I'll be following this as well, I have some back corners on public land to try this year. Also really thinking about trying to do river access this year. The Huntstandlite app is now sync able for your smart phone and PC as well as sharing maps. On the PC you can lay out boundaries which is great because while google will show Public land borders, it needs cell service. The app only needs your gps enabled , because it works offline. Other than boot leather its probably going to be one of the biggest tools for me this year.
Not really scouting, but the boys and I broke out the bows for a little evening shooting. Gotta keep those bow muscles working.
Broke the hiking boots out Friday and Saturday. Just walked some areas on the farm, looking to see what was happening. I have pics of a few bucks that have already shed, but came up empty on that end. Not much sign at all in the areas I walked, which goes right along with the numbers I saw this year. Weather kicked me out of scouting a public piece today. Try for next weekend hopefully.
My knee has me down and out for scouting. I am trying to walk pain free for the first time in like 6 months before I hit the hills. It is killing me I can't scout but waking up every single night to put a heating pad on my knee has gotten old.
I love the idea Brett! My goals from 2015 involve more scouting and less hunting. I'm even debating if I might kill my journal thread just to shake things up...
I'm just lucky. Hitting areas I've never been in or haven't been in in prob 10+ years. I'm just amazed the weather has cooperated as good as it has :D. Snowfall has been mild compared to normally but I think they're saying maybe a half foot by tomorrow evening
Great stuff guys!! I'll be contributing once we get some snow to melt. I plan on checking out a few areas on public land that I had a thread about this past spring, so I'll update both! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hoping to get out this weekend. I feel like I'm already way behind and the snow on the ground is preventing me from doing much.
Most of the snow finally left to where I could get out. Nice to stretch the legs. Broken beam Scrubby
Feburary for me means pre season scoutting. I know a lot of folks call it post season but I look at it as a new season starting. I have started taking down stands, looking at properties to try and get permission to hunt on and such. Took Saturday and walked one of the properties I hunt on. This is a great time of year to realy hit the woods. During this time of year I find the trails that deer are using the most and rub lines stick out like crazy. Found on trail that looks like a mud bog with deer tracks, so I put some corn out and a trail came just to see how often this trail is being used. I have always said this is the best time to be in the woods scouting, sign is easy to locate and you don't have to worry about dumping deer.
Took a walk yesterday to scout/shed hunt. Didn't stumble upon any sheds but did find a spot with some potential. It's a clearing on a point that's loaded with scrapes. The next ridge over has the potential for a bedding area as well. Didn't spend too much time there but marked it on the GPS for a thorough scout in a month or so.
Just stumbled upon this thread, this could be a great thread. Right up my alley. Been out but not finding the sign I was hoping but going to start hitting better spots. Look forward to sharing my scouting adventures and reading all of yours!
I made it out to a public piece where I shot my gun buck his past season to do my first real scouting mission. I hunted it twice last year during bow season and once during gun, all on cyber scouts. First time in I saw two bucks and three does, second time in I saw a doe and had others working in at last light. Then gun season I shot an 8 point that’s provably a 3 year old and scored about 115-120”. The first spot I wanted to hit was a small marsh on the edge of a stream, just expected there to be buck bedding in the area from cyber scouting. Just off the marsh I ran into this rub, the height tells me it’s a mature buck I headed out to a clump of brush in the center of the marsh grass, and there is what I believe is going to be a buck bed. I’ll confirm it this spring after the snow melt but 95% sure this will be a buck bed and I have a perfect set-up to capitalize on it next fall! If you look close you can see multiple trees rubbed on the edge of the likely bed. After that I worked back to where I shot my gun buck, I believe when I shot it he was exiting his bedding area across the creek to check on two does in front of me. As soon as I hit the area rubs popped up, and good rubs mixed with rubs from years past. I finished the day off walking one of my pieces of private and finding this 4 point side shed off a 2 yo. All in all a very good day, I bet a cut 50+ rubs today on the public, I look forward to hitting it again once snow melts and next fall.
First day scouting. Knee finally feels good enough to move up and down some hills. About 2 inches of snow on the ground is going to make a good day in the woods.
