I've commented on here before about public ground less then 5 miles from my house that I've never hunted and after watching guys like fletch, and some of the staff over at Midwest whitetail it was like a wake up call. Anyways the thing I've decided I'm going to do more then anything this "offseason" is scout. And I want to figure out as much as I can about this piece of public ground before opening day in September, but is there a limit to how hard I should scout a particular piece of property? Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Yes I personally believe someone can scout an area too much. Deer won't stick around if there are people walking through their area on a regular basis. Going every couple weeks if it's the same spot should be ok and always try to stay scent free.
Yes you can over scout, what I normally do is scout now and scout it hard before it greens up. Then I go back a couple weeks before season starts and do a light scouting just to see where they are and set up for whatever I find then.
Agree with 130woodman, I think everyone will be different based on different places. Example will be; i hunt public land, where I hunt there are buildings and roads within a mile. A lot of people use the area for training so deer is constantly use to smelling of human and they are not going no where else. On the other hand there are places that have a ton of deer that people don't usually go or train near it and when people do go within a mile of them, deer moves some where else not to be found. I scouted a water hole that it is about 100 meters from where it is constant human activity, no one ever goes to this water hole because it Is hidden, I found it just walking around scouting after season, I set up a camera and cut some shooting lanes and got pics of a pretty nice bucks. After I cut lanes I didn't see deer again on cam for about a week, lesson learn for me, don't leave anything for the last minute, plan and scout a few weeks before season. I will not go again to the water hole until a week before season opening and scout for tracks using binos. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I am planning on going and scouting Kentucky public this summer. I will do as an intense day of scouting as I can....mark on phone locations of stands, rub lines...scrapes...oak pockets, bedding and such even prep a tree location possibly. Once I see a spot and make guesses as to how the deer are using it all that is left is actually live stand scouting during the season which will confirm or reject scouting assumptions. I'll make a second trip for scouting other spots but will most likely not scout the same exact spot twice. Staying mobile is key on public and it is my plan to be ready to move.
I really believe this has a lot to do with your specific area, the season, etc. The area I scout in the big woods of PA might see deer once every few days. Sometimes my cams sit out for 5/7 days without a pic over a 30 day period during winter and spring. So, I believe my walking through does little to disturb or change any deer patterns. There are times when my scent would be long gone before they come by. When I jump a buck, I do not feel they leave the area, never to return. Come the fall and hunting season, deer traffic on cams usually pic up even with hunting pressure in the area by me and my family...as well as some other public land hunters. Another area of PA I hunt is a state park. There are hikers on the trails constantly, even in winter. Yet, during this same time, hunters are killing deer. So, in this situation it may affect some deer movement however, they do not just leave the area and not come back. Last situation for me is my backyard. Deer move through in the evenings, at night, and in the early morning. I can spook them every evening and they will still be back. Why? Several reasons. Maybe food and constant human activity. Again, I do think seasons and situations are different and my above opinion is only my experince for my area. I'm also not saying that scent does not matter. It does. I also believe scent and hunter pressure do affect their movement at times. Just not to the point where they leave an entire area. Define what an entire area is? Hundreds or thousands of acres for pubic land. Your question was really about off season. So, my answer is...scout every day you can. That monster buck is likely not going to change his core area because of you
I pretty well stay out of the woods in warm weather to avoid stinking the place up or blowing deer out of the area before the season.
Do you have a GPS or do you use an app on your phone? If so what app, and is it free? Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Read Troy's (Shed) post about mock scrapes. Tons of great information there that could set you apart from the other hunters and be fairly low impact on scouting. If you can run two or three quality scrapes, starting early, you can have the bucks scout you instead of chasing them around.
