Hey Guys/Gals This upcoming season will be my first bowhunting, and the first year in many than I've gone after deer altogether. My buddy got me into bowhunting, and I can tell you that I am extremely nervous and excited headed into it. I figure like anything, expectations should be pretty low for the first time you take on a challenge that bowhunting is, but I still expect to put some deer down, especially does. You guys get questions on gear all the time, and to be honest, with me, while I have what I consider is an above average set up, not spectacular, but we'll get there, gear really doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. Some bent timber, a cord, and a stick with a point COULD do the job. My question as I approach this season is about recon, usage of maps, databases, etc. I see you guys quote a county system about scouting, could you elaborate a bit on that please? Also- I am interviewing with two bow hunt clubs the next two weeks, and while that will certainly improve my odds of putting deer down, I also want to get out there and hunt the public stuff, because there is a bunch around where I live, 1000's of acres of public, and wmas to hunt. So- how do YOU go about scouting an area, how do you look at topo maps and decide where to explore with your boots on the ground? I don't have enough time to walk all of the acres, so what do you look for? Also- While I"m pretty familiar with travel routes, and food plot areas, I'm not that great with bedding areas. How do you go about searching areas where you think they are bedded up? Any info or articles, or links you guys can give me to help start filling in my plan for this year, I would deeply appreciate it. I will be hunting mostly NJ, but I also have access to family land in PA- I know that land pretty well, but if I don't have to travel 4 hours, I wont. Hope you guys put some monsters on the ground this year.
Welcome to the site Podobed! Books can be (and have been) written on scouting & map reading. Wearing out boot leather is the best way to understand how deer use a specific chunk of land, but learing to read topos & satalite images can vastly reduce to ammount of time needed on the ground. Here's a great book to pick up that will help give you a head start. Also, if you have a particular property that you're hunting, post up a couple maps and the folks here can give you their input. Good luck this fall! Welcome to the bowhunting addiction
Hey Fitz, I appreciate the book recommendation. It is definitely a starting point. Also- As soon as I get the boundaries of the two areas I am leaning towards hunting, I'll post up pictures of that map. That is a great idea. Thanks.
Thanks for this post Podobed45... I'm at a similar point of my hunting experience and have many of the same questions. I also happen to be in Northern NJ, so I'm subscribing. Just curious, what public land have you looked at so far?
I'll recommend the hunting book I believe absolutely the most in and that's this one: http://www.pressureddeer.com/book-store/
As far as bedding areas go look thick I mean really thick, can't see through grass, weeds, saplings, brush near a food source or water hole. The rule of thumb I follow is if you can't get in or see in that golden. Never, and mean never enter such places. Just trust that the deer are using it for cover. Look for trails going into said thickness. Next, find a set up place at least 50 yards from the thickness. If possible 100 yards away. You don't the deer to know your on to their cover. Next thing never set up up wind of the bedding area. The deer will not move from the bed until it dark if they can since danger. Good luck,
Besides reading great books, you need to become a detective and stop listening to all the money marketing ideas in the whitetail industry. Trust your instinct and gut to decipher deer sign, because every single deer sign you see is directional and has a reason or cause for it to be at that location. Learn why and how deer move on the property due to the wind direction, location of food and location of bedding. Example: A mature buck would get from his bed to the food rarely by walking with the wind, instinct to survive wouldn't sacrifice his nose like that during huntable hours...he's going to want to use his nose if moving during any kind of light; he'll quarter into a wind 9 times out of 10 unless the terrain dictates him move differently, like a ridge line or lake can cause him to move differently while getting by these types of terrain features. Just looking at sign isn't enough, learn to study and solve each sign...hope any of that made sense.
Another thing you could do is after you find a couple of areas that you think are good place a trail camera up. if that's not available then get out there and sit still. just bring a pair of bino's and look for the deer. this is the best and 100% way to scout deer movement. the cameras will tell you dates and times of he deer movement, but being there in person is always better. you can pick up a better idea as to where the deer are coming from.
I agree if your terrain allows, but politely disagree if your hunting woodlands that aren't those mature canopy open underneath type set ups. I don't hunt anywhere save my newest property where I can actually use the vantage idea of binoc scouting, and even then looking over open type places is only worth so much given wind or weather conditions. 98% of my scouting is the use of cams and putting boot on soil. Watching does enter a crop field does me no good to scouting a mature bucks habits a lot of the time, because they'll enter differently altogether at times...finding tracks, locating pics or even spotting/bumping him confirms where he is and how he's moving on days with a west wind and front coming in or a southern wind after a storm...deer and mature bucks in general are animals of instincts and survival drives them to move in association with how safe they feel, hence why they move quartering into the wind...unless you hunt unpressured deer that feel safe no matter what (if you do consider yourself lucky!!!). All of this does you no good if it doesn't seem attractive to you...hunting should be something you enjoy. If scouting like a detective and going crazy with cross referencing the way a buck is walking at a certain time and wind and moon phase seems like something you'd hate to do and wouldn't enjoy it then don't. The day hunting the way I'm attempting to becomes a chore or something I dread I'll take up golf. Put in the effort you want, and expect success equivilant to the effort (with occasional luck over blessing you) and above all else enjoy yourself.
Hey Guys, I appreciate all the responses. I do have access to some trail cameras, and I have been walking/watching some areas with signs of movement. I like all of the suggestions given, and I hope that, along with some hard work and some luck will equal a good first season. Don't think all of your responses are going on deaf ears.
Honestly you should try and reach out to some fellow NJ bow hunters and see if one of them could accompany you on a scouting trip. They can show you firsthand what to look for and where to potentially set up a stand or blind what have ya. Don't rely on Firearms people for scouting ideas. Not that they don't know what to look for, but they don't normally have the skill or need to put the deer directly in front of you. If there’s one thing most of us have in common it is scouting. But it sounds like your heading in the right direction, but just remembers to not over scout the area. too many trips in can/will leave to many human/intruder signs behind for the deer to pick up. Mature bucks will generally avoid an area once they feel unsafe, and us being there is a good way to create that un-safe feeling. So if you feel like you are standing in a bedding area it’s best to back out the same way you came in. Good thing about scouting in the summer is the deer are a little less spooked by humans. My 2 cents at least. Plus there are so many scents created by summer’s growth that it’s not a major deal. I'd try and visit once every 2 or 3 weeks to start out, but once fall draws near I'd stay away a little longer. I will only visit the woods once in September prior to opening day Oct 1st. I feel that most hunters (around here) start scouting in September, and Well the less you’re in the woods this time of the year the more the deer will be there avoiding the neighbors as they scout their grounds. Then in theory, the deer will associate you area as a safe ground. I have no proof of this, but I strongly believe in it. Less is better during and around the hunting season. Feb and March are best times to get out and find scrapes, trails and bed's, because everything is dead and you can see longer distances through the woods and trail's nearly glow with all of the heavy usage. Look for larger huff prints away from trails. Mature bucks generally avoid walking trails, so if you come across a set of track off the beaten path you may have yourself a nice shooter come this fall. Try and get a feel as to where they come from and go. If you see smaller tracks accompanied by larger tracks those are does and fawns. You might not see as many bucks with them early in the season, but you never know. The younger buck 2 ½ years and younger may accompany small groups but it’s unlike you’ll see any other deer with a Doe with fawns. I’ve always been taught that buck poop will be clumped together like horse poop, while doe’s will be in pellet form like a rabbit. I’m not sure if there are any know truths to this, but I’ve always believed it and look for in while scouting. I hope my long suggestion hasn’t bored you to tears. Best of luck to you.
