Scouting Report 3/20/2015

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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palmbardier
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Scouting Report 3/20/2015

Unread postby palmbardier » Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:01 am

Took the afternoon off on Friday and decided to get a look at a large swamp in SW Ontario that I've only scouted once in January of 2014. The farmer still hasn't given me permission to hunt it; just to hike and look for sheds. I'm going to keep trying though because this swamp is massive and very close to my house.

After saying hello to the farmer and his sister's dog I stepped into a small row of conifers adjacent to a dug pond at the entrance to the swamp. The farmer mentioned that the deer had come up to the house to feed on the crab apple tree's soft mast over the winter, so this seemed like an easy place to start. I always have trouble breaking up a large swamp into smaller sections when scouting so this seemed like a no brainer. I was not disappointed: buck scat and large tracks with dew claws was the first thing I saw, followed by a rub line and some reasonably large beds:
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Neat to see how the buck's brow tines have made a definite impression on a number of these trees. Right at the end of the dang rub line...someone's double wide ladder stand. I used to own this exact same stand so I know that it only gets the hunter up fifteen feet off the ground. Any reader of John Eberhart knows that the presence of other hunter's stands are more important than any rub or scrape or bed.

So I abandon this spot - it is literally the first place any hunter would go given it's proximity to the farm and the field lane after all - and I head to the corner of the field. I watched a few shed hunting videos before I left my house and got the impression that field edges, fences and creeks are all good spots to look for dropped antlers. Last year I walked this creek in the reverse from South to the North. This year I decided to meet the creek where it's nearest to the field edge and walk it in the reverse as it plunges deeper and deeper into the swamp where it will inevitably lead me to it's spring source. As I approach the corner of the field, I see lots of white birch trees bent over from this winter's ice storm creating lots of natural cover. I can see some well used runways leading to and from the corner of the field with some obvious buck sign. I pick out some larger white pine trees that would make for great saddle placement. Unfortunately I see someone's also picked the corner of the field for it's potential. The stand is gone, but their tree steps remain.

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So again I have to give up on the obvious, pressured areas and see what I can find further in the swamp. The sign followed the creek on both sides, but I didn't see any dropped antlers in the melting snow. I did see an old, wooden ladder stand as I exited the cedar swamp and made my way back into the hardwoods. I remember having seen this platform last year and it doesn't appear to have gotten any younger. Given the state of the strapping, I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to have it used it. I did find one bed with some hair in it where the smaller cedars meet the hardwoods. Last year I kicked up some yearlings out of these sapling cedar beds. The hardwoods have lots of scat and sign although it's more diffuse. There aren't the same kinds of well traveled, concentrated runways as there were along the creek. Nevertheless, if other hunters are pressuring the rub line and the field's corner, this may be my best bet. I pick out a big pine tree that would make a good candidate for my saddle and I notice an adjacent maple tree with a huge burl in it. This will serve as a great landmark if I'm looking to climb into the big pine tree in the dark.

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No sheds, but a fruitful two hours spent scouting on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Won't be long and the snow will be completely gone, revealing last season's rut sign. We're supposed to get a big rain midweek so next weekend's scouting will hopefully include some pictures of scrapes and staging areas.


dan
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Re: Scouting Report 3/20/2015

Unread postby dan » Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:06 am

8-)


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