2020 Scouting Reports

[Quest1001]

I walked 1/4 mile into a new piece and realized I forgot something in the truck and turned around. I looked down and notice something on my pant, it looked like ants in a line crawling up my leg. Nope, a line of ticks!

By the time a walked back I had flicked 16 ticks off my pants. Called it a day haha. I’ll come back with clothes sprayed with permethrin.

[Quest1001]

Found a cool shed hung up in the brush

[Hawthorne]

Found a cool shed hung up in the brush

Cool find!

[E72]

Found a cool shed hung up in the brush

[Thesouthpaw]

I have decided to expand my season and hunt Maryland this year, since it opens a few weeks before WV. I have already made a few trips over there to a handful of different pieces, and have definitely found some deer. I intend to hunt the area in early September, and the goal is to kill a 2.5 year old buck since I don't have a ton of time. The goal is to find where public hunting areas but up to private fields, then back track to bedding. At this point, I believe I have found two different areas that I can confidently day hold bucks, but I plan to spend quite a few more days scouting before august. Then I am hoping to deploy a few cameras to see if my hypothesis are correct.

[Thesouthpaw]

Update on my Maryland scouting efforts. I drove over yesterday to scout an area that I have been looking at on the map. The area is a long ridge that was clear cut n top. the end up the ridge dumps into a field that the DNR mows once a twice a summer from the looks of it. On the back side of the clear cut,to the north of the field, is a swampy area with waist high grass, and sticker bushes in the higher ground. I jumped a bachelor group of bucks in there, and found where they have been bedding consistently from the looks of it. I also found where they have been walking into the clear cut, and presumably out to the hay field. As the crow flies, they are bedding 250 yards from the field, but I think I can sneak within 100 yards of where their beds currently are. I plan to go back late July to check things out, and hang a camera close to the food source, where I can check it without bumping the deer.
I plan to continue to scout a day or two a week from now until August, then I will deploy cameras and let them sit until the week before season opens.

[Mainframe]

Guys
going to start hunting beast style this coming season. I hunt on a large lease 4 hours from home, hunt over bait in a box and have gotten very bored of it. I'm going to start hunting public to give myself more options closer to home and give my spots on the lease a rest. I'm unfamiliar with these public spots. Would ya'll risk going in and bumping the deer around with several scouting trips this late in the summer? I plan to stop my scouting the end of July or mid August. it's been 35 years since I've hunted public not sure how much I can get away with on Pressured deer. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[austin1990]

Water finally got down enough to go check out a spot and hung a camera to soak for a while. Water has been over a lot of this and was still a ft deep in spots but found some good sign.

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[Evanszach7]

Pretty cool doe bedding spotted in the Hocking Hills area of OH

[JAK]

Been hanging some cameras in some areas i cant really inventory from the road. New areas as well. Took my oldest boy with me today. He spotted 2 bucks before i did and one looked like hes gunna be good. He was pretty proud of himself. He did really good for the first mile then he wanted me to carry him so i got a good workout.

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But to me its worth it to get him involved.

[austin1990]

Got my first pic today from that cell came I hung just off that point I posted a pic of earlier in this thread. It's a little guy, but Think I may be in the game...

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[redz]

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Went to scout a piece of public land nearby my house around
7:00 PM, and saw this guy looking at me right off the access road not even 200 yards from the parking area.

[MichiganMike]

Great topic! Being off for the last couple months from the Covid thing- I was able to find a lot of new spots in NW Michigan. I did most of my scouting in March and done by the end of April before greenup. Found a lot of beds and rut sign surrounding from last November, but also some good early season potential with nearby white oaks that trails lead to from bedding. Have some camera set ups I can put on the high ground nearby where people ride bikes. horseback etc. so I don't disturb the hunting area. Look like some good buck tracks going down this trail. Probably be putting cameras up around the 4th of july and let them go until mid Sept when I go to check the oaks if their dropping.

[PackMule]

Got out Saturday morning to go hang a camera on a spot I was hoping to catch pictures of this mature buck I've been trying to get tabs on. I know he spent a lot of time on this piece of public last fall. I entered a woodlot where I planned to hang a cam and I just so happened to stumble on to his bed a couple hundred yards from the camera setup. I had scouted this area before in March/April but the deer had yet to move back into it and I missed what now looks so obvious. Hoping to get some photo's on the food source he's currently using. I don't see em this big very often.

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[MichiganMike]

Been hanging some cameras in some areas i cant really inventory from the road. New areas as well. Took my oldest boy with me today. He spotted 2 bucks before i did and one looked like hes gunna be good. He was pretty proud of himself. He did really good for the first mile then he wanted me to carry him so i got a good workout.20200613_085410.jpg
But to me its worth it to get him involved.

Thats too cool! Great to see kids out in the field and get them involved. Hope you have a good season!