I've never done much post-season scouting. I've read opinions that say it's very important and others that say it's not worth much.
Some say it's not worth much down South because the weather and foliage is so different in early vs. post season that the animals (mostly deer) are moving in very different patterns at those times.
So. Is post season scouting indispensable or a waste of time? If you're a 'scouter' what are you looking for? Thx.
I would have to say "for me" easily over 90% of my stand sights are completed by spring turkey season, but found during post season scouting using the previous years rub lines and rut sign. The other 10% or so hunted are usually based on available food sources at the present time. This seems to work for me.
Ask Gene and Barry Wensel.....they are scouting for next year now.
If you want to be ready for one the next year it should be a year round hunt.
YES, post season is one of the best. You do not have to worry about sent or scaring deer and can go right in the bedrooms to look around.
Tim
Absolutely! Most of my Fall success is atributed to my Winter Scouting,as well as,my shed Hunting.
wow I cant say I have ever even heard of it, but I suppose I do it without knowing it, while squirrel hunting? This month of Feb we are still out and about, and if you can find deer now, you will do good in the fall!
It can be very helpful, in areas with rough winters where deer yard up sometimes miles from their home turf not so much. Any time afield is good to help your woodsmanship skills and you may find a shed. Old runways show up well late in the year and that can help plans for next year if you mark them and look for stand sites or even make ground blinds now. Never hurts to go out and stump shoot and just say your scout'n...lol
Just got back in from a scouting/rabbit hunting/shed hunting/stump shooting trip. I find it very useful to be able to see which deer use which trails.
The area I was out on is only about 280 acres I seem to learn something everytime I go out there.
The area I hunt isn't all that big, so I have a pretty good idea where the deer are in the fall. Since it's along the river, high water can change things a bit in the spring, so scouting right now is not very productive. I do a lot of it during spring turkey season though.
scouting is year round for me like now you can look for sheds and this will along with trail cam pics tell tou a deers home range for the most part! im all the time watching trails and fields for new deer and the up comers ! for me this is the other part of the season!! :archer:
Yep!!!!
Bare in mind, you are not scouting where the deer are now, you are looking for places where they were last year, knowing they will be back next fall.
There will be minor changes because of other influences such as favored food sources, but where they were last fall they will be this coming fall.
Yea our season ended jan. 1 and i went down last weekend and found a bunch of huge rubs in a place i didnt have a stand, guess what i have a lock-on in there now.
A month after the season to me is the best time to scout for next year. Its lets you know what bucks made it through the season is the best reason to do it.
YES
I do all of my prerut and rut scouting post season for next year and have done this for over 30 years and it work just fine for my way of hunting.Low impack hunting no scent left.WALK IN AND OUT TO YOUR STAND SITE ONLY WITH THE WIND,WINDS IN YOUR FAVOR WHILE THE.NO OTHER WALKING AROUND.NO SCENT.
The deer around these parts don't spend winters where the spend early season, but you can scout anytime of the year. Our deer tend to spend their winter's on the south-facing portions of the mountains here, and in the thick areas that provide browse and subsequent warmth.
In September they tend to seek out the windward slopes, and creek bottoms. I like to take a few trips through my hunting area during spring and late summer, but try not to stink it up too much.
I don't hang stands so don't worry about sudden changes in habits...I can adapt to that.
We don't have big midwestern whitetails here, but our bucks are getting bigger. You won't catch them (Pa. bucks) crossing fields in broad daylight unless they are pushed, so the best stands are fairly deep in the woods.
Unlike the old guy from Manns Choice, down here this is the time of year to get into the thickets and see what was happening during the rut. It's the only time you can see more than 5 feet in front of you and the snakes are slowed down enough that you can dodge a bite. Our southern deer don't change much from spring to fall or even winter as our winters are pretty mild.
I learned quite a bit this weekend in the SNOW. That's right, we got 5" Friday night. Really helps see concentrations.
There is no better time to locate deer trails, scrapes, rubs, possible stand locations, etc. than in early spring before greenup.
We never quit scouting. This is the time of year that we really get into scouting. All those places you never wanted to walk during the season is now prime territory. We'll be cutting out future tree stands this time of year. I've been known to even hang a stand or two right now. :bigsmyl: Scrapes, rubs,etc. from this year are still there. Unless your under alot of snow.
But yes, get out now and scout.
Mike
C'mon Biggie, it doesn't snow in GEEEorgia.
I don't scout until a month or so after general gun season.
The lease I hunt on allows dog hunting during gun season, I let everything "settle down" after the gun and dog hunters leave before I do any serious scouting.
Just my opinion, but I liken my woods to a big mixing bowl. During gun and dog season, it is really mixed and stirred up, I let everything slow and settle down and the game get back to a routine before I try to make sense of deer or hog movement or patterns. Just what my "mixed up mind" visualizes in the woods.
I may not be right but that is what I visualize happening the the woods when we hunters aren't around.
John
I always kick myself for not doing more of it.
Oh yah, it's very important. I especially like to get out when there's been snow on the ground for a few days.
Every trip into the woods you will learn something. All my scouting is done and stands will be hung as soon as we leaf out so my trimming will be good until fall. I tend to hunt close to bedding areas and they won't change.
I believe late season scouting is worth the effort as is scouting anytime of year. One advantage of late season scouting is that you can get a different perspective of your hunting area because of the ability to see the lay of the land better, especially with snow on the ground. I don't think you'll necessarily "pattern" deer for fall hunting opportunities as these patterns will usually change before the season based on food, water sources, and unexpected human interference. For me, some of the advantages of post season scouting is the opportunity of finding sheds, getting exercise, and best of all enjoying the winter woods experience. :)
This IS the time to scout!
