2021 scouting reports

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greenhorndave
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby greenhorndave » Fri Apr 23, 2021 11:46 am

Jsmitty3 wrote:New to posting on this forum but have been a avid reader and beast style hunter for a few years now. I scouted a spot recently that was literally teeming with bucks sign it’s small chunk only 35 acres and it’s public that is virtually untouched for the last several years the issue is it’s right in town and trying to be sneaky getting in as going to be paramount anybody have any good tricks or ideas for being as clandestine as possible?

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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Apr 23, 2021 11:50 am

Jsmitty3 wrote:New to posting on this forum but have been a avid reader and beast style hunter for a few years now. I scouted a spot recently that was literally teeming with bucks sign it’s small chunk only 35 acres and it’s public that is virtually untouched for the last several years the issue is it’s right in town and trying to be sneaky getting in as going to be paramount anybody have any good tricks or ideas for being as clandestine as possible?

Have somebody drop you off and pick you up. The less you are seen the better.
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Jsmitty3 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:16 pm

Thanks for the tips I dressed up as a fisherman when I scouted it I’m beyond excited about It I have about 10 private properties to hunt but the sign on this property blew the doors off most of them. I think keeping it secret will be the key. Another thing I’m struggling with is the amount of sign was slightly overwhelming I’m trying to decide how far to push into it when I hunt it the first couple times
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Jsmitty3 » Sat Apr 24, 2021 1:08 pm

Went and checked out a parcel I have permission to hunt around 100 acres it seems like it should be prime ground but it is almost devoid of deer sign it’s a big oak ridge that drops into a creek bottom with big ag fields up top I scoured the whole things and only found a few rubs a few sets of tracks and some faint trails i hunted it a only a handful of times in the two years I could hunt it so far . Is the thing to do just write it off or just periodically check it for better sign?
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:47 am

Jsmitty3 wrote:Went and checked out a parcel I have permission to hunt around 100 acres it seems like it should be prime ground but it is almost devoid of deer sign it’s a big oak ridge that drops into a creek bottom with big ag fields up top I scoured the whole things and only found a few rubs a few sets of tracks and some faint trails i hunted it a only a handful of times in the two years I could hunt it so far . Is the thing to do just write it off or just periodically check it for better sign?


Weedy, overgrown 20 ft or 20 yard wide pockets could be preferred spots around there. Oak ridge , sets my mind towards open, exposed understory. Was that accurate? What did you find?
It could be just like the ag fields and only provide food.
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Jsmitty3 » Sun Apr 25, 2021 1:51 am

Yeah that is pretty much spot on with lack of understory 2 years ago the farmer cut all the brushy spots with a skid steer forestry head it is starting to grow back very thick in a few spots so I think it should hold bedding hopefully soon. The area itself holds plenty of deer so I just plan to stay out of there and hope deer move in as it thickens up
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Lockdown » Mon Apr 26, 2021 3:08 pm

Got some time to hit the woods today. Hung the first cam of ‘21. I put it back on the apple tree to hopefully pick up the drop tine and verify he survived the winter. I know he survived the season.

Then I went to one of my main stays and dug around a huge thicket that has given me trouble over the years. They’re super unpredictable in there due to lack of structure. I’m pretty sure the big bucks bed on several hundreds of yards long transitions. The does are all over the place. I’ve scouted this thicket very extensively multiple different springs. But low and behold I did learn something.

I think I found a small island that isn’t noticeable on the map. Just by chance I’ve walked up to it (up to the water) on 3 different sides... but for whatever reason I never pushed through that area in a grid fashion until today. Only problem was I wasn’t expecting any water hazards and didn’t want to swamp my hiking boots. (Excuses excuses) so as I tried to get around this creek and low spot, I realized it made a big horse shoe and I couldn’t get to the middle :think: :think: map shows what looks to be a couple slightly bigger trees so there’s gotta be dry land there. To make it even better, it’s in the center of this thicket area and it would make sense that this would receive the least amount of pressure. Might be a crucial discovery?? Might be wet and not amount to much? Time will tell.

