scouting new locations

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Outdoor814
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scouting new locations

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Sat Feb 27, 2016 1:44 pm

I'm planning on scouting a new location tomorrow and just have a few questions on my approach at it. I apologize in advance for not having photos for reference but I'm still lost on how to post them.

So the location is a semi large area of cattails that are surrounded by hardwoods on one side that eventually turn to a crop field with year to year corn/soy cycles and mostly water and a couple decent islands on the other that eventually turn to hardwoods. when looking at a airial of the area you can see tons of trails threw the cattails the go from point to point. Not so much action around the islands.

My plan is to walk the entire transition of the cattail area then somehow make my way to the islands just to see what's growing out there and see what sign is on them.

My questions are:

Is this how you would approach the area
What sign should I look for that I can factor into summer months
Should I focus on doe bedding areas as well as buck
With a crop field near by, should I focus on areas arou d that or on areas that have tree nuts ect.

This area isn't to close to my home so that's why I'm asking for any kind of help you guys could give me.

Thanks in Advance.

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby dan » Sun Feb 28, 2016 2:38 am

Sounds to me like you have the right plan... Your going to find that most of the doe bedding areas are near buck bedding areas... Yea, you should pay attention to then for rut hunting, but I would tend to concentrate more on the buck bedding you find on the transitions... If you see any brush or trees in the cattails, make sure you don't over look that.
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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Buckhunter » Sun Feb 28, 2016 2:39 am

Good luck tomorrow hope you find some good beds and good sign! Let us know how it goes
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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Sun Feb 28, 2016 10:53 am

Thanks guys any and all tips are greatly appreciated. I didn't make it out today but plan on heading there first thing tomorrow morning. I'm also going to try and get some pictures up.

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:51 am

I walk around until I find crap, tracks, old rubs/scrapes, etc...

Sometimes it leads to more...

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby fishlips » Sun Feb 28, 2016 12:52 pm

Pay attention to any sign you find. Some might not be sign you hunt over. Some might just be for planning your access. I wouldnt spend a ton of time on the islands itself. I have done that more than I care to admit and for the most part they are bedding on the edges of the islands and small clumps of brush and trees off of it.

cant go wrong with walking transitions though like you said. Have fun

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Mon Feb 29, 2016 12:43 am

Alright guys having a cup of coffee then I'm hittin the road. I'll do my best to try and get pictures up when I'm done. It's a beautiful day here in PA so hopefully we might see somethin.

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby mainebowhunter » Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:14 am

Be interested to see what you find!
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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Mon Feb 29, 2016 6:31 am

Alright I just got back from my trip. I have to say it has been the most successful scout I've done this year!

I found many buck beds and lots of sign. Old scrapes TONS of rubs and I would say no less than ten buck beds! Half had belly hair in them.

I couldn't get to the islands and I only scouted about 1/3 of the area I wanted to. I took pictures and made a bunch of videos. I'm going to try to post them later. I'm also going to try and get an aerial of the area I scouted for you guys to check out.

I didn't see any human tracks and didn't find any garbage so I'm very excited about that!

one thing I liked about this place is the lay of the land. Its got everything a whitetail needs in one core area. Food cover bedding. There are lots of elevation changes.

I'm super excited about getting back to this area again and I'll try to keep anyone interested updated. I might even start a journal I'm not sure yet.

I also want to say thanks to Dan and everyone else that has contributed information on this site. Without all of you I would not be getting the results I have been scouting and it's Greatly appreciated. This site has changed my entire perception on hunting whitetails and is slowly molding me into the outdoorsman I can only hope to be. Thanks again.

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Lockdown » Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:54 am

Nice work! Lookin forward to seeing pics

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Zona » Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:07 am

Sounds good Bud!! Bring on the pics!!

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:06 pm

Ok I'm slowly getting videos and photos together to post. I should have some of each by sometime tomorrow evening at the latest. Sorry for the delay. I want to get them up ASAP but like I've said before I'm not very tech savvy.

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Re: scouting new locations

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Tue Mar 01, 2016 10:12 pm

Alright I figured out how to upload to photobucket so I'm going to start getting more pictures up to start posting things by tonight.

Does anyone know if you can also post videos to photobucket?

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