Where I hunt I cannot use trailcams and there are no crop fields. I hunt rolling hardwoods that stretch on for miles. How would you go about scouting to pattern an early season buck? I do have some access to lakes that I could use a canoe on to scout the lake edges for bucks feeding before dark. Each year I enter into the hunting with only clues from the following year in terms of in-season sightings and the usual array of rubs and scrapes. Without seeing the bucks prior to the season I feel I am pretty far behind in the early season. Any tips? Thanks all. Brett
If at all possible I pre-scout in the early spring. I locate the buck beds and set up as close as possible. Mature bucks move in daylight, but they don't move far from there beds in daylight... Then in mid August thru opening day I would suggest looking for feeding areas, or sign of the bucks away from those bedding areas to determine what areas are currently holding big bucks. Hunt the bedding areas closest to the activity. Hunt it once then move to the next one... If you have not done your homework, you can determine where they are bedding in hill country terrain by using a topo map. The mature bucks should be bedding within the top 3rd of a hill on the Leeward side. They prefer points to ridges. Once you get good at it, you should be able to look at the wind direction and the map and know right where the bucks should be bedded.
Bukmastr, thank you very much for the information. I am gonna be honest, I could not identify a buck bed if it bit me in the face. What should I be looking for here in July/August? I did alot of scouting through January-April to get a good feel of the terrain and some sign such as rubs leading to and from thicker cover on the top 1/3rd of the hills. Yet I never found any bedding areas because like I said earlier, I could not identify one to save my life. Thank your for any further insight. I posted the map below on another thread about thermals Dan...could you take a look at it and tell me if I am understanding what you are saying about thermals and wind direction. I have my potential buck "cruising" routes in yellow.
The area you have marked is a great area for a south wind... The bucks should be bedded overlooking the river valley on the top 1/3 of the hill sides particularly where the points stick out. Look for the points where the drop to the valley is steep. The Buck beds are generally right where the Steep drop occurs. There should be a mild decline that suddenly gets steeper. Right inbetween your two yellow cruise lines there are two creeks running south from the main river. The one on the right seems to have the elevation lines stacked indicating steep drop. I would be willing to bet there are some buck beds located up there...
I marked the spots that look likely for south wind buck bedding along the area you marked... The does would bed same as but slightly higher and more likely in small family groups... Outside the rut, I would position close to the individual beds. During rut along the cruise trails you have marked.