Simple Scouting is Best

[Singing Bridge]

Stay at home and wait until a good buck shows up on trailcam and it is transmitted to your phone or whatever...

Race around checking trailcams when conditions are right, hoping to get a pic of a good one...

Hundreds of hunters driving by big buck tracks in the sandy road that have appeared consistently for days and paying no attention whatsoever so they can race to check their trailcams or hunt where they are hoping at best that luck will shine on them...





When we scout or hunt, it is important to be able to see the trees from the forest.

Recently a fellow Beaster inquired about some heavy pressure public land that I am familiar with and he asked for some advice. I described to him on a map where 2 woods roads in heavy cover come together. I told him about 200 yards past that intersection you can find tracks crossing the road from a 2.5 year old... sometimes a 3.5 year old... always going in the same direction. In this case it was from bedding toward food.

He and his son drove down there a few days later and were literally astounded when they found fresh buck tracks crossing the road right where I described. They think I am some kind of hunting guru ?!?

Lets keep it simple, Beasts... and do our best to see the trees from the forest. Tracks, droppings, rubs, scrapes, beds... it isn't rocket science and it isn't electronic, but to be a better overall hunter we should all strive to be able to read the sign of simple scouting.

Bridge

[greenhorndave]

You’re on fire again today my friend. Loving it.

Ok, with your example, would you backtrack him to set up closer to bedding? Look for his return path? Both? You know he’s there, but how and when he’ll show up are the big questions.

[stash59]

I think this thinking comes from our modern version of life lately. Kids are practically born with a smart phone in their hand. If they don't see it on a screen they pay little mind to something. And parents/adults aren't any better! So how much do we miss if we're always running late?

I've never been great at interpreting what tracks tell me. But I always got excited when I saw them. Driving slow enough to see tracks, then judge how big and what sex the animal is. Is a slow steady endeavor. Racing up and down roads is much more exciting for most.

Then we all seem to think we're in a rush. Sometimes we are. Because we try to cram way to many different things in each and every day. So even if we have plenty of time, we still rush to get from A to B.

Then looking for sign can be kinda like always sitting a favorite stand. We may have seen big tracks at location x a few years back. But on our way to get there. If we're wondering if they'll finally show again. If we're not careful we could be daydreaming and walk right over a big set. In a different area than we were expecting.

I guess I'm saying we would do better slowing down a tad!!

[mheichelbech]

I have learned that trail cams are far from being as effective as boots on the ground. They can only give info out to at most, 100 feet...roughly 35 yards!

I do like plot watcher cameras but they have their limitations as well.

Nothing beats getting out. Machines will never match what nature can do for the soul and body.

[tgreeno]

Great Post Bridge!

It seems now a days everyone has to a "target" buck on camera before they'll go and hunt. I really mostly on boots on the ground scouting & glassing. And I may never get look at the buck I'm hunting until he walks by. Trust the sign, and don't screw things up by trying to get a picture of the buck so you can brag to your buddies.

[DaveT1963]

We can never under estimate the need to learn to read sign ( tracks, terrain, rut sign, beds, travel corridors, browse, etc.). I've put boots on ground every weekend this year except three.

I also glass, study aerials, topo maps. I use a ton of cameras (43 currently in 17 WMAs in 3 states.)

You can't replace boots on ground and old school woodsmanship. But I would never go back to the old days. Technology is here, and learning to use it to supplement your scouting can help tremendously. Especially when you must travel long distances to scout.

[Singing Bridge]

I will say this... maybe its just me... but when countless hunters drive right by big buck tracks and don't have a clue as they race to go check their trail cams and hope to get a picture of a big buck...

[Singing Bridge]

You’re on fire again today my friend. Loving it.

Ok, with your example, would you backtrack him to set up closer to bedding? Look for his return path? Both? You know he’s there, but how and when he’ll show up are the big questions.

If I'm not familiar with the area, I'm going to pull out (view) topo's and aerials and try to figure out the bedding he is coming from. If I can recognize some transitions for travel I'll set up immediately and hunt. If no transitions are in plain sight, I know where he is going to cross the road. Playing the wind and weather I will move toward what I anticipate is bedding and set up an observations stand- then move in when I figure it out.

The observation stand requires a lot of paying attention to detail to not tip him off with my entry and exit.

Bridge

[greenhorndave]

You’re on fire again today my friend. Loving it.

Ok, with your example, would you backtrack him to set up closer to bedding? Look for his return path? Both? You know he’s there, but how and when he’ll show up are the big questions.

If I'm not familiar with the area, I'm going to pull out (view) topo's and aerials and try to figure out the bedding he is coming from. If I can recognize some transitions for travel I'll set up immediately and hunt. If no transitions are in plain sight, I know where he is going to cross the road. Playing the wind and weather I will move toward what I anticipate is bedding and set up an observations stand- then move in when I figure it out.

The observation stand requires a lot of paying attention to detail to not tip him off with my entry and exit.

Bridge

Appreciate the answer! Great food for thought.

[Ghost Hunter]

After you get stuff you need to kill a buck. Everything else is just wants. All that you need is in woods.

[DaveT1963]

I will say this... maybe its just me... but when countless hunters drive right by big buck tracks and don't have a clue as they race to go check their trail cams and hope to get a picture of a big buck...

I suppose some might do that? Not everyone using cameras throws everything else out the window though. It's a tool to SUPPLIMENT your scouting. Mine are placed out to gather intel and I put as much thought and effort in their deployment as I do my stand locations.

[Singing Bridge]

Lots of great posts...

Electronic scouting and surveillance are definitely the preferred and preached method for observing our hunting areas. Before Trail Cameras became super popular, reading the sign of tracks / droppings / beds / rubs / scrapes etc. was already becoming a lost art. The numbers of hunters that are sign readers with the ability to interpret what they are looking at will continue to decline.

The scenario I described earlier where everyone kept driving by the mature buck tracks had me wanting to wave some of them back and yell, "Wait, Come Back!"

[Singing Bridge]

To give an example of how simple sign interpretation can be, I must first state that nothing in sign reading is absolute. However, there are Major tendencies that can be interpreted the vast majority of the time.

Whether it is a bare patch of dirt next to a farm field, a sandy or dirt road, a two-track road in the woods...

When you come across a big track and there are no other tracks crossing with it... no other deer at all...

DING DING DING !!!

No, the odds are not that it is an old dry doe...

Bridge

[headgear]

Great topic SB, take the sign the bucks give you in any form, don't narrow your focus or ignore what is there. Keep open eyes and an open mind.

[cspot]

Lots of great posts...

Electronic scouting and surveillance are definitely the preferred and preached method for observing our hunting areas. Before Trail Cameras became super popular, reading the sign of tracks / droppings / beds / rubs / scrapes etc. was already becoming a lost art. The numbers of hunters that are sign readers with the ability to interpret what they are looking at will continue to decline.

The scenario I described earlier where everyone kept driving by the mature buck tracks had me wanting to wave some of them back and yell, "Wait, Come Back!"

Its not very hard to see the signs. The state puts them all over the place around here.