What your #1 find that tells you to focus on an area?

[tbunao]

With plans on hunting across state this year I'm engulfed in public opportunities. With scouting and dialing in my main areas the possibility to thoroughly scout each new spot is slim to none.

Everything has been done narrowing down spots and it's time to put the boots to work. Habitat is real good. You see a fair amount of sign and beds but no large tracks. Dismiss it and go to the next public until you find what?

For me I think I'm going to speed scout the area and if I do not see any large tracks then it will be put on a list of options. As soon as I find "that" set of tracks I'll begin to break things down.

What makes you say, "this is #1 priority!"?

[Lockdown]

For me, seeing rubs from multiple years gets me excited. Whether its concentrated clusters of them in bedding/staging or a multi year rub line, it doesn't get any better than that IMO. Especially when its coupled with well used beds and a lack of hunter sign in an area you picked out off an aerial.

[mainebowhunter]

For me, seeing rubs from multiple years gets me excited. Whether its concentrated clusters of them in bedding/staging or a multi year rub line, it doesn't get any better than that IMO. Especially when its coupled with well used beds and a lack of hunter sign in an area you picked out off an aerial.

LOL
Except when homeless guy builds shelter right on the middle of said rubs. It's just the stuff that happens.

[Nocturnal]

For me, seeing rubs from multiple years gets me excited. Whether its concentrated clusters of them in bedding/staging or a multi year rub line, it doesn't get any better than that IMO. Especially when its coupled with well used beds and a lack of hunter sign in an area you picked out off an aerial.

LOL
Except when homeless guy builds shelter right on the middle of said rubs. It's just the stuff that happens.

I remember that happening to you this year. I think you had high hopes for that spot too and to find it taken over.

[Hawthorne]

Large high rubs, big tracks, trail cam pics , and shed antlers. Could be just one or a combination

[mainebowhunter]

Ok. So I will take a crack at it. Kind of the method I go through.

Cyberscouting is kind of where I start and pick areas that look good from maps. Scout a lot of edges, overgrown fields, that sort of thing. Tracks are something I use more during my early season scouting to monitor. Mainly because post season, deer group and move to areas that are not during the hunting part of the season.

This past season, scouted a TON of ground. Basically, first thing that says something to me is past years sign, generational sign. Lockdown mentioned that. BUT for me, I don't plan on doing much of any hunting during November. So really takes me a season to understand IF that sign is being made during the time of year when I can hunt it. Another one I really pay attention to is good buck sign in and around food sources. Mainly apples and acorns. Where I live, food is the #1 determiner for where I hunt. Good food source in proximity to great cover with good buck sign. Good bedding habitat is in abundance. So I am always trying to figure what is the least common denominator. Don't get me wrong, I spend a lot of time looking for beds. BUT it has been my observation, bedding really moves around with the abundance of food where I live.

My next is going to be follow up with trailcams. Really, no sense in hunting an area if that bucks that made that sign are dead. Its not all that uncommon to end up with NO 3.5yr olds in an area from one season to the next. The results from the trailcam pulls is going to tell me if the bucks are around that I hope.

So if I have generational sign. GOOD. If I get good tracks indicating a good buck is in the area, even BETTER. Follow up with cams on food sources in July and August to confirm what I found pre season.

And if I hunted primarily in the midwest? I would really focus a lot more on cover/bedding than I do here. And my preparation would also be focused on the rut portion of the season. Security cover becomes the least common denominator.

[mainebowhunter]

For me, seeing rubs from multiple years gets me excited. Whether its concentrated clusters of them in bedding/staging or a multi year rub line, it doesn't get any better than that IMO. Especially when its coupled with well used beds and a lack of hunter sign in an area you picked out off an aerial.

LOL
Except when homeless guy builds shelter right on the middle of said rubs. It's just the stuff that happens.

I remember that happening to you this year. I think you had high hopes for that spot too and to find it taken over.

I did. But who knows. That spot never showed the same sign post season as I saw last year. So was it the crazy acorn drop? Was it the homeless shelter? Who knows.