We had all our new fall 2010 locations picked for natural ground blinds by Feb.1.
We've timbered our place in stages over the last 15 years, so the deer travel is constantly changing, but our hilly/wet topography also funnels deer in some constant places too.
I would feel naked going into spring snowmelt without having walked the whole property at least once.
I have a rule at my property that all "on foot" scounting ENDS by Aug. 1, with one big bedding area being off limits year round, and it has proven to be very productive.
I typically like to have all natural cover "blind" locations scouted, up and assembled and trimmed by July 4, when time permits. Those spots are always selected in January.
I really can't stress how important post season scounting is. That's why I joke that "deer season never ends, only deer killing season does". Deer season goes on all year.
Come August, I'd suggest still scouting, but hands off scounting. A pickup truck, binocs or a spotting scope are your best tools then. And if scouting bucks, the crack of daylight with the cool temps is typically the best time for truck scouting. Dusk scouting in August can certainly reveal bucks, but my experience is like 15-1 buck sightings favoring the cool temps of the crack of daylight to the first hour of daylight.
If you opt for "on foot" pre-season scouting close to season and if you're banging around your hunting grounds in late August and September, you're bumping deer that you don't know are there and you'll never see.
I read a study I believe was either in Deer and Deer Hunting or the QDMA magazine where they had put radio collars on free ranging deer. They quietly bumped them out of bedding area's on purpose to see how far they went on average. The average deer went something like 600-800 yards before stopping and lingering, some well farther. Well, that's off most people's property unless they have a huge parcel. I also seem to recall almost none of the deer were scene by the bumpers.
The bottom line is, if you bump deer out of a bedding sanctuary they feel secure in now, there's no great harm 6 months from now. You do that in late August or even worse a week or two pre-season, you've done yourself no favors at that location.
The same is true for your scent being all over the locations. If a deer crosses your path now and blows the alarm, no big harm. Come Aug/Sept and you cross the secondary trail, that you didn't know was there but that deer uses every day and it blows the alarm, you might be watching squirrels come opening day, wondering why that great looking location never seems to produce.
And I am a fan of using spray scent eliminators even if they offer only marginal scent killing. But those sure aren't foolproof. If you spend anytime at all on or near a deer trail, even if you didn't know you crossed it, you're leaving scent. You walk into a thicket bedding area and you're pushing branches away from your face and branches are swiping your body as you go thru, you're leaving scent.
I scout only post season.I do not scout at all before the season.No need to because I already know where they have been the following fall by scouting now.Any scouting I do before or during hunting season is mostly just paying attention when hanging stands and going back and forth hunting them.
After I have hunted a place a couple seasons there is no need to scout unless something changes to effect the deer.If an area is logged or new houses built in an area it can change movement and I might need to look around.Otherwise deer are just like cows and go to the same food sources and once you know about those it is just a matter of hunting.
In a couple of my areas it is worth it to scout now. We have had several feet of snow on the ground since December, so it is real easy to find well used trails. Their movement is similar now as it is in the fall. I strap on some snow shoes and get out and get some well needed exercise. I can get a real rough idea of how many survived gun season by looking for fresh sign. I find it easier to find rublines now, too. I stay out of their bedding areas, though. With the heavy snow, I don't want to disturb what few deer are here if they are bedded down.
I'm was always in the woods anyway and thought I was doing a good job but I didn't no what I was missing till I started scouting year round with trail cameras. Wow! There was a ton of deer(Other critters too) I had no idea were even in the same woods.
I never believed that a buck could be completely nocturnal either but I had several in the last couple of years. Good breeders for sure but hard to kill so I'm always trying to find there sheds.
Like everybody is saying right now is a great time to be out there, You can always pull some of your stands, Do some stump shooting and scout the turkeys for the spring season. At least that's what I tell my wife anyway :D
Tracy
For sure it is important... I do most of mine between Jan and April 1st.
Easy to see what is happening without the foliage in the way. Get out and scout, take notes, carry a compass ( for prevailing winds/stand sets)...
John III
Hey Biggie, becareful Of snow snakes very active with fresh snows an not slowed down at all,:>)Bob
I'm scouting whenever I'm in the woods. I DON'T scout much when bow season is on.....so my scouting trips usually include a beagle and rabbits.
Leatherneck....oh yeah? This is our number one food plot last Saturday. Still had sourghum standing.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/whoffman1955/Feb%2012%202010%20snow%20in%20Georgia/IMG_1859.jpg)
Dang it Bob....don't put that thought in mu head!
I LOVE post season scotting in the snow!
Bona
I must admit I do a lot of winter scouting. I do most of my Deer hunting pre-rut, so I mostly rely on food sources that are available at that time, but even as I check a trapline through January and squirrel hunt in February, I am still scouting for next year's deer hunting.
GOOD GOD snow snakes I'll be staying in. :scared:
The main reason I like it is it's a lot easier to see rubs now than it is to see yr old rubs.
I have also found spots where big bucks have moved in during late season and can plan to hunt those areas late the next season.
Always good to get out anyway.....now is a good time to find bedding areas for all kinds of animals and make a map for next season.
What's good about it is that your not in HUNTING mode so much and you can concentrate on feeding areas and bedding areas...winds cover etc,
I used to feel alot of pressure about the hunting during the season so alot of my scouting was after the season.
PS - it's hard to find alot of the good places PRE-SNOW....unless you know your quarry well...so it's a great time to figure there patterns out
jer Bear