2020 Whitetail “Die”ary

[austin1990]

Looking good lockdown! Pretty interesting stuff. I'm jealous of you guys that get snow, just because I can see the big scouting advantages it provides, plus I've always wanted to shoot a deer in the snow. But then again snow usually means lots of cold

[Lockdown]

Looking good lockdown! Pretty interesting stuff. I'm jealous of you guys that get snow, just because I can see the big scouting advantages it provides, plus I've always wanted to shoot a deer in the snow. But then again snow usually means lots of cold

It helps a ton in certain situations. But like everything there are pros and cons.

Deep snow typically keeps me out of the woods a couple months of the year. And if it’s crunchy, good luck getting close to bedding during season. if I had a dollar for every time I cussed out crunchy snow...

It does make it fun because you can see deer and hot sign so easily, and it makes blood trailing a breeze! Not to mention sleds and snow mean easy retrieval.

[austin1990]

Looking good lockdown! Pretty interesting stuff. I'm jealous of you guys that get snow, just because I can see the big scouting advantages it provides, plus I've always wanted to shoot a deer in the snow. But then again snow usually means lots of cold

It helps a ton in certain situations. But like everything there are pros and cons.

Deep snow typically keeps me out of the woods a couple months of the year. And if it’s crunchy, good luck getting close to bedding during season. if I had a dollar for every time I cussed out crunchy snow...

It does make it fun because you can see deer and hot sign so easily, and it makes blood trailing a breeze! Not to mention sleds and snow mean easy retrieval.

Yeah I can see both pros and cons for sure. We're lucky to get 3 inches of snow a year here and generally it doesnt last 2 or 3 days. When its snow and that cold the deer and hogs typically just hold up in a warm bed, but come days 3 and 4 they can't stay put anymore and start venturing out for food. In the last 5 years we've had 1 snow that lasted for 4 or 5 days and I got lots of scouting in then

[Lockdown]

Finished code class yesterday and was excited to drive for deer on the way home, but a coworker needed a ride saw no deer at all on the drive home. I dropped Rick off and ran out to my closest known wintering area, which was Wasteland.

I saw 4 deer on my friends’ food plot (standing beans couple miles South of Wasteland), and then 15 deer on another private bean plot. I’m sure there are deer on the South end of Wasteland. I wouldn’t mind getting in there to check things out, but it would be a workout. Snow shoes are something I need to invest in.

I don’t have any concrete plans for when I’ll be scouting next, but I’m hoping to get out soon. Before I know it we’ll be “up to our eye balls” in snow.



I did make good use of my 16 hours in code class. I’ll bet I added 30-40 pins in OnX I marked a bunch of good looking stuff in Iowa, and another 12-14 properties in MN. The MN stuff is all over an hour from my house, but I don’t have any choice but to branch out.

I’ve got some ridiculous looking swamps and marshes marked. I’m always on the hunt for the next best thing.

[Lockdown]

January 9th

I didn’t have much time, but I knew where I wanted to go. Late December I had a quick 1 hour scout at a brand new spot. It looked ok but the suspected bedding wasn’t all that great. Today I hit up some more peninsulas and it was more of the same

I logged another 1.25 miles and only found one rub. I did kick up a doe and 2 fawns, but none of the bedding appeared to have frequent use, nor was anything used by more than a few deer at once. This time of year they’re yarded up, so solid bedding should have plenty of beds. Especially with old snow.

Here’s a bed on the cattail/hardwood transition. This was from one of the deer I jumped.




I also found a decent trail with a few beds out in the cattails on a creek transition. I think there was some extra disturbance from either muskrat/otter/beaver but I couldn’t find prints. The snow looked too smooth to be solely deer, and the creek was open only a few feet away.




I was hoping to find some big buck sign but was disappointed until just before I got back to the road. Looks like we have a survivor....




The track was a little melted out, but it’s definitely a decent deer. There have to be some big ones in the area because there is WAY more habitat here than anywhere else that I hunt.

I have a few more spots to check in this parcel, and then it will be a wrap. I talked to Tyler on my way home and he said he has scouted this piece before, and his findings were the same as mine. Looks phenomenal on the map, but very lackluster for boots on the ground. Tyler mentioned it looked like the deer were just using those peninsulas for travel and from what I’ve seen so far, I agree.

I like to hunt bedding/properties that get me excited, not stuff that’s mediocre or “good enough”.

In future scouting missions at this place, if I don’t see anything that impresses me I might wind up kicking around during season to see what I can shake loose. I might give it a summer observation or two as well for the sake of learning. Rather than winter/spring scout and write it off completely, I want to keep an open mind and make sure I’m not missing something.

With all the peninsular travel corridors it’s got some possibilities for rut, but rut spots are a dime a dozen...