I found the bucks on another piece of ground .5 to .75 miles away.

[Nocturnal]

For me, seeing rubs from multiple years gets me excited. Whether its concentrated clusters of them in bedding/staging or a multi year rub line, it doesn't get any better than that IMO. Especially when its coupled with well used beds and a lack of hunter sign in an area you picked out off an aerial.

LOL
Except when homeless guy builds shelter right on the middle of said rubs. It's just the stuff that happens.

I remember that happening to you this year. I think you had high hopes for that spot too and to find it taken over.

I did. But who knows. That spot never showed the same sign post season as I saw last year. So was it the crazy acorn drop? Was it the homeless shelter? Who knows.

I found the bucks on another piece of ground .5 to .75 miles away.

Yeah bigvwoods hunting is super tough. Especially the dpsm Maine has. I too hunt low populated areas and we had a terrible acorn drop. Most of Wisconsin was like that. It made for difficult hunting. Honestly I don't know what's worse. Heavy mast or not...

[Crazinamatese]

Seeing alot of thick cover gets my attention. Briar thickets, knocked over trees, thick transitions, old overgrown clear cuts, etc... Finding the rubs, trails, scrapes, beds, stuff like that comes next.

[jwilkstn]

#1 for me is heavily used beds with big rubs nearby.

I hope to find alot of those this offseason lol.

[dan]

The number 1 thing that makes me focus on a certain public area is knowing the area produces big bucks, or has a big buck I would like to go after... #2 is habitat. It has to have a habitat to hold and produce big bucks without the possibility of guys being able to kill all the racked bucks. #3 would be low pressure. Or at least lower than other options.

If the property has those 3 ingredients I would want to walk it, look at the bedding, and buck sign, as well as the hunter sign, and from what I see decide if I want to hunt it.

[mainebowhunter]

The number 1 thing that makes me focus on a certain public area is knowing the area produces big bucks, or has a big buck I would like to go after... #2 is habitat. It has to have a habitat to hold and produce big bucks without the possibility of guys being able to kill all the racked bucks. #3 would be low pressure. Or at least lower than other options.

If the property has those 3 ingredients I would want to walk it, look at the bedding, and buck sign, as well as the hunter sign, and from what I see decide if I want to hunt it.

This is also how I determine where I am going to plan my out of state trips. Very similar process.

[tbunao]

Its not all that uncommon to end up with NO 3.5yr olds in an area from one season to the next.

That's what I'm trying to avoid. I don't want to spend a lot of time now until say July when cams would be the benefactor. Like you, I'm not planning on hunting these areas in November.

With post season scouting and deer grouping in areas they may not be in October is something I delt with this year. To me though, I feel if large tracks are located now in amongst the public piece then they won't be far come the summer when glassing and cams will play a role identifying a shooter.

The way I look at is is post season scouting from January to June is like a hunting season in reverse, late season to early season.

[tbunao]

The number 1 thing that makes me focus on a certain public area is knowing the area produces big bucks, or has a big buck I would like to go after... #2 is habitat. It has to have a habitat to hold and produce big bucks without the possibility of guys being able to kill all the racked bucks. #3 would be low pressure. Or at least lower than other options.

If the property has those 3 ingredients I would want to walk it, look at the bedding, and buck sign, as well as the hunter sign, and from what I see decide if I want to hunt it.

Your number 1 rule is the reason I'm traveling to another section of the state. Trolling the Facebook antler pages I've kept a tally on areas and have located several good pieces around the top counties. So I guess that is a step in the right direction.
2 from cyber scouting habitat looks good but that can all change upon arriving.
3 I feel the reason these counties produce is the lack of human pressure.

[dan]

There are two areas I want to focus on this year in heavy pressure areas. Both are low pressure and not marked as public well. One has no parking at all, and both you have to cross chest deep water in muck that could go over your head... Both spots have bigger bucks than the surrounding private... What you willing to do for success? And are you going to get anybody to help you get a buck out? I never even think about how Im going to get one out till the arrow has been sent.