OK guys. Outside of trails and droppings what do I need to look for. I have a few spots set up but I hunt public land so I need and would like more. I normally just look for new and old rubs, trails, and droppings. I hunt in an area that is primarily oak so there are acorns every where. Probably go out on youth day (if I don't see cars) and look for some more spots and of course future seasons. I'd like to do cameras pre season but I'm worried about them getting stolen. thanks in advance,
How to scout?
- Thread starter Orion
- Start date
Crosshairy
Well-Known Member
I hunted public land a lot up until a few years ago, when I got a promotion and could afford to join a lease for the first time.
To kill deer more reliably, I had several tactics that helped me out a lot.
1 - Find some heavy cover (large thickets, swamps, etc) and look for trails near there. Don't hunt those at the very beginning of the season, but move in that direction as you start seeing more hunter pressure in your area (or if you stop seeing deer). Once you've hunted those areas some, sightings will fall off, so consider that your "Ace in the pocket" and don't play it until you need to. EXCEPTION - if hunting a WMA that gets heavy hunter pressure all the time, I exclusively hunt areas in the WMA that have heavy cover and small openings, because no one else wants to hunt there. Be creative about how to create opportunities. For example, a few years ago I hunted in a place with no climbable trees and heavy waist-high ground cover. I cut the top out of a bush, and used it as a "Standing blind", and just stood behind/inside the bush with a shooting stick. I killed a deer with a pistol like that, and another with a rifle.
2 - if you don't own a muzzleloader, get one. My success during muzzleloader season is substantially higher on public land than modern gun season. Be sure to clean the gun well after practicing, and do your best to hunt some weekdays during that time early in the season. The deer are largely unpressured at this point, which is probably *more important than any other factor* on heavily/moderately hunted public land. All the trails, sign, food, and awesome vantage points you have might be worthless if the deer have been driven nocturnal. My reality in deer season was that I killed all of my deer by the end of the first week of gun season. After that, my sightings plummeted.
3 - if you are hunting a WMA along a lake or river, use a boat to hit property that isn't accessed commonly by others. One of the easiest muzzleloader hunts I've ever been on was on the banks of a lake on public land. My buddy and I hunted maybe 100-150 yards off the bank of the lake. I shot a big doe, and it was a quick drag to the boat and the work was done. In some areas, a $300 used jon boat with a trolling motor will get the job done.
4 - Note where other hunters access the property, and think of ways to do it differently. A great example would be getting a bike and riding down the road away from the parking area, then chaining the bike to a tree in a spot where vehicles cannot pull over (keep it hidden!) and go in from there.
Notice a trend to my advice? I spend very little time looking for deer sign until I can find a spot that I'm not sharing on a regular basis. I've seen deer forsake prime-LOOKING spots and hang out in areas that made you question their sanity, all because hunting pressure pushed them there. If you can't find an area where deer are moving around semi-comfortably in the daytime, then your odds are usually low. Also, try to keep at least one spot (possibly the farthest one away, or hardest to access) in reserve for the peak rut action time in your area, and then make the trek in for an all-day sit (or at least until after lunch). Mid-day movement of mature bucks is a common phenomenon during the chasing phase of the rut.
To kill deer more reliably, I had several tactics that helped me out a lot.
1 - Find some heavy cover (large thickets, swamps, etc) and look for trails near there. Don't hunt those at the very beginning of the season, but move in that direction as you start seeing more hunter pressure in your area (or if you stop seeing deer). Once you've hunted those areas some, sightings will fall off, so consider that your "Ace in the pocket" and don't play it until you need to. EXCEPTION - if hunting a WMA that gets heavy hunter pressure all the time, I exclusively hunt areas in the WMA that have heavy cover and small openings, because no one else wants to hunt there. Be creative about how to create opportunities. For example, a few years ago I hunted in a place with no climbable trees and heavy waist-high ground cover. I cut the top out of a bush, and used it as a "Standing blind", and just stood behind/inside the bush with a shooting stick. I killed a deer with a pistol like that, and another with a rifle.
