The scouting bug

[dan]

UofLbowhunter, I liked your story... a little off topic, but I can remember a hunt in Grant county Wisconsin on a friends farm that you reminded me of. I was guessing on bedding in late October and finally picked a tree. I had seen a big 8 point in the area. I was on the 1st stick setting the second when I heard deer approaching. I looked over and saw a doe coming, she trotted within arms reach past me, then I glanced over and a huge 8 point came out hot on her trail and took the same wrought. He stepped in between the string and the riser of my bow laying on the ground, and I likely could of grabbed his antlers as he passed by...

[Dewey]

Welcome to the addiction. The scouting bug never ends and if anything it gets worse over time. If I have a free day and don't go scouting or at the very least cyber scout I feel guilty all day. I honestly enjoy scouting and figuring out a plan more than I actually do hunting. It's cool seeing the hard work and plan come together. That is where I get my satisfaction, the kill is a bonus.

[JAK]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

[mainebowhunter]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

I think its one of the biggest attractions guy have to this forum. There is no offseason.

[Dewey]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

I think its one of the biggest attractions guy have to this forum. There is no offseason.

Yup. It's pretty apparent who the obsessed guys are that think deer 24/7 365. Pretty large group of us regulars here. Most guys I know only talk hunting Oct-November. Nice to have like minded individuals here. Kinda like a big addiction support system. "Beasts Anonymous".

[UofLbowhunter]

[quote="dan"]UofLbowhunter, I liked your story... a little off topic, but I can remember a hunt in Grant county Wisconsin on a friends farm that you reminded me of. I was guessing on bedding in late October and finally picked a tree. I had seen a big 8 point in the area. I was on the 1st stick setting the second when I heard deer approaching. I looked over and saw a doe coming, she trotted within arms reach past me, then I glanced over and a huge 8 point came out hot on her trail and took the same wrought. He stepped in between the string and the riser of my bow laying on the ground, and I likely could of grabbed his antlers as he passed by...[/quote]

My eyes would have popped out of my head if i seen that!!

Sorry i wasnt trying to be so long and off topic,i was aiming for the story to show how i got fired up about scouting. I have never got into intense scouting till that hunt on public and it pushed me to do more!

[tgreeno]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

I think its one of the biggest attractions guy have to this forum. There is no offseason.

Yup. It's pretty apparent who the obsessed guys are that think deer 24/7 365. Pretty large group of us regulars here. Most guys I know only talk hunting Oct-November. Nice to have like minded individuals here. Kinda like a big addiction support system. "Beasts Anonymous".

My name is Todd, and I have a problem...

It is awesome to have guys who's passion is the same as mine! I could of never imagined scouting as much as I do now, years ago. The more beds I find the more I want to scout. No one I work with hunts, so I really don't "share" with anyone except guys on here. I guess I'm a closet "beast in training".

[Dloat]

I have it too, every weekend I get 2-4 hours of free time(have a baby) and it all in the woods rain or shine. One trick I've found for my online scouting is that on bing maps you can rotate the map north, south, east and west and each direction is a totally different picture from another angle and at another time of year sometimes. Doing this you can find trails in cattails etc that aren't visible from the first map angle that pops up and also lets you find other features when the different angled map are in a different season.

[Wetfoot]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

I think its one of the biggest attractions guy have to this forum. There is no offseason.

Yup. It's pretty apparent who the obsessed guys are that think deer 24/7 365. Pretty large group of us regulars here. Most guys I know only talk hunting Oct-November. Nice to have like minded individuals here. Kinda like a big addiction support system. "Beasts Anonymous".

My name is Todd, and I have a problem...

It is awesome to have guys who's passion is the same as mine! I could of never imagined scouting as much as I do now, years ago. The more beds I find the more I want to scout. No one I work with hunts, so I really don't "share" with anyone except guys on here. I guess I'm a closet "beast in training".

My wife would say I'm obsessed, I would say I'm passionate about scouting. Have always enjoyed scouting tremendously, as there is no closed season. The Beast has definitely helped me focus my efforts.

[swampyak]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

Or they tell you you need to get a life. Getting a life to them means hanging out in the bar

[swampyak]

I've been observing on this site for the last year or so not really understanding how to apply the beast hunting tactics to my own scouting. I watched swamp country and farm country bucks this past December and still was scratching my head somewhat. It was until I had finally watched hill country bucks late one night in January(should have started with that dvd) that the light bulb came on. I couldn't get back into the woods fast enough and when I did the woods looked completely different to me. Since then I've logged well over 100 miles scouting this off season and tons of new spots, over or near beds, to hunt. I don't really look for sheds cuz I like them better attached to a deers head and in my 10 years of bow hunting have only found two. This year applying the tactics I've learned in Dans videos and the information I've read on this site I've found 15 sheds. A couple which are gonna be high on my list if I can locate them in the fall.

