over a foot of snow in the mountains with multiple layers of ice. I don’t care what you use snowshoes or cross country skis it’s not worth it and I’ve tried it. The areas I hunt are way too steep to be messing around in this stuff. Not to mention deer are just trying to survive and not in the areas they were during season and you can’t see old sign on the ground. I’m not too worried about losing some post season scouting as I do more in season scouting now anyway and I don’t mind scouting in summer late spring/summer if needed
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MichiganMike
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:40 pm

brancher147 wrote:I am waiting. We have over a foot of snow in the mountains with multiple layers of ice. I don’t care what you use snowshoes or cross country skis it’s not worth it and I’ve tried it. The areas I hunt are way too steep to be messing around in this stuff. Not to mention deer are just trying to survive and not in the areas they were during season and you can’t see old sign on the ground. I’m not too worried about losing some post season scouting as I do more in season scouting now anyway and I don’t mind scouting in summer late spring/summer if needed

Well said!
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Coalcracker » Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:55 pm

Appreciate the replies.

Looking things over, I will wait it out this year. On top of what I already mentioned, we had a poor mast year in my area. The bucks we killed in rifle season (Dec.) were flat out run down and the doe didn't have their typical layers of fat either.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby briar » Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:48 am

I try to take advantage of any time i have. Half of scouting for me is eliminating unproductive ground. Once ive done that my spring is spent narrowing it down and revisiting places i liked. For me its all about time. The more i can spread it out over the year the better. Just getting a buck earlier this year helped me immensely i spent the rest of my fall and winter making what for me was a long trip (45 min) and just hiking and looking.

I now have a huge set of spots id like to at least sit and learn even more for next year.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby RatMe » Wed Feb 17, 2021 12:05 pm

This is an interesting thread. I guess I figured most people would be in the woods 24/7 for various reasons and some good points have been made on both sides of the matter. I'll give my two cents.

First, before you are going out think about what the goals of the scouting session are. If you go in thinking you are going to find scrapes or even rubs, they may be a few feet under the snow at this juncture.

Second, I change where I hunt based on what part of the season it is. For me, winter is a great time to get into the early season habitats. The scrubby bramble stuff where deer have long vacated. I find it helpful to check "set up" trees and cross reference them spatially with suspected bedding. It is great time to see the entire lay of the land as well. If a tree has come down do to age, weather, or other circumstances it is nice to know this prior to setting up next year.

In short, knowledge can be gained by being in the woods no matter what the season. I would however say, if you are questioning whether you should go out, then probably you should give it a rest. In contrast, If it's still is the other thing you can think about, even in the dead of winter, then get your tail out the door. Life is too short.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby UncleBuck3268 » Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:01 pm

I figure any time that you have and you are not in the woods is wasted time. I’ll go out in the foot deep snow for easy access with ice, and if I find anything worth going back I will do so as soon as everything thaws.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Lonewolf57 » Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:20 am

One good thing about getting out now is horns are starting to fall, even if you dont see them in the deep snow you know where to look when conditions get better.
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Re: What do you do?

Unread postby Sailfish_WC » Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:55 am

Moose wrote:The highs have been -5 and windchills -30 or more. .


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