Summer scouting 2010

[dan]

Its that time of year again... The time when my in woods scouting turns more towards scouting from the truck. I have already started glassing areas where I have scouted and figured out the buck bedding, now I need to know what kind of bucks are living in these spots. I am also searching out a specific white buck I have been recently hearing talk about living in one of my areas.... This is a good time to drop the trail cam's on remote fields I can't glass too...
Whenever I see a shooter buck I will record that sighting on a map and name that buck. Sightings will be kept track of from now until hunting season ends. I will also make maps for each of my specific target animals marking each sighting, the time, weather conditions, and wind direction so I can develop specific patterns of when certain deer are using certain bedding areas...
The spots around home will get the best coverage, but a few road trips are in order.
I would love to post my maps, but that would give to much info out and invite people to hunt my spots.

How about you guys? What you doing now, for this falls hunting?

[dan]

Went out for an hour before dark glassing... One doe.
Went out from 10:00 to 10:30 shining local public area... 4 does, 3 unconfirmed's, No fawns.

Pathetic!

7 or 8 years ago, before they started the CWD slaughter the same cruise would of resulted in a dozen P&Y bucks and 50 to 100 deer seen.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Dan,

Any suggestions on monitoring the activity of mostly wooded area bucks? I have a couple open fields I can monitor, but one is located near a major road. No spotlighting in MO, and I don't think they will come out until after dark. My plan is too monitor the 10 mineral licks I have spread out over the 400 acres with trail cameras starting around 7/24. Any other suggestions from the Big Buck master??

[Dewey]

Pathetic!

7 or 8 years ago, before they started the CWD slaughter the same cruise would of resulted in a dozen P&Y bucks and 50 to 100 deer seen.

They're all laying on the road dead.
I drive 40 miles one way down to Menomonee Falls on Hwy 41 every day to work and there has to be at least 20 deer on both sides of the freeway. Probably many more in the ditch's that I can't see. It probably looks worse because the DNR has not been picking them up.
I agree Dan, the CWD slaughter+herd reduction has wiped out the herd. I went shining a few weeks ago and saw half the deer I normally do in Unit 68B.
The "Good Ole Days" were late 90's-early 2000's. How I wish I could have them back!

[Swampthing]

My proudest sighting so far was also my 1st this year.I really gotta thank Dan on this one .I remember watching his video and it was pretty overwhelming trying to take it all in.But applying the year round system really puts it all together .
I found some good rubs last season.I went back in this spring and found his bedding,picked out my trees for this fall.I was pretty excited to do some glassing of that spot,even more excited when that buck was staring back at me from the point I already scouted.
I saw a group of 3 nice bucks in another area.
And tonite another group of 2 real nice bucks .
It was kinda cloudy, dreary,cool this morning and deer(does) were wandering around all over up until 11:00. I love days like today.
Today I finished planting my hand planted food plot.Lotta work, but pretty excited to see how it turns out.

[dan]

Dan,

Any suggestions on monitoring the activity of mostly wooded area bucks? I have a couple open fields I can monitor, but one is located near a major road. No spotlighting in MO, and I don't think they will come out until after dark. My plan is too monitor the 10 mineral licks I have spread out over the 400 acres with trail cameras starting around 7/24. Any other suggestions from the Big Buck master??

Mineral licks and cameras is a good way to monitor summer bucks
If its legal a small amount of corn works year round too. Just don't put the cameras where you intend to hunt... But strategic placement that helps you determine whats on the property, and where its bedding based on times and placement.

[Mike]

Definatley got the log of big buck sightings going, with wind direction, time, description of activity and location. Have noticed an overall buck disappearance since the heavy rains, my only guess is that it made some food source lush out of view of the fields. The big guy was finally seen again this evening, g-2 is starting to split dammit, was hoping he would stay big typical.

Camera are out, minerals are refreshed. I was disappointed by my last 2 weeks of pics, 600 pics but no big bucks up on a ridgetop waterhole. No does with more than 1 fawn either, we haven't seen any around our area, probably too many deer .

[Hill Hunter]

Still too early for me to get all revved up. I have a deccent idea of what bucks in our area made it through (if they didnt die since they shed out). Just waiting on the antlers to get more developed so I can see how much they gained.

I'll probably do more glassing from the ditch this year than ever before, sick of vehicles driving by, stopping, then coming back to see what I seen, etc....gets to be a circus.

Even with the mineral I only put the cameras on those sites for a couple weeks later on, otherwise seems like the really good ones know its there and only visit a few times.

A few stands set, otherwise trees cut out and ready for the sneak attack with the lone wolf....

[Wrinkleneck]

I have been seeing alot of deer in the beans eating the bean sprouts in the evenings!! Been getting some bucks on camera at my mineral lick, just waiting for more growth to see what they may turn into.

[hunt n nut]

They're all laying on the road dead.

Yeah, whats up with that???
Was just talkin' with my buddy about that the other day. We keep saying there ain't no deer (which I really believe yet!), but there they are dead on the side of the road , hope the looney DNR doesn't see that and still think there are to many.

As far as the scouting, got a couple cameras out, its tough when your almost 3 hours from your spot, but we'll do what we can

[NatureBoy]

Spotted a bachelor group of bucks at 7AM yesterday. One had nice bases but not a whole lot of growth. Exciting to see though!

[Indianahunter]

I was out spotlighting Friday night with Dad and it was so weird, Never seen a single spotted fawn and seen tons of does. What does this mean?

[dan]

I was out spotlighting Friday night with Dad and it was so weird, Never seen a single spotted fawn and seen tons of does. What does this mean?

Noticed the exact same thing here... I think the fawns must be hiding. I notice you you see the does bring the fawns out midday a lot, but not at dark, which coincidentally is the same time coyotes start there evening feeding.

[Black Squirrel]

I was out spotlighting Friday night with Dad and it was so weird, Never seen a single spotted fawn and seen tons of does. What does this mean?

Noticed the exact same thing here... I think the fawns must be hiding. I notice you you see the does bring the fawns out midday a lot, but not at dark, which coincidentally is the same time coyotes start there evening feeding.

I ve got a doe and single fawn living out back of the house. I see them almost daily, and yeah they are out there alot of times at mid day.

[Sam Ubl]

Definatley got the log of big buck sightings going, with wind direction, time, description of activity and location. Have noticed an overall buck disappearance since the heavy rains, my only guess is that it made some food source lush out of view of the fields. The big guy was finally seen again this evening, g-2 is starting to split dammit, was hoping he would stay big typical.

Camera are out, minerals are refreshed. I was disappointed by my last 2 weeks of pics, 600 pics but no big bucks up on a ridgetop waterhole. No does with more than 1 fawn either, we haven't seen any around our area, probably too many deer .

I guess everyone has their characteristics they appreciate, but a plain Jane typical rack to me is not as exciting as a split G2, and whatever else happens. If I were you, I'd be ecstatic about it - then again, to each his/her own.