Summer Scouting - New Area

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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CEG017
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Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby CEG017 » Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:49 pm

Hi Guys,

New to hunting public land and I recently moved to a new area this summer (new job) so I am looking for places to hunt. My question has to do with scouting and what I should focus my time on for the rest of the summer. I have done alot of E-scouting, some glassing, and a few boots on the ground trips to some different areas early this summer. Is it worth it for me this time of year to be pushing in to potential areas that I will hunt, or should I spend my time scouting from a distance? Will the sign be too difficult to identify as everything as greened up? How would you react to the situation? Curious of your thoughts. I know this has been talked about on some other threads but I think my situation is a little unique as I just moved to this area and I want to maximize effectiveness. Any help is much appreciated!


btsnhos
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Re: Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby btsnhos » Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:58 am

CEG017 wrote:Hi Guys,

New to hunting public land and I recently moved to a new area this summer (new job) so I am looking for places to hunt. My question has to do with scouting and what I should focus my time on for the rest of the summer. I have done alot of E-scouting, some glassing, and a few boots on the ground trips to some different areas early this summer. Is it worth it for me this time of year to be pushing in to potential areas that I will hunt, or should I spend my time scouting from a distance? Will the sign be too difficult to identify as everything as greened up? How would you react to the situation? Curious of your thoughts. I know this has been talked about on some other threads but I think my situation is a little unique as I just moved to this area and I want to maximize effectiveness. Any help is much appreciated!


Going through an area once isn't going to ruin it. Deer get bumped all the time by stuff, they'll return. I walk new areas all the up to and through the season, usually only one time where I find a tree that I think will either give me a shot or get me in a position to know the area for a future hunt without messing it up. It also depends on your season, in NW Florida the season doesn't open till October so thats still 3 months away, eastern FL opens sept. so I could and will walk areas more now in NW florida and find that nice tree where as I might just walk eastern FL once this time of year. There are a few spots in NC, SC, and MO where I find buck beds and will purposely go in there down wind of them and bump them from their beds then setup waiting for them to come back, alot of times they do.
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Re: Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby Smitty » Thu Jul 08, 2021 5:57 am

I can relate to this a little bit, I currently don’t have enough time to observe areas from a far or do any shining, I can get close to a good idea from e-scouting but I’m no whitetail wizard I have found if I think I have a good area before season I’ll go right up in there and see if I can confirm, it may tip them off a little bit but it also gives me more confidence when I do come back to hunt it. By physically spot checking i have been closer to nicer deer than I ever have been. I have only been at this a couple years and still have much to learn about these areas but I have had some good hunts.
Haste makes waste
MichiganMike
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Re: Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby MichiganMike » Thu Jul 08, 2021 6:44 am

I say get in there and check it out! the heat and bugs can be a pain this time of year, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Bring some bug spray and water. As far as sign, you can still see rubs form last season, but i would focus on tracks and droppings. Maybe find some lowland bedding with mud like a creek/river bottom- and check for good tracks in it. Dont worry about bumping deer this time of year- theyll be back.
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Bonecrusher101
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Re: Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby Bonecrusher101 » Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:37 am

I will tell you what I did last October that really got me setup nicely.

As soon as bow season opened I started chewing up land. I had the hip boots on, gps ready to go and my bow over my shoulder. I had several new areas picked and started walking transition lines. When I jumped deer I marked the area. I found the oaks the deer were concentrating on or the beds they were currently using.

One spot I jumped deer was an overlooked spot 150 yards off a road. I knew I wouldn’t be able to save it for later and expected another hunter to find it before the season ended. I decided to act quick and hunted it first. I watched multiple does the first morning I setup, hoping to observe a shooter buck using the area too. As it got toward 10:30am I went ahead and killed one with my bow. I wanted the meat and hadn’t made a bow kill in several years.

Another spot I found was 1.4 miles away from nearest legal parking area. Also, you had to cross a creek with waist high water before the final 200 yards into the setup. That water crossing and the final 200 yards set me apart from another hunter. I hunted it the first week of gun season and dragged an 8 point out on my second ever trip in there. I walked past a permanent stand that the other hunter had put up 1/8 mile from where I made my kill. That stand showed up between my initial scout mission and my hunt.

I always seem to make the mistake of being too passive and setting up on cold sign during early season. Also, I setup on spots where I saw or bumped deer during the summer. The deer never seem to be in same spot as where they were during summer.

So, Last year I decided to try bumping deer then backing out as clean as possible and returning with my gear for a high probability observation/ kill mission hunt. My first two deer last year I had to credit to in season scouting instead of sitting somewhere the deer weren’t.

Again, this probably isn’t ideal for mature bucks but it will get you on deer, and as a new kid in town that’s a good start.
Be original and Enjoy every step along the adventure.
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Bonecrusher101
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Re: Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby Bonecrusher101 » Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:37 am

I will tell you what I did last October that really got me setup nicely.

As soon as bow season opened I started chewing up land. I had the hip boots on, gps ready to go and my bow over my shoulder. I had several new areas picked and started walking transition lines. When I jumped deer I marked the area. I found the oaks the deer were concentrating on or the beds they were currently using.

One spot I jumped deer was an overlooked spot 150 yards off a road. I knew I wouldn’t be able to save it for later and expected another hunter to find it before the season ended. I decided to act quick and hunted it first. I watched multiple does the first morning I setup, hoping to observe a shooter buck using the area too. As it got toward 10:30am I went ahead and killed one with my bow. I wanted the meat and hadn’t made a bow kill in several years.

Another spot I found was 1.4 miles away from nearest legal parking area. Also, you had to cross a creek with waist high water before the final 200 yards into the setup. That water crossing and the final 200 yards set me apart from another hunter. I hunted it the first week of gun season and dragged an 8 point out on my second ever trip in there. I walked past a permanent stand that the other hunter had put up 1/8 mile from where I made my kill. That stand showed up between my initial scout mission and my hunt.

I always seem to make the mistake of being too passive and setting up on cold sign during early season. Also, I setup on spots where I saw or bumped deer during the summer. The deer never seem to be in same spot as where they were during summer.

So, Last year I decided to try bumping deer then backing out as clean as possible and returning with my gear for a high probability observation/ kill mission hunt. My first two deer last year I had to credit to in season scouting instead of sitting somewhere the deer weren’t.

Again, this probably isn’t ideal for mature bucks but it will get you on deer, and as a new kid in town that’s a good start.
Be original and Enjoy every step along the adventure.
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OldFarmBuck
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Re: Summer Scouting - New Area

Unread postby OldFarmBuck » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:02 am

First off you gotta get on the property to see what’s on it, especially with it being totally new to you. One question to ask yourself is, are you going to be deer hunting or are you hunting a deer? You can e-scout all you want but if you are hunting a deer and the area doesn’t hold a big buck you’re just looking at maps. This time of year I’m not wearing a place out but, I am going in and putting up trail-cams letting them sit 10-15 days and then moving them. I want to know what’s on the piece of property I’m gonna hunt. I’m not looking for buck bedding areas this time of year either. I’m just trying to figure out travel corridors. Find water and look for tracks. Finding old rubs and scrapes can be tough right now but if you do pin and pin the areas you find tracks. A totally new piece of property can feel intimidating but just let the land lead you to the spots. Focus on small pieces of it and then put it all together while e-scouting. Use the season to fine tune your scouting. Public land deer get bumped a lot so don’t worry just keep it as minimal as possible and learn the land.


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