[DaveT1963]

Following along - look forward to it again this year.

For those that have never done one of these, its hard to fully appreciate how much time and effort it takes to get it done.

[Lockdown]

Following along - look forward to it again this year.

For those that have never done one of these, its hard to fully appreciate how much time and effort it takes to get it done.

Thanks Dave.

I have to squeak in scouting time whenever I can. Last night was a 45-50 minute drive with only a half hour of daylight to work with. It was dark when I got back to my car.

A half hour here and there adds up if you do it consistently year after year.

[DaveT1963]

Following along - look forward to it again this year.

For those that have never done one of these, its hard to fully appreciate how much time and effort it takes to get it done.

Thanks Dave.

I have to squeak in scouting time whenever I can. Last night was a 45-50 minute drive with only a half hour of daylight to work with. It was dark when I got back to my car.

A half hour here and there adds up if you do it consistently year after year.

Yep and then you have to type it up and post it for us :) I did it for two years and man....... got rough, especially during hunting season

[Lockdown]

Just some general discussion and some thoughts for some of the newer members...

When I first starting using Beast tactics I spread myself way too thin. I scouted LOTS of properties in a very broad area. It’s good to cast a big net, as you never know when you’ll find the next best thing. However, the problem with that when you’re inexperienced is you don’t learn the ins and outs of each property like you should. It makes analyzing hot sign during the season tougher, because you don’t know what to expect. “Ok so there’s rubs here in late October, were they here in September? Is it just heating up or maybe I missed the boat already??”.

It didn’t take me long to realize that spring scouting only told part of the story.

I realized my mistake and for the last couple years I’ve concentrated on my best properties both during summer and in season scouting. I’ve learned a lot about them. But now I’m to the point where sticking solely to those properties would be counterproductive to a certain extent. It’s a risk/reward scenario. The “risk” of not gaining intel at my current properties is low, as I already know them well. The “reward” of potentially finding something great at a new property easily outweighs most of the risk involved. I’m still going to scout my main stays, just not as much. I know them well enough that hot sign should tell me the story.

I’m very confident with my cyber scouting. I feel anything I pin is high odds. This helps tremendously for speed scouting new properties. So with a little luck, I’ll have 2-3 REALLY solid bedding areas to add to the list this year. I’m looking for exceptional bedding, not just another “decent” spot to keep tabs on.

On a side note, after 5 years of scouting with a bedding mindset, I have zero bedding areas that I can count on to hold a quality buck at any point in the season. Does, yes. Big bucks, no. The reason for this is mostly due to pressure, and partly due to habitat. Early season pressure is low and the crops are standing. They have tons of options for bedding, and no reason to head to remote marsh and swamp bedding. My 2019 buck is the perfect example. He was bedding a few hundred yards from the field edge, meanwhile there are drool worthy points and islands to bed on 1/2 mile away.

Once a few hunters start kicking around, bedding changes. At the same time crops are getting picked which also has a big effect.

Gun season changes things yet again. I’ve found that each property is different. Some remote bedding is worthless after gun season. Bucks abandon it for low pressure private sanctuaries nearby. Remote bedding on other properties will hold good bucks but not with consistency (from what I’ve seen so far). It all depends on a multitude of factors and it takes a couple seasons to figure each one out.

Dan has talked about bucks heading to the security of remote public bedding when pressure ramps up in the area. As of now I have only scouted one area where I suspect this happens. I haven’t been there in a few years but this spring I’ll be back.

I’m pretty excited about some of my potential bedding areas. I had to branch way out to find new ground, and some is 1 1/2 hrs from my house. I’ve got marshy riverbottom, classic marshes, some tamarack swamp, and even some wide open CRP with tiny bedding pockets pinned. I can’t wait to get into them this spring. I have 8 hours of vacation held over from last year, so I know I will at least be taking one day off work to dedicate an entire day to scouting new ground. I’ll be going sun up to sun down.

[Lockdown]

Haven’t done anything deer related lately... too much snow. I have taken the girls out for a couple quick fishing trips though. I moved to a different lake and set the shanty down in a spot I’d never fished. Nice drop off I marked this summer.

Last weekend we fished a couple hours and had one get off and caught the other. 14” walleye.

With the beautiful weather this weekend we went back for round 2. I left the girls inside to set a tip up and told Elli (she’s not quite 5) “If we get a bite, open the door and yell for me.”

She didn’t open the door but the blood curdling scream was loud and clear “DAAAADDDYYYYY!!!!! A FISH IS BITING!!!!”

It was a nice northern and both girls SCREAMED when I landed it they’d never seen a fish that big so it was a monster to them. We high fived and celebrated.

