Brutal Scout Today

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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Singing Bridge
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Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:27 am

We're getting a couple of inches of snow today, with strong winds, perfect time to go scout, right? :lol: I spent about 3 hours on the public land and saw a lot of deer. I try not to disturb them too much at this time of the year, as they are pretty stressed. I followed a great looking rubline to the downwind edge of a small ridge that drops off into a bog on the downwind side- so many rubs that I knew it was a young buck. Not a yearling last fall, but a two year old. I quickly found about 20 rubs pretty close together and... what's that? There he is all by his lonesome right on the highest point of the ridge on the downwind edge (no rack). Pretty cool that he didn't have a clue I was there, with sideways snowfall and high winds (didnt' take the camera). After about 5 minutes I realized he didn't have a clue and started walking up. He blew out into the bog and off he went. I jumped a lot of deer out in the bog too, kind of surprised that they didn't try to get out of the wind- it was nasty out there.


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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby dan » Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:35 am

Any day in the woods is a good day 8-)
Learn anything from that bedded buck?
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:48 am

A 3 year old is a target animal on public around here, pretty rare, and that's what he'll be this fall. I did a quick recon on his entrances and exits in the snow, the bog makes a 90 degree turn below the bed and two of his primary exit routes follow that edge. Lots of old rubs in front of the bed, one of those spots where when the buck disappears another one moves in, and more than one buck may bed there. He's got great visibility from the bed in all directions, I'll have to carefully prep this guy. Return visits are definitely in order.

Out in the bog I found a dead fawn the coyotes have been chewing on.
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby AC Rider » Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:32 am

Cool :)
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:50 am

dan wrote:Learn anything from that bedded buck?


After scouting out his entrances and exits, his escape route through the bog was in the general direction I had to leave anyway, so off I went. I wanted to see where he'd go when pressured, and he took me into a serious bog thicket. I didn't locate a bed, but ran out of time anyway. I'll definitely have to recon that thicket again.
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby The Rav » Sun Feb 28, 2010 9:47 pm

Nice going Bridge! Keep us posted on future visits there.
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Fri Sep 10, 2010 8:08 am

Singing Bridge wrote:We're getting a couple of inches of snow today, with strong winds, perfect time to go scout, right? :lol: I spent about 3 hours on the public land and saw a lot of deer. I try not to disturb them too much at this time of the year, as they are pretty stressed. I followed a great looking rubline to the downwind edge of a small ridge that drops off into a bog on the downwind side- so many rubs that I knew it was a young buck. Not a yearling last fall, but a two year old. I quickly found about 20 rubs pretty close together and... what's that? There he is all by his lonesome right on the highest point of the ridge on the downwind edge (no rack). Pretty cool that he didn't have a clue I was there, with sideways snowfall and high winds (didnt' take the camera). After about 5 minutes I realized he didn't have a clue and started walking up. He blew out into the bog and off he went. I jumped a lot of deer out in the bog too, kind of surprised that they didn't try to get out of the wind- it was nasty out there.


Scott....
Just wondering if you had anymore encounters with this buck this year ? Did you ever go back and see if the buck is still useing this bed, or do you want to stay out of there until you hunt him ?
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby hotterthantiffany » Fri Sep 10, 2010 8:48 am

SNOW?!?
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:18 am

hotterthantiffany wrote:SNOW?!?


that was February when he did that scouting. I was just curious if he followed up on that buck at all this summer...
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:49 am

I have not done any additional scouting on that buck after I finished- I put more days into scouting him out last spring though. I located two other bedding areas that he uses on occasion, and a public land primary scrape area where a ridge drops down into a swamp. The ridge has does bedded on and near it most of the time. I located several stand sites and mapped my approach to them to make a play for this buck.

My next step will be confirmation that the buck is in this area before I hunt. Has he survived the poaching and nature on this heavy pressure public land? Before I hunt I confirm that he has survived and returned or maintained these bedding areas by circumnavigating this hunting area and hopefully finding his tracks. I look for them (tracks are very important to me) on nearby woods-roads, creek crossings and in funnels on the perimeter of the area. Additional sign of rubs/scrapes/droppings are a bonus.

I'm just speaking of what works for me, I do not need to rely on summer visuals or trail cam pics, and am very efficient at locating this sign in a very short time. I only have a couple of trailcams, and look forward to their use- but I have many bucks scouted out for the upcoming season and rely on my woodsmanship to determine an individual buck's status.
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:55 am

thanks for the update Scott...

I was curious as to what you do during the summer months to keep tabs on a certain buck, and you answered my question...

I've often wondered if a guy has a buck located on a certain buckbed in the spring, if he should maybe slip in during the late summer and try to hide a trail cam near his bed, just to make sure he is using that certain bed ? Maybe only leave it there for a week, go back in and get the camera, and if the buck has not been back to that bed, you could eliminate it from one of your beds to hunt for that perfect morning sit...
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:36 am

dreaming bucks wrote:I've often wondered if a guy has a buck located on a certain buckbed in the spring, if he should maybe slip in during the late summer and try to hide a trail cam near his bed, just to make sure he is using that certain bed ? Maybe only leave it there for a week, go back in and get the camera, and if the buck has not been back to that bed, you could eliminate it from one of your beds to hunt for that perfect morning sit...


db, these are excellent questions and I'll offer my thoughts on this. First, I should mention that I do keep tabs on the bucks I have scouted out close to home throughout the summer- at least to a point. But I do it on the perimeter of the hunting area, and not near the bed. No disturbance and no scent. I sometimes get visuals on my bucks in forest meadows or open stands of oaks, or I cut their tracks on the sandy woods roads, etc. Sometimes they are not in the area all summer...

Regarding your question about the trailcam, a lot of us hunters have trouble knowing when a buck is using a specific bed, and an educated guess is oftentimes necessary. Watching a video or reading an article about a hunter putting a camera near a bucks bed and pulling it off with a successful hunt is very tempting- however: Putting a trailcam near one of his beds and checking it in a week gives the buck two opportunities to discover your scent near that bed and the route you took to enter and exit (he likely smells it within 24 hours of your departure). I would put the camera outside of the bucks security zone and monitor it in outlying areas. Rake out trails on other runways outside of the security area and monitor them for big tracks. Examine creek or fence crossings and the like for big tracks too. If the buck shows up or has been in the area all along, closely examine upcoming weather for conditions that favor him to bed there and make your move. Hope that helps.
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Re: Brutal Scout Today

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:52 pm

yes it does help, thanks !

I tell ya, I'm almost looking more forward to off season scouting after this hunting season, than I am hunting season... None of these little tips and tricks have really ever crossed my mind before. I was always one of the guys that just hung a stand up in the woods that looked like it had deer trails running by it, and I never really paid attention to the big picture.. So, I'm really looking forward to finding the beds, exit routes, etc.... Thanks to you guys giving out some vital information I think its going to help all of us become better hunters.... Thanks again !


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