Scouting help.....

[kishman]

I've been out doing some scouting locally here (Abbotsford to Princeton) and while I have seen a few Deer here there, I've got it on good advice ;) that if I find the animals food scource (other than grass) I'll see more Deer. So thats my question, what, here on the coast are Deer looking to eat later in the summer/early fall. There isn't any agriculture to speak of east of Hope so, what should I be looking for?

[Jelvis]

The deer in the fraser valley are blacktails the deer in Princeton are mule deer. You can't go wrong if you see quaking aspen, poplar, the trees that look or appear white like birch trees. Sage brush, pine and cedar and dogwood. Those are trees they do eat some grasses, mushrooms, any berry bushes and of course abandened farms with old apple trees. In fraser valley go higher up the mountains. The Chilliwack River area Mt Thurstons good, lots of deer habitat. Mt Cheam good too. Princeton good mules. Whipsaw, copper creek, otter its all good for mulies habitat. One other thing I noticed if you find edges, forest meeting grassland or bush country meeting creeks etc. good nutritional food sources for deer. Good scouting Kishmon.

[kishman]

Thanks Jelvis, I'm heading out this morning to scout around we'll keep an eye out.

[huntwriter]

One other thing I noticed if you find edges, forest meeting grassland or bush country meeting creeks etc. good nutritional food sources for deer. Good scouting Kishmon. Very good observation. Deer are, as I call it, edge animals. Contrary to what some might believe deer hate the deep dark woods and prefer edges. Some hunters may ask, “What are edges”. Edges are everywhere where two types of vegetation or structures meet. Jelvis pointed out a few. Other edges are where hardwood meets softwood and many more. The best edges, I have found, for deer travel are where three edges come together, for example where a woodlot, swamp and a overgrown meadow meet.

I have forgotten to tell you about abandoned farmsteads, sorry, these are absolute deer magnets with their fruit trees and bushes. Find out when the fruit is ripe and falls of the trees and the deer will be there to pick them up.

Look for funnels in the structure of the land as the deer use them to travel from one point to another. Again funnels are everywhere, even on flat lad. A saddle in a ridge is a funnel. So is a bench on a steep hillside, a shallow ditch , a broken fence line is a funnel too. Although deer easily could jump a fence everywhere they want they are not going to if they can find a break in the fence. Other funnels are hedgerows connecting two woodlots or leading in and out of one. Power line and gas line right of ways are both, an edge and a funnel.

There is so much to say about scouting because there are so many variables and because it is the most important part of hunting. Scout wrong or not at all and hunting depends entirely on good luck. Scout right and all you have to do, is to be there on time and kill a deer.

This reminds me. I finally will have to start writing my long planed book on the significance of proper scouting.:D

[boonerbuck]

Find alpine bowls and the transitional areas between the timber and alpine and you will find deer. Both species.

For non alpine country look in the most hidden corners of cuts and/or deactivated roads that lead to cuts with minimal traffic. Some high ground for bedding around cuts gives them security.

Travel routes to and from farms.

Finding food source to me can be way to much of a chore. It's amazing what they choose to live on some times and there is so much food in areas. They can wander around over miles of country eating the whole time. It's way easier to find prime habitat. If we were talking White Tails it would be soo much easier.

[kishman]

Well good news today, I got out and scouted an area that was more or less one long edge. A new logging rd. near me has made an area of Stave lake accessable (with a little bushwacking:D ) I hiked along the edge between the forest and the meadow that edges the lake. There was sign everywhere, tracks, scat. Definitly having a look here this fall! Thanks for all the info, please keep it coming:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

kishman

[LeverActionJunkie]

Mulies love old growth douglas fir on an open hillside, at least thats what a wildlife biologist once told me, and it's helped me find a couple. The above mentioned tip are also good ones, thanks for some good advice huntwriter.

[Jelvis]

Kish, you mentioned 3 things important to animals that you found on the edge, that came together Food, Shelter, and Water sounds like you got a good spot. If you get out there at daybreak during the season you should see animals for sure.

[huntwriter]

Well good news today, I got out and scouted an area that was more or less one long edge. A new logging rd. near me has made an area of Stave lake accessable (with a little bushwacking:D ) I hiked along the edge between the forest and the meadow that edges the lake. There was sign everywhere, tracks, scat. Definitly having a look here this fall! Thanks for all the info, please keep it coming:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

kishman
I am really happy for you that one of your first scouting trips for deer turned up a good experience and the way it looks a promising ambush site.

I do not know if you knew that, but you did the right thing by looking where you did. As I told you before, deer are smart and learn the habits of hunters faster then the hunters learn the habits of deer and so it is easy for them to avoid hunting pressure. You looked on a place that has just been made accessible to people and that is why you found all that deer sign. Deer go where hunters do not go.

It is also the perfect habitat the way you describe it. Deer like edge and semi open terrain. That way they are able to see for a long way what and who is coming. If they are in danger a little hop and skip and they are in the safety of the cover.

Now that you know where the deer are be very careful with your future scouting. If possible stay away from the area and observe the terrain with a good pair of high-powered binoculars. If you have to go closer do so only during the midday hours when the deer are in their bedding area. Be careful not to leave any human odors in the area. Do not touch any vegetation and stay downwind from where you expect deer to be.

You told me that you will be hunting with a rifle. For this you need not much more scouting to do, other than to check back if the deer still have the same routine in the fall (about two weeks before the season opens) and to chose a perfect ambush site that will give you the opportunity to shoot safely in different directions where you expect deer to show up.

On the other hand, if you where bow hunting the tedious work of finding the exact ambush location would now begin. The next step would be to find traditional signpost rub lines scrapes and buck trails, that usually run next to well worn doe trails, but are in heavy cover and always on the downwind side of the doe trail. From that you would have to find a trail intersection where several trails come together and then find the perfect tree to hang your stand to give you a 10-yard to 25-yard shot in several directions. In that regard you are lucky to hunt with a rifle, it makes the job of giving a buck a ride home in the back of your truck so much easier.


Keep the good work up but don’t over scout the area and let the deer know you are on to them.