By the end of the night we had 6 bites and 5 fish landed. Brought home 2 walleyes between 15-16”, the northern and a perch. Pretty decent for 2 hours. Elli said “THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF FISHING EVER!! WE NEVER HAD SO MANY BITES BEFORE!!”

Elli pulled in the three walleyes herself, with a little help from Dad. It’s a ton of fun watching her get so excited. Can’t wait to take them again.




Charli and the Blue sucker aftermath





Elli is constantly using the dipper






The day’s catch





I’ve only had the shanty to myself for 2 hours this winter, so I told the wife I wanted to spend the night one of these nights. I’m hoping to get out there Wednesday immediately after work.

[Jackson Marsh]

Keep that little girl away from the deer, she clearly is a "blue tongue" carrier.

[greenhorndave]

Just some general discussion and some thoughts for some of the newer members...

When I first starting using Beast tactics I spread myself way too thin. I scouted LOTS of properties in a very broad area. It’s good to cast a big net, as you never know when you’ll find the next best thing. However, the problem with that when you’re inexperienced is you don’t learn the ins and outs of each property like you should. It makes analyzing hot sign during the season tougher, because you don’t know what to expect. “Ok so there’s rubs here in late October, were they here in September? Is it just heating up or maybe I missed the boat already??”.

It didn’t take me long to realize that spring scouting only told part of the story.

I realized my mistake and for the last couple years I’ve concentrated on my best properties both during summer and in season scouting. I’ve learned a lot about them. But now I’m to the point where sticking solely to those properties would be counterproductive to a certain extent. It’s a risk/reward scenario. The “risk” of not gaining intel at my current properties is low, as I already know them well. The “reward” of potentially finding something great at a new property easily outweighs most of the risk involved. I’m still going to scout my main stays, just not as much. I know them well enough that hot sign should tell me the story.

I’m very confident with my cyber scouting. I feel anything I pin is high odds. This helps tremendously for speed scouting new properties. So with a little luck, I’ll have 2-3 REALLY solid bedding areas to add to the list this year. I’m looking for exceptional bedding, not just another “decent” spot to keep tabs on.

On a side note, after 5 years of scouting with a bedding mindset, I have zero bedding areas that I can count on to hold a quality buck at any point in the season. Does, yes. Big bucks, no. The reason for this is mostly due to pressure, and partly due to habitat. Early season pressure is low and the crops are standing. They have tons of options for bedding, and no reason to head to remote marsh and swamp bedding. My 2019 buck is the perfect example. He was bedding a few hundred yards from the field edge, meanwhile there are drool worthy points and islands to bed on 1/2 mile away.

Once a few hunters start kicking around, bedding changes. At the same time crops are getting picked which also has a big effect.

Gun season changes things yet again. I’ve found that each property is different. Some remote bedding is worthless after gun season. Bucks abandon it for low pressure private sanctuaries nearby. Remote bedding on other properties will hold good bucks but not with consistency (from what I’ve seen so far). It all depends on a multitude of factors and it takes a couple seasons to figure each one out.

Dan has talked about bucks heading to the security of remote public bedding when pressure ramps up in the area. As of now I have only scouted one area where I suspect this happens. I haven’t been there in a few years but this spring I’ll be back.

I’m pretty excited about some of my potential bedding areas. I had to branch way out to find new ground, and some is 1 1/2 hrs from my house. I’ve got marshy riverbottom, classic marshes, some tamarack swamp, and even some wide open CRP with tiny bedding pockets pinned. I can’t wait to get into them this spring. I have 8 hours of vacation held over from last year, so I know I will at least be taking one day off work to dedicate an entire day to scouting new ground. I’ll be going sun up to sun down.

I wish I would have read this in August.

I resemble a lot of those remarks.

I don't have the confidence in cyber scouting, but I suspect that will improve in time.

But the parts about learning a smaller number of areas well, how bedding changes throughout the year and the desire to push to a deeper destination when the best spot is much closer are things that I learned the hard way last season.

Can't endorse this post enough.

[Lockdown]

March 11th

Used a vacation day and the plan was scouting from sun up to sundown. Most of our snow is gone and scouting conditions are good around home. I decided to head to the furthest pins I had, as time allowed it. Plus one of my “must see” spots was there.

First spot was a tamarack swamp. I found out right away they still had plenty of snow



There were some islands that undoubtedly held bedding, with some food plots just across the border on the private land it was too perfect.

I found some decent bedding but not the “homerun” I was looking for. In 2 miles of walking I only encountered one rub. deer numbers were suppose to be high here, and this county is about as good as it gets for wall hanger bucks in western/central MN. So the lack of buck sign threw me off. All the beds were covered with a foot of snow, so that didn’t help either.


I did find one good set up on an island, but someone else liked it too.




