I'm going to be trying some new areas to bowhunt whitetails on public land this fall. I don't want to go walking through the woods to close to opener. I've been looking at satellite images trying to develop a plan but I feel that after the first week deer will change their patterns. Does anyone have any advice on scouting foriegn areas?Anyone have anything unique they like to do? Just looking for some new ideas. Thanks! Erik
i like to look at the images as you did and scout the edges of the property and at mid day i like to do my scouting throughout the season looking for fresh sign
yeah the topo maps are great .. and you'd be surprised at how many of the animals move in the mid 10a - 12p range. They are conditioned to the pressure and know when most of the hunters leave. To find the big ones find the deepest darkest spot and scout. These public land animals get smart quick or they don't last long. Have a great season.
Get away from other hunters and hunt edgelines and or/terrain features that help push deer past my stand.
All about hunting escape routes. I like to look for funnels that other hunters are going to push deer through. Like was said earlier, 10am to 2pm is a good time to be in these places as most hunters are coming and going during this time. Kind of hard to scout these places if you dont know where most hunters hunt at on the land. Walk deep and stay late. Best of luck to you.
I know one thing...on public land you have to be willing to work a little harder than the average hunter(walk in farther, sit longer, etc) but it usually pays off. Thanks for the ideas guys.
I would not worry about scouting now. Scout whenever you can, even if that means in season. Keep searching on the fly after every hunt, walk a little more & check new areas out. I'm not sure where you are from, but I love how it seems that all you need to do to be successful on public land is out walk the other guys...Sometimes that plays a bigger factor, sometimes everyone knows that and the "far in" areas get more pressure than the easy walks. Plus not every piece of ground allows you to go deeper before someon from the other side is already there.
Exactly! Great post Ryan... I've wanted to say this many times, but I get side-tracked easily. I've seen this more times than I can count. There's nothing wrong with going deep, but never discount that thick area just off the side of the road. It has worked to my advantage on more than few occasions.
It wont apply now for you but after the season get out there and get to know the property through Shed hunting. You can walk where ever you want and might even find some Sheds. I did just this after last season on a property I want to try. I dont normally hunt public but im going to give it a go this season. Even found 2 Sheds from P&Y class Bucks to
Hey Rybo My point wasn't that all you had to do is out walk other people...which you agree sometimes that plays a bigger factor. It was that you have to out work the average hunter. By the time you get up (2:30am) to shower, drive an hr+ just to be the first in line to sign in for the public area you want, walk in, set up your stand and get situated, you are a little taxed to say the least. Some guys get lazy and sleep in, arrive late and as a result don't have time to walk in as far to get set up. And it is a fact that the deer get bumped to the outstretches of the public property, away from where all the scent, noise, and movement starts at the parking lot of the public areas. I'm not sure where you are from but this is how it goes down where I'm from. Hence the reason I was looking to scout new areas in the first place. Good luck and happy hunting!
Public land I like to be out of the way of other hunters and also hunt ALL day due to other hunters pushing deer when they leave and reenter.
try paterning the hunters.Meaning if u have an idea where the other hunters r going,get on the other side of them. Some of u'z have to sign in on public lands?Thats a good idea,safety reasons.Like a confined space permit,lol Have a blast this season(s)Be safe watch u'r six!