2 - if you don't own a muzzleloader, get one. My success during muzzleloader season is substantially higher on public land than modern gun season. Be sure to clean the gun well after practicing, and do your best to hunt some weekdays during that time early in the season. The deer are largely unpressured at this point, which is probably *more important than any other factor* on heavily/moderately hunted public land. All the trails, sign, food, and awesome vantage points you have might be worthless if the deer have been driven nocturnal. My reality in deer season was that I killed all of my deer by the end of the first week of gun season. After that, my sightings plummeted.
3 - if you are hunting a WMA along a lake or river, use a boat to hit property that isn't accessed commonly by others. One of the easiest muzzleloader hunts I've ever been on was on the banks of a lake on public land. My buddy and I hunted maybe 100-150 yards off the bank of the lake. I shot a big doe, and it was a quick drag to the boat and the work was done. In some areas, a $300 used jon boat with a trolling motor will get the job done.
4 - Note where other hunters access the property, and think of ways to do it differently. A great example would be getting a bike and riding down the road away from the parking area, then chaining the bike to a tree in a spot where vehicles cannot pull over (keep it hidden!) and go in from there.
Notice a trend to my advice? I spend very little time looking for deer sign until I can find a spot that I'm not sharing on a regular basis. I've seen deer forsake prime-LOOKING spots and hang out in areas that made you question their sanity, all because hunting pressure pushed them there. If you can't find an area where deer are moving around semi-comfortably in the daytime, then your odds are usually low. Also, try to keep at least one spot (possibly the farthest one away, or hardest to access) in reserve for the peak rut action time in your area, and then make the trek in for an all-day sit (or at least until after lunch). Mid-day movement of mature bucks is a common phenomenon during the chasing phase of the rut.
catman529
Well-Known Member
You mentioned rubs, trails, droppings, and acorns.
Rubs - these only tell you there was a buck there at some point. I wouldn't think much of a rub unless it was a whole series of rubs in one concentrated area (rub line) and they were good sized rubs. A rub line indicates a buck has been using that area a lot.
Trails - very important to know where the deer like to travel to and from food, water or cover. Bigger, worn down trails usually are frequented by doe groups. bucks may use these trails too, especially in the rut to follow does. but older, smart bucks are also likely to take some side trail you can't even see.
Droppings - I pay a lot of attention to droppings. Could mean a bedding area, a heavy feeding area, or a feeding/staging area near a bedding area. Deer don't always use specific bedding areas, but they do prefer certain spots that are safer, such as grown up fields, thickets, hillsides, or places people don't go. Droppings that are clumped together into wads, in my opinion, suggest deer have been bedded recently, and their dookie stuck together. I have found the most clumped turds around areas where deer like to bed down. Don't hunt the bedding areas, but find where the deer go to feed, and try to set up in between or right near the food source. And remember, they can really bed anywhere they want, they don't follow a textbook. If you find a food source like acorns, and it has lots of fresh shiny droppings, then deer have been feeding there recently, and you should hunt it ASAP. Look around the area and find where trails come from, and hunt when the wind does not blow in that direction.
Acorns.... Red oaks often start dropping first, and the acorns last all the way till the next spring. White oaks may start dropping early too, or a little after the reds. They don't last long though; they either sprout or get eaten. They have less tannin and are less bitter, so deer prefer them. Unless only reds are dropping, then deer will usually be on the white oaks. Once white oak acorns run out, deer go back to reds. All of this can vary depending on what your woods are like. Just look for the oaks with the most fresh deer sign. Google some oaks to learn how to ID them, mainly white oak, chinkapin oak, northern red oak. There are many other types too. Chinkapin and white oak are probably on top of the list of preferred acorns by deer. But don't discount any type of oak tree that has fresh sign. A good way to tell if deer are eating the acorns, other than tracks and droppings, is to pick up the acorn caps and look close. Deer have incisors on the bottom of their jaw but not on top. When they bite the acorn to pop the top off, their incisors will cut a notch into the cap of the acorn. If you find an oak tree with notched acorn caps, acorns shells, deer tracks and fresh poop, you have found a great spot to hunt. Just find the right tree to climb, the right wind to hunt, and go in as soon as you can.
