Noob scouting question

[CanAm500]

When do you usually start to scout out places for the upcoming deer season?

[PGKris]

Now .........no really, I'm not joking.....if you can find spots with lots of good feed and access to water right now, there will likely be deer around when the season starts.

[mark]

i start when season opens, then if you see a good one you can blast em! id rather spend more time in the bush in open season, than when not open.

[CanAm500]

Now .........no really, I'm not joking.....if you can find spots with lots of good feed and access to water right now, there will likely be deer around when the season starts.

Ok, thanks PGKris. Ill have to get out one of these days and go scout out a spot.

[Kirby]

I tend to start Dec 11.

Kirby

[CanAm500]

Isnt that kinda late Kirby?

lol

[Fred]

The best time to start is when there is snow on the ground as the animals will stick to their favorite trails mostly and you can see which ones those are. Fred

[Kirby]

Isnt that kinda late Kirby?

lol

Nope, Dec 11 till Aug 31, perfect scouting time . Seriously, scout all year, deer move around at different times, scouting early and you learn alot more than if you just start in the summer. Dec tells you where they are in the rut, January, Feb I leave them alone as its stressful for them with the snow without guys pushing them around the most I do then is just glassing to check them out. March, april, may, sheds tell you what you have in the area, and what are in other areas for next season and who survived the winter, then after that I scout to check new growth in the areas, and see whats poping up.

Kirby

[CanAm500]

Oh ok. Im going to see if my dad will take me and our neighbour around and look for any activity.

[huntwriter]

For whitetail deer, the only species next to turkeys I hunt, I apply the PPI scouting system.

Post-Season Scouting.
Pre-Season Scouting.
In-Season Scouting.


Each of this scouting times differ a bit in what I am looking for. In the In-Season scouting I am very low key and basically just keep taps on deer movement and small changes in deer behavior and hunter activity.

To scout successfully you need to learn as much as possible about the species you are going to hunt.
How they use the terrain they live in and most importantly what they all eat. Food is the most important of all. Food makes deer move around. Deer eat many different foods but not all of that food is available to them at any time. You need to find what food is available to the deer at what time of the season and this will determine the deer travel patterns.

Take a good topo map with you, a GPS and, or compass, a note pad to write down your findings and finally a photo camera. Study the map for the lay of the land because this will tell you a lot about how deer use the land. Mark trails and other deer sign you find on the map. Find out what’s on either side of each trail. Is it a food source? A bedding area? A staging area? And so on.

All this information will tell you where the deer are at any given time during the hunting season and why they are in that area.

Good luck with your scouting.