Snow Scout- perfect for buck tracking / bedding

[Dewey]

I back tracked a big deer the other day in the snow in an area I am familiar with. Tracked him to a little knob I have walked by many times and never thought to look for a bed. Snow is great for finding overlooked spots.

[ Post made via Android ]

Excellent Intel- we just lost all our snow but are now under a winter storm watch- more snow on the way!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Much of our snow has melted too. Yesterday I spent the day verifying beds I found in the snow and was pleased to see them wore to the bare ground and plenty of hair in them from this past fall now that the snow melt revealed everything. Snow tracking about a month ago led me right to those beds that otherwise may have taken much more time to discover in spring.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Singing Bridge]

I back tracked a big deer the other day in the snow in an area I am familiar with. Tracked him to a little knob I have walked by many times and never thought to look for a bed. Snow is great for finding overlooked spots.

[ Post made via Android ]

Excellent Intel- we just lost all our snow but are now under a winter storm watch- more snow on the way!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Much of our snow has melted too. Yesterday I spent the day verifying beds I found in the snow and was pleased to see them wore to the bare ground and plenty of hair in them from this past fall now that the snow melt revealed everything. Snow tracking about a month ago led me right to those beds that otherwise may have taken much more time to discover in spring.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Great points Dewey- Also, snow tracking can prove to be a HUGE AID to hunters that are new to the bedding game, tracks don't lie. Approaches and exits to bedding, bedding locations and topography / wind direction- the snow provides an educational map of deer activity.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Zona]

I back tracked a big deer the other day in the snow in an area I am familiar with. Tracked him to a little knob I have walked by many times and never thought to look for a bed. Snow is great for finding overlooked spots.

[ Post made via Android ]

Excellent Intel- we just lost all our snow but are now under a winter storm watch- more snow on the way!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Much of our snow has melted too. Yesterday I spent the day verifying beds I found in the snow and was pleased to see them wore to the bare ground and plenty of hair in them from this past fall now that the snow melt revealed everything. Snow tracking about a month ago led me right to those beds that otherwise may have taken much more time to discover in spring.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Great points Dewey- Also, snow tracking can prove to be a HUGE AID to hunters that are new to the bedding game, tracks don't lie. Approaches and exits to bedding, bedding locations and topography / wind direction- the snow provides an educational map of deer activity.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Verifying the beds after snow melt is crucial.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Singing Bridge]

I back tracked a big deer the other day in the snow in an area I am familiar with. Tracked him to a little knob I have walked by many times and never thought to look for a bed. Snow is great for finding overlooked spots.

[ Post made via Android ]

Excellent Intel- we just lost all our snow but are now under a winter storm watch- more snow on the way!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Much of our snow has melted too. Yesterday I spent the day verifying beds I found in the snow and was pleased to see them wore to the bare ground and plenty of hair in them from this past fall now that the snow melt revealed everything. Snow tracking about a month ago led me right to those beds that otherwise may have taken much more time to discover in spring.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Great points Dewey- Also, snow tracking can prove to be a HUGE AID to hunters that are new to the bedding game, tracks don't lie. Approaches and exits to bedding, bedding locations and topography / wind direction- the snow provides an educational map of deer activity.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Verifying the beds after snow melt is crucial.

[ Post made via Android ]

Completely agree with this, especially if you have any uncertainties... Such as, is this a wintering area for deer or is it a primary bed? Is it a seasonal bed only? For very experienced hunters it is pretty obvious what they are looking at... But not always.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Singing Bridge]

We are getting hit with a blizzard today here in lower Michigan... Up to 14 inches of snow with a very strong NorEaster blowing in... Blizzard warnings are anticipated in some areas... The schools were closed this morning before it even hit all across MidMichigan. The storm is likely to rage until tomorrow evening. Should be interesting.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bubbles]

I snow tracked what I thought was a buck on the day after the season. He had been crossing the trail in the same spot all season. After meandering around a lot of treestands he took off into the thick thick cedar swamp. I was super tired as I had already put on 5 or 6 miles of tough swamp in another direction. I was also running out of light so I had to give up.
I poured over some aerials and tried to pinpoint where he was headed and struck out yesterday to confirm. Almost right on the money! Found 4 beds and lots of rubs about 300 yards further down the trail. Seems like it's a decent year round bedding area.

I got burned last year by snow tracking too far after the season for heavily used trails and beds. I found in season that none of the spots I found had any deer.

