I'd like everyone to share, if they'd like that is, some advice or tips for scouting in the offseason. For example do you take a lot of pictures, keep a journal etc.. Very Interested in what everyone has to offer!
I'll be planting some plots here soon. I run cams all year round, currently shed hunting, and spend a lot of summer looking through the vortex binos in the evening. I make sure to stay out of bed areas after I give up on looking for sheds
To be honest, I prefer to leave my woods alone until about August, when I start clipping my access trail. I hunt public land and it gets plenty of visitors without my help.
I am hanging my tree stands now. I am shed hunting and I will be starting Minerals Sites next week. I will be planting food plots soon. I have started a journal logging all the times I got trail cam pics of the biggest buck I am currently after on Property #2. I learned a ton from the pics I got last year. It is going to help me put a plan together this Fall to go after him and put an arrow in him..
I watch the does year round, I get bucks that come around from time to time, I know where they come from. Does are easier to pattern and predict than bucks so I keep the pressure off until the time when bucks are seeking out does. Right place right time.
I too am public hunting ( well just getting started) what state are you hunting and any advice would be great. I am literally walking the land now to get my eyes on it just to see what the lay of the land is like. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My advice to you, being new to your parcel of public land, would be to get areal photos (Google Earth) of it. An overview of a property can often save you a lot of time. It can give you an idea of ground that is worth your attention and ground that isn't. When you find an area with decent deer sign, you can "discretely" set up a trail cam or two to get an idea of what's traveling through the area. The main reason I leave my woods alone until August is because I've been hunting it for 13 years now and know the layout very well. I know where the activity usually is. I put my cams in the same places pretty much every year because I haven't had one stolen YET. lol Just place them in spots you don't expect much human traffic. Oh, I'm in Pa.
Look for trails and any deer sign you can find. (Deer droppings, buck rubs, old scrapes) Trails- Look for where that trail meets another trail. Some good stands can be found where multiple trails intersect. Then find a group of trees to get in that sits off to the side of them within shooting distance. From my personal experience, to fully learn a new property even public land it will take you about 2-3 years to really narrow down what tree to be in etc. When you think you got the right tree, then the damn deer will do something different. Learning what they do that is common between all the other encouters will really teach you what to do next. The place I hunted for the past 5-6 years it literally took me about 3 years to really figure them out. Needless to say this last year I had deer in shooting range but they started to do a selective cut on the woods so it ruined everything on me. My cameras shut down so I had to change my locations. The biggest thing you can do is hunt it and learn it. Don't be afraid to move! It cost me shots at multiple deer because I was stubborn and liked my trees I always hunted out of. when you see a deer, think to yourself "why did the deer take that route?" A lot of times you will see why. Change of terrain, thick under brush they were following, etc.
This is some sound advice! It's better to know a lot about a little bit of ground, than know a little bit about a lot of ground.
Thanks. I have done the google earth and even printed it out and laminated it, so I can take it with me while walking out there. I locate some areas that looked pretty good and went out there today to put eyes on it. I will be putting cameras up soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
As said it will take years to really get to know a spot. You just have to spend a ton of time in the woods and be willing to move. On public land pay close attention to what the other hunters are doing because the deer certainly are and they adjust accordingly so you should do the same.
While always having a hard copy of a map is vital I would like to suggest another tool you can use in your arsenal, I live in PA as well and I use the gohuntPA app, basically if you use the maps feature it will show you exactly where you are on a satellite image that is identical to google earth, (I have noticed it can be off by 10-20 yards at the most which isn't that big of a deal) you can write things down on google earth such as a specific spot you want to scout, print off the map or go off of memory and you can tell exactly where you are at all times until you get a little more accustomed to the land you are hunting. So say you noticed a saddle or some other terrain feature on google earth and want to check it out, gohuntPA eliminates any second guessing whether you are in the right area or not. It is a great tool and its free! I haven't had a problem with reception deep in the woods, but then that would entirely depend on where you are hunting! Just beware it can suck some serious battery life, there are settings on the app to slow that down.
Keep checking your cameras, analyze them closely-weather patterns, times, barometric pressures etc. Shed hunting.
What Sota said X 10 !! , once I know the woods and whitetail behavior I stay out. Deer pattern us before we pattern them if you keep wandering around in the woods. I prefer using I my head . Good Luck!
It took me a while to figure out the diminishing return on time invested, people say you can't shoot them off the couch, well you can't burn out a stand from your couch either.
