When entering a cut block...

[Rainsford]

I have heard a fair amount of strategies in regards to cut blocks I have heard people mention a few different things

Simple drive by and keep a look out (road hunt them)
Some find the best possible vantage point then sit and wait
Another I have heard is circling inside the tree line perimeter then move on
One of the ones I found odd was they just simply hiked into the center of the cut block sat down and waited

I personally go to the cut block and if im unfamiliar with it I start by looking for sign by walking around the perimeter, if im satisfied I find the best vantage point with the wind in my favor and set up shop.

Curious to know if there other strategies are out there and whats the most popular, so
What do you do?

[Trapper D]

ya never know what in a cut block till a cruise through it. Some days i will sit on a hillside for hours, having found deer , i just keep an eye on that area, but continue spotting other areas. Many times when a truck drives through, the deer dont even lift there head. it all depends on each individual circumstance i guess. some places deer will bolt at the sound of vehicles. also some cut blocks have draws in them , and on windy cold days, their in these places out of the wind

[knightcc]

I always try to quickly scout the back of a cut close to the tree line and as far away from the main road as possible. I always seem to have good luck getting to the back of cut blocks. I prefer smaller, more remote cuts as well rather than 400-600 acre cuts that are nuked. In new areas I try to check out as many of these cuts as possible and then see if I can make sense of how animals are moving through the area by comparing what I have marked on my GPS to what my Mapsource or Google Earth says. Often there are natural funnels and other pinch points that aren't evident until you look at the big picture. Then we set up accordingly.

[Big Lew]

One of the big problems when scouting a cut block is the wind. First, especially early in the season when it's fairly warm during the day, you should be aware that the air flow will be from top to bottom until an hour or so after sunrise, and then it will switch and flow uphill. (you'll notice that deer and elk usually travel uphill into the wind starting before daylight as they make their way to their beds) You can use this to your advantage as well. More than a few times I've miss-judged how long it would take me to get to the top back end of a large cut block and had the wind change, spoiling the whole exercise. Plan to make your way sideways before this wind change. If you're about to check a cut block during the day, it's a good idea to use good binoculars to scan the top part of the block to observe the grasses and foliage for wind direction. Often it will be flowing in a different direction than where you are at the bottom.