I did check on several existing sets and made some adjustments to a couple of them. Picked and discretely prepped one new tree. Have to go back for two more... ran out of time. 5.96 miles walked.

By the end of the evening I think I shed a lot of light on the highest odds bedding in there. Will be fun to try a couple new and different approaches this fall.
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby MoonBuck » Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:57 am

I was already excited about this piece of public. Isolated by a river, sort of an obscure hunk of land in it's own right, with quality bedding back in the furthest reaches. Sure enough, the sign presented itself as I got further back, encountering large, consistent rubs and some scrapes as I went. It was then that I found this gem. I don't know if I should be more or less excited. Yes, he's dead and gone but the lands ability to hold large deer are certainly there. How long do you guys think this has been laying there? It was partially submerged in the swamp, the darker parts being in the water, the lighter parts exposed to the sun. No other bones of this guy lying around, at least that I could find.
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Wed Apr 28, 2021 8:01 am

MoonBuck wrote:I was already excited about this piece of public. Isolated by a river, sort of an obscure hunk of land in it's own right, with quality bedding back in the furthest reaches. Sure enough, the sign presented itself as I got further back, encountering large, consistent rubs and some scrapes as I went. It was then that I found this gem. I don't know if I should be more or less excited. Yes, he's dead and gone but the lands ability to hold large deer are certainly there. How long do you guys think this has been laying there? It was partially submerged in the swamp, the darker parts being in the water, the lighter parts exposed to the sun. No other bones of this guy lying around, at least that I could find.



Really cool find that was a brute.
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Jsmitty3 » Tue May 04, 2021 1:34 pm

Went and scouted a property today that is around 80 acres with mixed ag and a oak woods that was select cut 5 years ago when they logged it they left many tops so it created many pockets great for bedding I found most of the bedding in and around 2 small draws in the heart of the woods I jumped 15 deer out of each they seemed to be right on the edges and tips of these draws. Definitely will target these come the rut as it screams doe family groups. Figuring out potential buck beds was interesting because west and south of these draws is more blow downs and old treetops surrounded by sapling growth so I checked them out and found several beds with some rubbing around them but mostly smaller ones. So leads me to believe younger bucks are bedding downwind of the family groups during rut at least. Trying to search out isolated spots where a big one will hide is my next mission but was happy to find all the rest of the bedding where I predicted was a good feeling. The property is completely surronded by a subdivision and the deer were not skiddish at all it was almost eerie how close I could get to them. Must be a lot of feeding going on. There was no water on the property so waterholes could be a great feature to add. It’s fun for me to have this great place to hunt and be able to do whatever I want to improve it. I’m really applying all of the stuff I’ve learned on wind direction and how it relates to bedding to try to improve my access and how I set up the property. Properly scouting before doing any improvements has really been a huge advancement for me thanks everyone for all the info
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri May 07, 2021 1:35 pm

Anyone pull any cards lately? Curious where antler growth is at. Had a guy tell me he saw a buck with 4-5” of growth and the start of brow tines...
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Jsmitty3 » Fri May 07, 2021 3:19 pm

I saw a bachelor group while I was scouting yesterday all about 2 inches big bulbs se Wisconsin
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby MoonBuck » Sat May 08, 2021 2:46 am

Lockdown wrote:Anyone pull any cards lately? Curious where antler growth is at. Had a guy tell me he saw a buck with 4-5” of growth and the start of brow tines...


This is the best I've seen thus far, from 4/25.
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby may21581 » Sun May 09, 2021 2:23 am

Considering this is a marsh when you look at the aerials how can you tell the difference between deer trails and waterways?
The area you have marked clearly looks like like a major hub. Looking at your aerial the area to the south south/west looks very similiar, is it good bedding as well?
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Re: 2021 scouting reports

Unread postby Jsmitty3 » Tue May 11, 2021 10:33 am

Does anybody have experience with an over abundance of deer I have this property I’ve been working on just got permission in November last year that literally has deer bedding every ten feet it seems and they are not skiddish at all. I’m used to hunting lots of property with very few deer. Would you recommend just hunting the edges or pushing in I can literally get within 10 feet of most of the deer it’s unlike anything I’ve dealt with.


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