Question about scouting new areas

[Brizz]

When you guys are out scouting a new to you area, how do you attack it? Often when I'm out there, I see so much deer sign (usually tracks) I feel almost over-whelmed and unsure on which area to set-up in for first or last light.

Are you looking for fresh poo, rubs, tracks? If you are in an area and you don't see fresh poo, would you still set-up there? What would be the main sign you look for in order to give the area time of day. How do you find honey holes? Beside the obvious (seen bucks) what makes a honey hole a honey hole.

From what I can tell, most people are road hunting. When I'm in an area during hunting season I usually just see people driving around. Is this the norm?

I like to hike and figure hiking gets you farther away from other people and logically I figure where the deer are hiding from said people. My concern when hiking sometimes is downing an animals a long distance away from my truck.

How far do you most of you guys hike from your trucks when you set-up over looking a cutblock or game trail?

[bforce750]

First..if you know they are there,being persistent is the key, fresh sign,poop,tracks. Rubs are the biggest give away,they obviously,live there and probably winter and rut there. Game cameras are a great tool and let you know what time of day the animals are spending time there.And by the way, cut down all the visible rubs so no one finds your spot :biggrin:

[luckofthedraw]

I too would like to get a better idea of what these experienced slayers have to say. I have done a few "road hunt" trips with family, and I would really like to get a grasp on hiking/bush hunting.

[Bow Walker]

If I'm in a new area I'll do a lot of driving/scouting to get a feel for the lay of the land and then I'll try to check out any very interesting or promising spots on foot. It takes quite a bit of time to become familiar with a new-to-you-area.

[Shooter]

If I'm in a new area I'll do a lot of driving/scouting to get a feel for the lay of the land and then I'll try to check out any very interesting or promising spots on foot. It takes quite a bit of time to become familiar with a new-to-you-area.


Exactly. It takes a long time to nail a spot. First I drive or walk the main areas. Always taking note of where I see deer and where the deer bail to when the see me. Store that info it is golden. Take note of the land, how the trees roll will tell you a little about what is under the canopy. When you have some favorite spots picked out where there is consistently deer, then you can try and attack it in a different manner. When I have a spot nailed down I usually find a couple "corners" that deer consistently bail to and they are also usually bedded or feeding near the same spots time and time again. I like to go to those spots and look around trying to see what they see. More times than not you will see they are in the areas they are because it gives them a great vantage poiunt on the direction that danger "normally" comes from. If you use that information and change what they "normally" are expecting your odds will go up. If you can head them off halfway between where they are and where they want to escape to, your odds go up. Deer pattern us every bit as much as we try to pattern them.
Change some patterns and see what happens.

[Mountain Man]

Wow thats a loaded question !!!!

These are few suggestions for the modern day hunter.

Ask for a trail cam for x-mas !

No joke ! The animals that are being harvested due to the aid of trail cams will help a lot.

If your talking about scouting a new area are you doing this during hunting season ? Scouting should be done well before the season opens as things change big time. Many guys scout all year round !

Start shed hunting ! Imagine what this can do for you ! Granted deer shed in areas that they will not be come September but trust me you can learn a lot about and area.

Scout new areas at first light and at last light. Many guys will hunt a area they know in the am and then spend the daytime cruising around to find new areas. Well dont be suprised you dont see anything. If you went into a honey hole at noon it may not seem like much, but show up at that same spot at 6:30am or last night and all of a sudden you have a honey hole.

Google earth man !!!!!! What a under used tool this is !

One last suggestion is glass glass glass ! Try on your next outing to use your binos way more then usual I believe people dont glass enough !

[Brizz]

These are all great suggestions, thanks guys. For me, a trail cam is probably not an option as I live on the coast and hunt in the interior so retrieval of the cam is hard. I do scout in the summer, but usually it's a fishing/camping trip where I'll do some exploring so I usually don't have the motivation to wake up at first light;0

What particular sign besides actually seeing deer is most important for you to get out of your truck and investigate more?

Google earth is awesome and I use it a lot.

[frenchbar]

These are all great suggestions, thanks guys. For me, a trail cam is probably not an option as I live on the coast and hunt in the interior so retrieval of the cam is hard. I do scout in the summer, but usually it's a fishing/camping trip where I'll do some exploring so I usually don't have the motivation to wake up at first light;0

What particular sign besides actually seeing deer is most important for you to get out of your truck and investigate more?

Google earth is awesome and I use it a lot.

lots of fresh tracks on the bank above the road is always a good starting point:mrgreen:

[cariboobill]

For me I start with scouting new areas in the winter, spring, summer and during hunting season. This gives me the seasonal patterns of the game/predators. Also I like to hunt in transition zones between summer/fall range and fall/winter range, but you can only find these with scouting, scouting and more scouting. Mule deer are harder to pattern than whitetail, but it can be done with effort.

Like some have said it take a long time to nail an area. After many years of scouting and hunting, I have lots of established "go to" spots for my style of hunting, away from crowds and roads.

But if you can only scout during hunting season, then try to pattern the deer movements by fresh sign and sitings. They have various food areas and bed/safe areas, which requires them to move around. Better to set up at the transition areas or feeding areas and leave the bedding areas alone.

Good Luck CB

[Peters Wildlife]

Look for some well worn game trails and follow them in a few hundred yards, you may be surprised to find a well hidden feeding area

[BOOTS!]

I'm having this problem too. I'm pretty much a road hunter right now because I have ZERO clue what to look for. My deer encounters have been completely random. I've seen quite a few does, don't get me wrong, just no bucks. I try to follow or stalk them but have no clue where they go. I've found prints and poop, but the poop is old and the prints aren't very crisp. So that isn't much help either.

My biggest difficulty is spending time in the area. I coullld get a hotel, but that adds costs. I don't have a cabin in hunting areas. So I have to set up camp. But I don't have a nice warm trailer either, just a small back packing tent. This makes extended stays very miserable.

Sounds like i need to invest more money to be successful. lol

[Brizz]

It is tough to learn to hunt with no guidance that's for sure.

One thing I have been thinking is, most guys will suggest to get out and hike which is fine because that's what I'm looking to do.

But, they also suggest to hunt slashes and cut-blocks which always have roads going to them. So my question is if I'm looking to get away from roads and people, which areas should I be glassing? Natural clearings, creeks? Is there a such a thing as a clear cut with no road access?

[Torch]

I'm in the same boat... no experience and really no one to learn from (at this time)... I'm going on my first hunt this weekend and I've spent the last three weeks planning the trip and trying to learn everything I can... I'm confused about the cut block/not road hunting advice... I'll let ya know if I learn anything this weekend, but I can say this ---> GOOGLE EARTH the hell out of an area, it's good for some topo (turn it on) and will give you a very good idea of the areas and how the terrain may funnel animals. The cut blocks will probably be different as the pics are 5-6 years old now, but it's better than nothing. I'm lucky to be taking a friend who has hunted 4 times before but he is far from experienced, and another newb just like me....should be fun!!!

[Shooter]

Getting out and hiking is great ... but...... You do not need to go very far to get away from roads and traffic. Walking the treeline of a slash is a great way to learn deer patterns. You would be amazed at how much of a slash is hidden from the road when you drive up and through it. Walk the edges of the cut blocks and you will see a ton of trails and different escape routes. Deer don't run a million miles away just because a vehicle drove by. You do not need to hike 20kms from any road to see game.