Quick scouting in season

[magicman54494]

How did you enter your stand location the next two days of hunting?

Ed, I the white x is where I parked. The white line is my path. The area marked in yellow was an old cut and the deer were not using that area so I walked on the west edge of it. It was niosy as heck because of all the dead popple branches but I didn't care about the noise. I was more concerned about not leaving my scent where deer usually walked. The easiest and quietest way in was to walk just inside the mature timber on the east side of that cut. The deer were using that edge a lot so I didn't want to go that way.

[Schubox1265]

Magic

what aerial viewer are you using? I am not familiar with that one.

[ Post made via Android ]

[magicman54494]

Magic

what aerial viewer are you using? I am not familiar with that one.

[ Post made via Android ]

ACME mapper

[Schubox1265]

Magic

what aerial viewer are you using? I am not familiar with that one.

[ Post made via Android ]

ACME mapper

Another tool for the box. Thanks.

[Ognennyy]

The blue lines are the places I walked looking for sign. I checked out the three beaver dams (marked with orange lines) and noted that there was good activity on the west and central ones. I also noted buck rubs and scrapes (noted with red squares). The rubs were decent and plentiful so I knew there was a good buck very active in this area. The yellow areas are clear cuts. They were pretty much grown over to the point where they no longer were real good food sources. I hoped they would be newer but couldn’t tell from the photos. The area marked with grey had a lot of doe activity. The pink lines are what I believed were the buck travel routes.

What made you so confident that you had discovered the buck travel routes? And how did you find so many rubs and scrapes on a first scout?

I scout new areas of the big woods up in NY's Adirondacks all the time. I assume the Adirondack mountains are similar to your hunting area. We have 1.4 deer per square mile where I hunt, and the terrain even looks similar in aerials. In my four seasons of hunting I have found a total of two scrapes, one that was basically never used.

[magicman54494]

The blue lines are the places I walked looking for sign. I checked out the three beaver dams (marked with orange lines) and noted that there was good activity on the west and central ones. I also noted buck rubs and scrapes (noted with red squares). The rubs were decent and plentiful so I knew there was a good buck very active in this area. The yellow areas are clear cuts. They were pretty much grown over to the point where they no longer were real good food sources. I hoped they would be newer but couldn’t tell from the photos. The area marked with grey had a lot of doe activity. The pink lines are what I believed were the buck travel routes.

What made you so confident that you had discovered the buck travel routes? And how did you find so many rubs and scrapes on a first scout?

I scout new areas of the big woods up in NY's Adirondacks all the time. I assume the Adirondack mountains are similar to your hunting area. We have 1.4 deer per square mile where I hunt, and the terrain even looks similar in aerials. In my four seasons of hunting I have found a total of two scrapes, one that was basically never used.

I scouted using aerial photos. I like rivers or water in general. deer seem to walk the edges. there is usually feed and bedding as well so this spot stuck out at me plus it has several beaver dams which are awesome crossing spots. The fact that one side of the river was tore up with rubs and scrapes told me a buck(s) was traveling it often. I was pretty sure (guessing) that he was bedding near by. believe me, it isnt often when I find so much buck sign. I even guessed that he was a good 3-4 year old who finally was able to compete with the other bucks and he was more than happy to rub and scrape everything in sight to show he was ready. older bucks dont tend to get as aggressive in leaving that much sign. The buck I ended up killing fit that description perfectly. Im almost certain he was the one tearing everything up.

[Ognennyy]

So your assumptions about the buck travel routes were essentially also educated guesses that would logically connect the dots for everything else you were seeing? I suppose in the context of how your story played out it's not really important if you were 100% right or not since your setup was not based on catching him moving somewhere out in the middle of the forest. You just seem very confident about your scouting; a quality for which I envy anyone, and one that I know will take me decades to develop.

[magicman54494]

So your assumptions about the buck travel routes were essentially also educated guesses that would logically connect the dots for everything else you were seeing? I suppose in the context of how your story played out it's not really important if you were 100% right or not since your setup was not based on catching him moving somewhere out in the middle of the forest. You just seem very confident about your scouting; a quality for which I envy anyone, and one that I know will take me decades to develop.

I have tracked so many mature bucks that I kinda think like they do. For the record, I am wrong way more times than I am right. Even if you guess right, you still need that buck to show up during the light of day. Knowing how they operate helps to put you in a good spot and gives you the confidence to stick it out. I sat there for a half day without seeing a deer then I saw a doe and fawn the next day then I killed him around noon the third day. How many other guy would have stuck it out that long?

[Ognennyy]

Knowing how they operate helps to put you in a good spot and gives you the confidence to stick it out. I sat there for a half day without seeing a deer then I saw a doe and fawn the next day then I killed him around noon the third day. How many other guy would have stuck it out that long?

Not many based especially on the comments above from years ago. I too think I would've figured that after the second sit the buck surely would've detected my presence, and that there was no chance of him showing up in daylight.

Thanks for the great post and relevant point back to it from the in-season scouting thread.

[Swampbuck]

Good write up, I think giving a spot a few hunts at the right time works more than alot of people think. When the spot is right sometimes it takes a few hunts for the deer to show up so doing a one and done is leaving it on the table.

[BorealBushMN]

Awesome stuff, Magic!

[creepingdeth]

Whoever bumped this, thanks. This kind of info and Magic's words about being confident is crucial. All guys who hunt only bigwoods get my kudos.Super, super tough.