Is the area worth scouting?

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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KLEMZ
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Re: Is the area worth scouting?

Unread postby KLEMZ » Thu Apr 06, 2017 10:55 am

Cuzzinfish wrote: What are the factors any of you would consider in crossing off a public hunting property?


-I would not even scout a property that has NO difficult to access areas. If you can walk UPRIGHT all the way to your area, I would NOT even scout it. It HAS to be physically difficult to walk there or you will have company....that is the bottom line for public land. Overlooked spots are a whole different conversation.

-The thicket area around the corp of engineers lake sounds promising to me! You have lots of hunting pressure...yet you see mature bucks while hunting!! That means the mature bucks have a safe place to bed and you need to find it. My theory is that the lake is creating thermals that pull hunters scent towards the lake in the late afternoon, AND every single hunter..including YOU is approaching and hunting from the outside. The bucks know exactly what is going on. If you can access via the lake, and hunt near the lake so the evening thermals are pulling your scent towards the lake, I believe you could kill one of these "racks floating thru the briars". They would have no clue! Maybe??


Cuzzinfish
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Re: Is the area worth scouting?

Unread postby Cuzzinfish » Thu Apr 06, 2017 11:57 am

hunter_mike wrote:Any place is worth taking a walk through in my eyes. A quick walk through some of the easier parts looking for amount of tracks and size of rubs is a quick easy start. If it looks good then you can always return for a more detailed bed scouting trip!


That's what I was considering with this new place. Perhaps walk the edge next to the Private and look for trails and tracks crossing the property line and filtering toward food first. If I can confirm buck tracks then scout for beds, maybe I can set up for a couple of hunts the first week or two of season before the area gets thoroughly trampled by locals.
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Re: Is the area worth scouting?

Unread postby UofLbowhunter » Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:57 pm

Your having a hard time getting in there and worried about gettin blown out. I would think it would have to be windy day or raining or both to penetrate the furthest. Not an exspert but i think i would get myself elevated as as high and close as i could to the thicket and try to get a birds eye view there has to be someway to get in there get close enough for a shot. Even if its from the edge 30 or 40 yards
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flinginairos
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Re: Is the area worth scouting?

Unread postby flinginairos » Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:16 am

headgear wrote:Exactly, everything is worth a scout because if you don't look you have no idea what is there. You can't base it off of anything but scouting because nothing else compares to boots on the ground. I have spots that I was super pumped to scout being total busts and places you would never expect or places I even I said there are probably no deer out there end up having the goods. Aerials are a great tool but you have to confirm if a buck can survive in the area and has a place to hide.


This is spot on. I cyber scouted several areas of public in Ohio and had two that I thought for SURE would be killer because of the access and terrain and two more that were just backup spots to check. The two spots I was the most excited about were a bust! Fourwheeler trails running all through it and no way to get away from that pressure. The other two spots looked much better :lol: You just never know until you actually get there and look.
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Re: Is the area worth scouting?

Unread postby swampyak » Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:58 am

Cuzzinfish wrote:
tgreeno wrote:
Cuzzinfish wrote:I've looked at ways to get in and I just can't figure it out. And I have 4 cameras in different places around multiple thickets that catch bucks all the time. I can show you pics for days of bucks on their feet in daylight, a couple of true monsters too, but that basically ends the week bow season starts even if I haven't hunted it. I've had 4 encounters with mature bucks in the same spot the last 3 years, all around Halloween. I haven't been lucky enough to get a shot because of where I have to sit and the canopy is too low and thick to put up a stand. It's also the only spot where I've had encounters. I have good access and I rarely see other hunters there.


Sounds like a place you need to hunt from the ground!

Also...There is no such thing as, "too thick to hunt"! If you look hard enough you'll find a way to hunt it. 4 mature bucks in 3 year...I'd find a way to hunt it!


I've only hunted it from the ground. Because of the way it sets up, I've probably hunted that one spot 20 times and never seems to affect the deer movement. It's a 30 yard shot and I've tagged does for the freezer a few times. I just can't hunt IN the thicket. I tried getting into to it again in early December this past season after all the rut hunters locked down the deer. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you this particular area is 10 acres of 5-8 ft tall thorns with a few deer trails meandering through. It's the thickest stuff I've ever been in. Even if I get in there quietly enough to not spook anything, I'm looking at no chance of a broadside or quartering shot cause the trails are so tight. I know that multiple doe groups and bucks bed there every year, I'm guessing cause it's so big and they can't see each other. I'm going to look harder for a tree that I can maybe shoot down into it, but you're not allowed to cut anything on public here. So, I'm not holding my breath. I'm definitely not going to stop hunting there though.



Any thoughts on the first question or new area pictured?



I know you can't cut anything but have you tried slowly bending branches an tucking them under others or tieing them to the side or up
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Re: Is the area worth scouting?

Unread postby Cuzzinfish » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:21 am

swampyak wrote:
Cuzzinfish wrote:
tgreeno wrote:
Cuzzinfish wrote:I've looked at ways to get in and I just can't figure it out. And I have 4 cameras in different places around multiple thickets that catch bucks all the time. I can show you pics for days of bucks on their feet in daylight, a couple of true monsters too, but that basically ends the week bow season starts even if I haven't hunted it. I've had 4 encounters with mature bucks in the same spot the last 3 years, all around Halloween. I haven't been lucky enough to get a shot because of where I have to sit and the canopy is too low and thick to put up a stand. It's also the only spot where I've had encounters. I have good access and I rarely see other hunters there.


Sounds like a place you need to hunt from the ground!

Also...There is no such thing as, "too thick to hunt"! If you look hard enough you'll find a way to hunt it. 4 mature bucks in 3 year...I'd find a way to hunt it!


I've only hunted it from the ground. Because of the way it sets up, I've probably hunted that one spot 20 times and never seems to affect the deer movement. It's a 30 yard shot and I've tagged does for the freezer a few times. I just can't hunt IN the thicket. I tried getting into to it again in early December this past season after all the rut hunters locked down the deer. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you this particular area is 10 acres of 5-8 ft tall thorns with a few deer trails meandering through. It's the thickest stuff I've ever been in. Even if I get in there quietly enough to not spook anything, I'm looking at no chance of a broadside or quartering shot cause the trails are so tight. I know that multiple doe groups and bucks bed there every year, I'm guessing cause it's so big and they can't see each other. I'm going to look harder for a tree that I can maybe shoot down into it, but you're not allowed to cut anything on public here. So, I'm not holding my breath. I'm definitely not going to stop hunting there though.



Any thoughts on the first question or new area pictured?



I know you can't cut anything but have you tried slowly bending branches an tucking them under others or tieing them to the side or up


I actually do use zip ties and small rope ties before season to anchor branches to create shooting lanes around the edge of it.


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