On the next island over I kicked up a doe, found a nice crossing of trails, and the only fresh rub. I noticed heavy browse on this tree. No doubt they’ve been in here all winter.

The only beds I found in the snow were on top of the islands, and a few randomly on the ice in the tamaracks.


If it was close to home I’d put time into this spot. I left a little disappointed but optimistic. On to spot #2.


I stopped in a small town and talked to a mechanic. He said there were lots of deer around and showed me a pic of the three bucks he, his son, and his bro in law shot last year. Two respectable bucks and one mounter. they were shot 10 miles from the piece I’d just scouted.

Spot #2 was a small tract with some marsh points and islands. Again, VERY little buck sign. Almost non existent. It was a quick one mile scout. Found 2 rubs and mediocre looking bedding.



Rub was on a 2” tree at waist height but not near bedding. I know there’s shooters around... I’d seen a couple tracks that looked like they were probably decent bucks, and this rub had height.

Still no slam dunk, on to #3.

This spot is a huge marsh/swamp/bog that is thousands of acres in size.

It would have taken me a couple days to scout it. I picked an area that looked like it had potential for both remote AND overlooked bedding. I was banking on the remote bedding, as there were multiple water hazards to get back there.

After mile one I partially swamped both boots. No rubs. Hardly even any old rubs (which was consistent at properties 1&2 as well). I finally get back to a good area. Still lackluster! I know there are beds under the snow, but the lack of rubs and licking branches blew my mind. I finally find a buck bed with a rub by the root ball of an uprooted tree.



If you’re new, just remember: BUCKS. LOVE. BLOWDOWNS. I see beds by them all the time. Sometimes they climb way up into the crotch of the branches, so watch for that.

Other than the one rub... nothing. No old ones. Nothing that says “we spend a lot of time here.”

I cross another frozen channel and more cattails to the most remote island in this part of the marsh. This better be good or I’m going home I follow a perfect sliver of dry land off the end of the island. Superb bedding potential. NOTHING. No rubs. Not new. Not old. It was unreal. Only what looked like a light trail heading down it. I’m sure there were a few beds under the snow, but there wasn’t anything exceptional.



I did find a faint rub line more toward the middle of the island though. It led me to a blowdown with 3-4 rubs in a 30 yard area. There were two beds in the snow and one was huge. Idk if it got rounded out or what, but I couldn’t find any big tracks.





View from the beds




I’m not sure why they picked this exact spot on the island. Maybe because it offered the best escape but it would have been hard to hunt. You can see the undergrowth is insane due to the big trees blowing over. Not to mention, it was well over a mile to get back there. Waders and crossing two drainage canals and a couple hundred yards of bog would be required when you’re not pushing your way through dry land choked out with saplings Is the bog a nightmare when it’s not frozen? Who knows.

At that point my speed scout was complete. I hit a few potential spots on the way back to the truck. More of the same.

At this point I’d logged 6 miles through the snow, with only 10 rubs found. I couldn’t believe it. What was suppose to be a Mecca seemed as lifeless as my poorest spots back home.

My legs needed a rest, so I drove most of the way home and checked an island on a small marsh piece that I’d always wanted to look at.

I could hardly make out any trails heading out there. Because of that I knew it was going to suck and it did I checked out a potential fence line rut funnel then headed out.

I totaled 7 miles for the day.

The lack of sign up north really has me baffled. I didn’t see evidence of trophy bucks. But with all that habitat I know they’re there. Harvest records say they’re there. The loose lips sink ships facebookers say they’re there. The mechanic even showed me a pic.

Im reminded of a spot I scouted in my early days. I was getting pissed due to lack of sign just like I experienced yesterday. But I kept at it and eventually found them. And when I did, I found more buck sign on that few acre island than the combined 6-7 miles and dozen bedding areas I walked prior to that.

So I think that’s the issue. I just haven’t found the “goods” yet. I’ll definitely do some summer scouting/observing/shining to gauge numbers and buck quality. Possibly spring scouting too, it’s just tough when I’m busy and it’s an hour and a half away.

Part of me wants to scout other areas, part of me feels like I can’t let this area kick my rear end. I’m sure I’ll be back...

[KornfedKiller]

If you’re new, just remember: BUCKS. LOVE. BLOWDOWNS. I see beds by them all the time. Sometimes they climb way up into the crotch of the branches, so watch for that.

I'm searching for my first bow kill, journaling as well. 3rd year going at it. I had maybe encountered 5 beds? After this piece of advice, I think I found a dozen the last two days... really changed my outlook. Thanks for jumping out of the forum's gated community

[RiverBottoms]

Thanks for the write up and insights. I burned a vacation day on the 12th to scout, and loved it.