Dana....

[rollingrock]

Now I think it's time to let us know whether you're an honest hunter or a good hunter.

Here is the question. Do you really think that scouting in July really helps your early season hunt?

[muley kid]

I aint dana but personally i like to scout last 2 weeks july and most of aug.. it lets me know where the deer are hanging out and where the up and coming big bucks are.. they will move around but once I find a 175+ deer in july i will try and keep close tabs on him without disturbing him.. find out where he is most of the time, his crossing area's, feeding grounds etc..

[luckynuts]

Scouting always pays off especially if your hunting the early season and even if your not. I would say the only animal hard to pattern in the rut is deer and they still hang out in the general area. Moose and elk almost always have a specific area they hang out in and if you find them somewhere in july/August they aren't usually far in sept/oct. Though the elk on the island tend roam a bit more than up here but give it 3-5 days and they always came full circle.

My biggest frustration is when there are very warm temps out and or if the wolves move in.

[Steeleco]

I'm not one to speak, but if nothing else it gets your ass in shape. Like most I suck wind the first days out. There's no patent on excuses for not getting out, but the work done early will reward the workers!!

[BlacktailStalker]

Damn straight it does. At minimal, it gives a guy initiative. If you saw a big buck in an undisturbed area, there's a real good chance he's still there. You're going to hunt harder, be more cautious and hunt longer than if you had no clue if there was any decent animals around.

Wait until this september when the guys start posting pictures.
I'll bet 90% of them have a spot that is either tried, tested and true they will go to, or have spot(s) scouted, bucks located and patterned that will be hitting the ground within a week of opening day.
Public areas get hit hard and anybody who has been around any amount of time knows, once that velvet has been shed, the first gun shot has gone off or the first human scent has been caught in an updraft, the big boys are on high alert mode, even more so than any other time of the year.

The blacktails here go nocturnal. You cant get em where you saw them a week before opening. You have to get them before dark, enroute to where you saw them. For a hunter to get in there its noisy, hard access and there's a multitude of trails they may take to get there that vary day to day, depending on several different factors.

Boy am I amped !!

[Elkhound]

Blacktail Stalker is correct. 100%

[rollingrock]

Oh, I'm not saying scouting is useless. I scout too. But scouting 2 months before the season starts...well, boy, I don't know. I do like the scouting pix and get pumped when I see those pix. But I've found that even one week can make a lot of difference.

[hannibal]

I'm glutten for punishment, I hike and scout all year.

[Dillybar]

Me personally, I do not do much or any scouting this time of year. With young kids out of school and the warm weather I prefer to take them camping, swimming and doing family things. Come early fall I do a lot more. I need to break things up into seasons so that it keeps my interest and allows me to do things other than just hunting. I find with current work schedules and limited holiday's there isn't a lot of time to have with the family.

[tufferthandug]

I think if you seen more people out scouting right now, you would probably see more big buck posts on this website in September. Really the only "Big Buck" picture from season opener I have seen on here, or Huntshoot was Muleychaser's a couple years ago. Maybe there has been more but I don't remember many.

I know if you start heading out now, then in September you won't be saying the old line "Hunting's the shits round here"...