Who had their ducks in a row?

[Jonny]

I think I have a good chance to be eating venison again this time next year

[sagDE]

I have a lot of spots lined up, don’t think any of them hold anything huge but I get 5 doe tags and only 2 buck tags. Found a few really good areas though. This will be my first full season Beast style so I’ll have to see if what I learned scouting pans out or if I just waisted time.

[Trail]

I have a few spots picked out that I hope will produce some bucks. College has taken a ton of time out of my spring scouting but I hope I get out this summer and find some beds as well as glass a few bucks.

[HuntingParadise]

First year hunting public so feel free to give me some tips. I have a few spots picked out that dont have killer sign but Im excited to come back in early fall and scout one more time to see how the deer sign is as well as shining the near by ag fields. I have some spots that I picked out for potential hunts but like I said not a ton of sign, but moreso it makes sense in my head that a buck would be there with some sign from the previous season also in the area.

As for the private I hunt, last year but a really bad year for bucks. Just didnt have any. Ive made a ton of changes the past two season so Im excited to see whats moved in and where this summer and Ill be able to pick out the killer spots then.

[Brokenarrow1980]

First year hunting public so feel free to give me some tips. I have a few spots picked out that dont have killer sign but Im excited to come back in early fall and scout one more time to see how the deer sign is as well as shining the near by ag fields. I have some spots that I picked out for potential hunts but like I said not a ton of sign, but moreso it makes sense in my head that a buck would be there with some sign from the previous season also in the area.

As for the private I hunt, last year but a really bad year for bucks. Just didnt have any. Ive made a ton of changes the past two season so Im excited to see whats moved in and where this summer and Ill be able to pick out the killer spots then.

Get used to full parking lots!!!!

[rfickes87]

Well the deer has to be somewhere lol. Im very good at finding where they are not at.

I got that nailed too

I have a quote written on a sticky note here at my desk by Nathan Killen "finding nothing is just as important as finding something"

[greenhorndave]

Well the deer has to be somewhere lol. Im very good at finding where they are not at.

I got that nailed too

I have a quote written on a sticky note here at my desk by Nathan Killen "finding nothing is just as important as finding something"

That’s very true now that I think about it. It isn’t fun, but it does help narrow the focus.

[Brokenarrow1980]

Only difference is this year I won't dwell in these areas hoping for a buck. Im gonna go find one!!!

[Elite]

I had about 7 spots picked out and scouted 5 of them before green-up. A couple of those spots had little to no intriguing sign so I crossed them off. Two of those spots I’m super pumped about! I also scouted new pieces to properties I’ve hunted but with much more knowledge and attention this time. I learned that one spot is early season and the rest are pre- and rut. I started another kill plot on private I have permission to hunt, and fine tuning my current kill plot.
I’m pumped for this fall and cannot wait to run my cameras and plant the plots in mid to late summer!

[Jsmitty3]

Have some very good but spots ready to rock im fortunate to have lots of private access and some really overlooked public now it’s a matter of narrowing down target deer and finding chinks in their armour in there movements from bedding which is not easy but very fun to think about having multiple years on 8 of my 11 private chunks really helps to predict future movements if you keep notes and pictures but slam dunk is always a tough one for me I find plenty of new ways to screw up each year but I know I’ll be in the game with some big white tails come fall good luck to everyone

[Coalcracker]

I don't believe there are slam dunk spots on public for mature bucks. However, there are locations if approached correctly will produce an opportunity. The key is figuring out how, when, where, what and why. How do I approach the location, when is the best time during the season, what conditions are most favorable, for the buck and me to be in that exact location (where) and why would the buck be there and coming my way.

Personally, I haven't put all this together but along the way, over many years, I've created a lot of intel. I only started zeroing in on buck and doe bedding about five years ago. Finding "good" buck bedding hasn't been a problem. Finding "killer" buck bedding and knowing when to hunt which of the bedding has been the issue. But here's something else I've also come to realize about my scouting in big woods settings. Traditional, historical big buck sign means something. Knowing when, the timing to be there has been the problem for me.

Moving forward, my plan is to "hit and run" by monitoring identified locations where historical big buck sign shows itself. It all starts with finding large tracks. Once I find large tracks in close proximity to the identified bedding and historical rubs/scrapes, I'm moving in on that location. So long as the big sign keeps popping up, I'll keep hunting that location. The objective is to have more than one active location at a time and rotate between them or kill a buck on the first sit.

That's the ducks in a row plan for me. We'll see what happens.

[Tufrthnails]

No slam dunks. I got a couple that I am stoked about from my late season scouting and a few that are historical hotspots I’ll check