This year, with newfound knowledge here, I'm scouting with much more emphasis on bedding, in large swamps and marshes with sign correlation to hunting season use - rubs, etc. I have a lot more confidencein my newfound intel.
A bunch of cattail marshes were devoid of late season activity, but had lots of rubs and early season sign
Most of the large cedar swamps seem to have year round sign, heavy trails in the winter as well as bedding and rubs.
Is that what you guys find as well?

[ Post made via Android ]

[Singing Bridge]

I snow tracked what I thought was a buck on the day after the season. He had been crossing the trail in the same spot all season. After meandering around a lot of treestands he took off into the thick thick cedar swamp. I was super tired as I had already put on 5 or 6 miles of tough swamp in another direction. I was also running out of light so I had to give up.
I poured over some aerials and tried to pinpoint where he was headed and struck out yesterday to confirm. Almost right on the money! Found 4 beds and lots of rubs about 300 yards further down the trail. Seems like it's a decent year round bedding area.

I got burned last year by snow tracking too far after the season for heavily used trails and beds. I found in season that none of the spots I found had any deer.

This year, with newfound knowledge here, I'm scouting with much more emphasis on bedding, in large swamps and marshes with sign correlation to hunting season use - rubs, etc. I have a lot more confidencein my newfound intel.
A bunch of cattail marshes were devoid of late season activity, but had lots of rubs and early season sign
Most of the large cedar swamps seem to have year round sign, heavy trails in the winter as well as bedding and rubs.
Is that what you guys find as well?

[ Post made via Android ]

A lot will depend on the deer population in your area, but yes I see some similarities. Some of my marshes have year around bedding. When you are in cedar swamps, it is important to distinguish between "yarding" behavior and primary buck bedding. Bucks that are in yarding areas will continue to rub until they drop antlers and it may be an area with no activity when deer seasons open up. These same swamps have primary bedding used most of the year including the winter... the difference being these bucks and bedding areas are much more solitary.

[Bubbles]

Interesting. So the yarding behaviour of still hard antlered bucks could be messing with me. Good to know. On this particular property I was seeking out bedding based on in-season (late season) sign and tracks. It is a known deer yard with a ton of hunting pressure, mostly confined to the open hardwood swamp close to the access point.

Most of the public that is new to me I intend on confirming the bedding and setups on a spring scout. This particular scout was the only one where I brought sticks to prep trees and don't intend on going back until season.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Singing Bridge]

Bump... We've got some Beast snow scouters heading out.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[mainebowhunter]

We are TOTALLY clear of snow. Saw 2 out feeding on grass...not much grass, but they are trying.

[Singing Bridge]

We are TOTALLY clear of snow. Saw 2 out feeding on grass...not much grass, but they are trying.

We've had 2 big snowstorms in the last week, with warm temps and melted snow in between...
We use salt in my area for icy roads. When the roadsides melt off the green grass on the roadside that has absorbed all the minerals is a huge draw for deer... Sometimes there are so many deer next to the road that you pray none of them step out...

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[mainebowhunter]

We are TOTALLY clear of snow. Saw 2 out feeding on grass...not much grass, but they are trying.

We've had 2 big snowstorms in the last week, with warm temps and melted snow in between...
We use salt in my area for icy roads. When the roadsides melt off the green grass on the roadside that has absorbed all the minerals is a huge draw for deer... Sometimes there are so many deer next to the road that you pray none of them step out...

[ Post made via iPhone ]

I am sure we could get some more storms here. Winter is not over yet. But, I have more "spring" scouting in Jan and February than ever before. Great for me...great for the deer.

[Singing Bridge]

We are TOTALLY clear of snow. Saw 2 out feeding on grass...not much grass, but they are trying.

We've had 2 big snowstorms in the last week, with warm temps and melted snow in between...
We use salt in my area for icy roads. When the roadsides melt off the green grass on the roadside that has absorbed all the minerals is a huge draw for deer... Sometimes there are so many deer next to the road that you pray none of them step out...

[ Post made via iPhone ]

I am sure we could get some more storms here. Winter is not over yet. But, I have more "spring" scouting in Jan and February than ever before. Great for me...great for the deer.

Our deer around MidMichigan are in great shape, it's been a mild winter overall.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[mibowhunter]

I'll be heading out this weekend to do a snow scout... temps are supposed to warm up again so I will have to see how much is left on the ground when I start. Looking forward to it!! Thanks for the info you provided in this thread Bridge!

[Singing Bridge]

I'll be heading out this weekend to do a snow scout... temps are supposed to warm up again so I will have to see how much is left on the ground when I start. Looking forward to it!! Thanks for the info you provided in this thread Bridge!

Good luck with the scouting this weekend, make sure you update us with what you find.