With that said next season will be my first beast hunting and I'm super excited. I feel like I'm starting to actually learn how to hunt all over again and I can't keep myself out of the woods scouting and preparing for next season(God bless my fiancé). Just wondering if anyone else on here has had this sensation come over them when you finally see the light.

Any pictures of any sheds that you want to share

Did you find any feature that seamed to be best for sheds

[JAK]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

Or they tell you you need to get a life. Getting a life to them means hanging out in the bar

yea that's about right...

[strutnrut716]

I get a kick out of the way the guys at work look at me when I tell them I'm scouting and it's only April. Some get annoyed I think because that's all I talk about.

I think its one of the biggest attractions guy have to this forum. There is no offseason.

Yup. It's pretty apparent who the obsessed guys are that think deer 24/7 365. Pretty large group of us regulars here. Most guys I know only talk hunting Oct-November. Nice to have like minded individuals here. Kinda like a big addiction support system. "Beasts Anonymous".

My name is Todd, and I have a problem...

It is awesome to have guys who's passion is the same as mine! I could of never imagined scouting as much as I do now, years ago. The more beds I find the more I want to scout. No one I work with hunts, so I really don't "share" with anyone except guys on here. I guess I'm a closet "beast in training".

I could not have said it better. Except my name is Steve and I have a problem .... Lol ....

[PAHUNTER570]

I've been observing on this site for the last year or so not really understanding how to apply the beast hunting tactics to my own scouting. I watched swamp country and farm country bucks this past December and still was scratching my head somewhat. It was until I had finally watched hill country bucks late one night in January(should have started with that dvd) that the light bulb came on. I couldn't get back into the woods fast enough and when I did the woods looked completely different to me. Since then I've logged well over 100 miles scouting this off season and tons of new spots, over or near beds, to hunt. I don't really look for sheds cuz I like them better attached to a deers head and in my 10 years of bow hunting have only found two. This year applying the tactics I've learned in Dans videos and the information I've read on this site I've found 15 sheds. A couple which are gonna be high on my list if I can locate them in the fall.

With that said next season will be my first beast hunting and I'm super excited. I feel like I'm starting to actually learn how to hunt all over again and I can't keep myself out of the woods scouting and preparing for next season(God bless my fiancé). Just wondering if anyone else on here has had this sensation come over them when you finally see the light.

Any pictures of any sheds that you want to share

Did you find any feature that seamed to be best for sheds

If I can figure out how to post the pictures using an iPad I'd gladly show some of the sheds I've found.

As for features that seemed to be best for sheds, for me, has been just getting better at finding beds. I don't really look for sheds as much as I'm looking for a good buck bed. It just happened to be this year that while I was finding beds I was finding sheds, a lot right in the beds. In my area a good bed is usually under a 10-15ft pine tree in a sea of mountain laurel that borders oak hardwoods. The best beds being on a subtle point,rises, or edges of a ridge in that mountain laurel. When I'd see those pines in the laurel this year a lot of times a shed would be on the trail leading to the bed or under the canopy of the pine in the bed.

[swampyak]

I've been observing on this site for the last year or so not really understanding how to apply the beast hunting tactics to my own scouting. I watched swamp country and farm country bucks this past December and still was scratching my head somewhat. It was until I had finally watched hill country bucks late one night in January(should have started with that dvd) that the light bulb came on. I couldn't get back into the woods fast enough and when I did the woods looked completely different to me. Since then I've logged well over 100 miles scouting this off season and tons of new spots, over or near beds, to hunt. I don't really look for sheds cuz I like them better attached to a deers head and in my 10 years of bow hunting have only found two. This year applying the tactics I've learned in Dans videos and the information I've read on this site I've found 15 sheds. A couple which are gonna be high on my list if I can locate them in the fall.

With that said next season will be my first beast hunting and I'm super excited. I feel like I'm starting to actually learn how to hunt all over again and I can't keep myself out of the woods scouting and preparing for next season(God bless my fiancé). Just wondering if anyone else on here has had this sensation come over them when you finally see the light.

Any pictures of any sheds that you want to share

Did you find any feature that seamed to be best for sheds

If I can figure out how to post the pictures using an iPad I'd gladly show some of the sheds I've found.

As for features that seemed to be best for sheds, for me, has been just getting better at finding beds. I don't really look for sheds as much as I'm looking for a good buck bed. It just happened to be this year that while I was finding beds I was finding sheds, a lot right in the beds. In my area a good bed is usually under a 10-15ft pine tree in a sea of mountain laurel that borders oak hardwoods. The best beds being on a subtle point,rises, or edges of a ridge in that mountain laurel. When I'd see those pines in the laurel this year a lot of times a shed would be on the trail leading to the bed or under the canopy of the pine in the bed.

Thanks for sharing