In Season Scouting

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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backstraps
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In Season Scouting

Unread postby backstraps » Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:14 am

When your are scouting in season....do you scout in a way to avoid your scent blowing into suspected bedding areas?

For example, if you traveled out of state to hunt public ground youve never been on, and season is open. You have studied your maps, and have general ideas where you want to hunt....how would you quickly determine a good buck is using the bedding areas youve selected on your maps?

Tips/advise greatly appreciated

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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby PLB » Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:09 am

If you can give yourself a couple extra days to low impact scout on an out of state trip, that would be ideal. Glassing and quick spot checks, etc. If not I would cyber scout likely buck bedding areas and move in with stand and sticks and hunt right away before he has the chance to smell you.
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby RUTIN » Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:23 am

Lots of cyber scouting and very aggressive tactics with a stand and stick son my back!
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby dan » Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:39 pm

if you traveled out of state to hunt public ground youve never been on, and season is open. You have studied your maps, and have general ideas where you want to hunt....how would you quickly determine a good buck is using the bedding areas youve selected on your maps?


A lot of the time, I am confident enough to hunt it just based on the map studying... But in some cases I check nearby food sources for fresh big tracks or edge rubs. And then move into the staging area I found on the map... Sometimes maps don't spell it all out. And a lot of the time an aggressive day one move ruins the whole week, in those cases, I don't run right in and hunt. I sit back with bino's from either the road, or an observation stand and watch if its open enough to do so...
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby backstraps » Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:40 pm

I know this is a question that I should know an answer to...but

Dan, when you say you get into the staging areas, I realize you already have determined where the bedding areas are, and the staging areas are where they hold up til last light and enter feeding areas.

What if the feeding areas isnt fields, and rather acorns. With the mass crops ive seen last three years, feeding could be nearly everywhere..so my question is:

If I determine a bedding area I want to hunt..does a mature buck generally exit his bedding area in accordance with the wind direction?

I know you said you have noticed more times than not he will enter with the wind on his back...didnt know if they exited with wind in their face, etc?
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby dan » Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:58 pm

If I determine a bedding area I want to hunt..does a mature buck generally exit his bedding area in accordance with the wind direction?

No... From my observations they head the direction they intend to go, towards food, water, or whatever...

I know you said you have noticed more times than not he will enter with the wind on his back...didnt know if they exited with wind in their face, etc?

Correct, in the morning, they are entering there bedding area and don't want predators following there scent trail to catch them unguarded so they come to the bed in a way so that a tracking predator will get winded.
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby backstraps » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:14 pm

Okay makes sense.

After watching your DVD's and reading on here, and asking lots of questions... the in season scouting still worries me. The majority of places I hunt do not have fields. The deer feed mostly on browse and nuts. This year is no excetion to the last...we have mass crops everywhere!

When a deer is coming out of his bed in the evening to get food or water...in my case he could go in many directions for food.

I would like to be able to stay on top of the food sources the deer are using and catch the buck in a transition stage between his bed and food.

I try and stay as scent free as I can, wear Mucks, and keep my hands off stuff, am I doing more harm than good by trying to in season scout for fresh sign?
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby dan » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:19 pm

I try and stay as scent free as I can, wear Mucks, and keep my hands off stuff, am I doing more harm than good by trying to in season scout for fresh sign?

I really don't think you can do much to reduce scent, unless you scout right before or during a heavy rain storm... But, you certainly can't kill them if you don't hunt them, so I would find ways to scout and hunt them.
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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby backstraps » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:30 pm

I gotcha! One good thing, we usually get some good rains and often during archery season :)

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Re: In Season Scouting

Unread postby gjs4 » Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:15 pm

There will always be down wind and "ruined ground"....based off cyber or scouting study the best thing you can do is save the best for last...or moreso...always hunt with a purpose
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