Hope that isn't too confusing. I'm sure many here could add to or correct some of my advice. But I hope it can help point you the right way.
Rubs - these only tell you there was a buck there at some point. I wouldn't think much of a rub unless it was a whole series of rubs in one concentrated area (rub line) and they were good sized rubs. A rub line indicates a buck has been using that area a lot.
Trails - very important to know where the deer like to travel to and from food, water or cover. Bigger, worn down trails usually are frequented by doe groups. bucks may use these trails too, especially in the rut to follow does. but older, smart bucks are also likely to take some side trail you can't even see.
Droppings - I pay a lot of attention to droppings. Could mean a bedding area, a heavy feeding area, or a feeding/staging area near a bedding area. Deer don't always use specific bedding areas, but they do prefer certain spots that are safer, such as grown up fields, thickets, hillsides, or places people don't go. Droppings that are clumped together into wads, in my opinion, suggest deer have been bedded recently, and their dookie stuck together. I have found the most clumped turds around areas where deer like to bed down. Don't hunt the bedding areas, but find where the deer go to feed, and try to set up in between or right near the food source. And remember, they can really bed anywhere they want, they don't follow a textbook. If you find a food source like acorns, and it has lots of fresh shiny droppings, then deer have been feeding there recently, and you should hunt it ASAP. Look around the area and find where trails come from, and hunt when the wind does not blow in that direction.
Acorns.... Red oaks often start dropping first, and the acorns last all the way till the next spring. White oaks may start dropping early too, or a little after the reds. They don't last long though; they either sprout or get eaten. They have less tannin and are less bitter, so deer prefer them. Unless only reds are dropping, then deer will usually be on the white oaks. Once white oak acorns run out, deer go back to reds. All of this can vary depending on what your woods are like. Just look for the oaks with the most fresh deer sign. Google some oaks to learn how to ID them, mainly white oak, chinkapin oak, northern red oak. There are many other types too. Chinkapin and white oak are probably on top of the list of preferred acorns by deer. But don't discount any type of oak tree that has fresh sign. A good way to tell if deer are eating the acorns, other than tracks and droppings, is to pick up the acorn caps and look close. Deer have incisors on the bottom of their jaw but not on top. When they bite the acorn to pop the top off, their incisors will cut a notch into the cap of the acorn. If you find an oak tree with notched acorn caps, acorns shells, deer tracks and fresh poop, you have found a great spot to hunt. Just find the right tree to climb, the right wind to hunt, and go in as soon as you can.
Hope that isn't too confusing. I'm sure many here could add to or correct some of my advice. But I hope it can help point you the right way.
TN Whitetail Freak
Well-Known Member
Scout the edges, start with terrain that is "different"
Crosshairy":2krs3ja9 said:
Wow! Great Post!!!
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Winchester
Well-Known Member
Boots on the ground and Experience are the best teachers! Some of the very best areas to hunt are very close to roads and people, its all about whats overlooked and doesn't get as much attn. sometimes. Good luck
i hunt public land exclusively now since the family farm was sold. pic gave some excllent advice and i will throw this at ya, to find those areas get yourself some good maps and satellite images. you can scout most of your area and get a good idea of the land before you even leave the house. look for funnels, inside corners, outside corners, etc to and from food sources to those thicker bedding areas. most hunters will hunt only a couple of hundred yards from where they park usually and most of the time they will push deer deeper. if you dont know how to relate maps with terrain and how deer use the terrain to their advantage, then buy a copy of "mapping trophy bucks".
