What do you do if you only started scouting in June?

[wkpjs]

Hello, I am relatively new to this so bear with me. I only decided to hunt public sometime in the first half of the year. Whatever the case I am scouting many spots with all the usual tools like maps etc. My question (and I have many) is what would your advice be going into an area blind. I have put a ton of miles on walking ground and after a chat with a friend I was led to believe that I was doing more harm than good by tromping around in there.
After all the miles I found very little sign. I did leave a few trail cams behind and have had a few good bucks show up but for the most part, have netted very few pics. BTW they are cell cams so I haven't been back into these spots and won't till I hunt them.
Where I get stuck is that I have found very few beds and that seems like the cornerstone of the technique you all use?
Ok discuss! Thanks for any info you can help me with.

[rfickes87]

What state are you from or what type of terrain do you hunt?

[Jonny]

Cyber scout, stay mobile, read the sign and trust your gut. I guarantee many big bucks have been shot hunting a different spot than the hunter intended to when he started walking away from his truck.

All I'm doing this fall is staying mobile. I have 15-20 spots marked on google earth that I like, and a couple areas to park where I can scout along a couple transitions for sign. Really this is my only option when I live 4 hours away from where I hunt and have other things higher up the priority list

[wkpjs]

Wisconsin, South Central - South West

[JoeRE]

I would look at the series of video blogs done by Aaron Warbritton and others at MWW. They do most of thier public land scouting in the summer, seems like that is just when they have the most time, and have been pretty successful with it.

http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/videos/public-land-72517/

The most interesting stuff is in thier 2016 series I think

http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/public-land-video-2016/

Keep in mind how summer foliage and food changes how deer move summer versus fall. That only comes with experience and varies a lot by location. For instance here in the summer bedding more often occurs on or near exterior edges. Fall sign is harder to find in the summer but scouting can still be worthwhile.

I would encourage the mind set that cameras, even cell cameras, supplement scouting but do not replace it. Camera hangs are only as good as your knowledge of the land. Look at food, look at bedding, look at travel routes and old rut sign as best as you can see. Draw up maps based on those observations and that helps you put puzzle pieces together. ONLY AFTER THAT POINT do cameras really shine in helping a hunter understand deer movement IMO. Even cell cams need to be hung in "the right spot" you just get real time data w/o checking them that is their only benefit, abet a pretty big one.

[elk yinzer]

I have a couple places like that. Or you could think of it like an out of state hunt. One place this year I just threw a camera out on a whim and got some great bucks, so I am going to have to figure that area out and spend a few days in there.

Cyber scout a lot. Start big picture, narrow it down to a few key parcels. Be willing to drive to better parcels, don't automatically hunt the ones closest to you. Have a few options. Then go into detail mode and drill down on all the standard terrain features and stuff.

Do some low-impact scouting to areas you targeted from maps. Try to determine what the overall quality of the bucks look like, and adjust your standards accordingly.

Then hunt mobile and adjust to what you see.

[Net Guy]

In addition to the answers above, I would take good notes on your scouting and hunting trips. If you see a mature buck, be sure to go back in the offseason to figure out where he was bedded. I know Dan does this all the time and I'm sure it's one of the biggest reason he is so successful. He always figures out where they were bedded, where they travel, and why. Even if you shoot him (hope you do!) go back and learn. You'll be able to apply what you learn to mulptile spots as well. Good luck!