Well season is over in Va, so im going rabbit hunting tomorrow. While we are out we will be doing a bit of scouting but our main focus is to take down all the hang-on stands to get them out of the weather. We will also be taking down one of the ladder stands and moving into the swamp just so it is set up and done with. So my question is, when will you start serious scouting and when do you begin putting up your stands for the up coming season??
Season ends Jan 31st for me, so sometime in Febuary and all through turkey season. Summer is mainly for glassing and trout fishing.
I started serious scouting the day after the season ended. I have to put in a good amout of effort in the off-season to give myself a chance during the season.
Its an all year thing for me. The only time i stop thinking about deer is the month of turkey season. Bow seasons ends in Feb. Shed hunting starts in Feb. Shed hunting seasons ends in April Turkey season starts in April ends in May I also start my mineral licks in April Velvet filming and summer scouting begins in July Serious stand hanging in August Season starts in September and goes till Feb.
Probably once I get my family room done here in Feb, I'll get back out and start scouting and possibly shed hunting ( I suck). Food plot prep will begin early spring with plantings in May and August. Mineral licks will go out in April/May, and stands will be hung by the end of June (hopefully).
i would like to have all stands hung around june or so..baiting is illegal but i think we might drop some c'mere deer or acorn rage every few weeks in areas during the summer months up until september or so..... we cant do food plots becuase of the farmers soy beans, corn, and peanuts. i plan on investing my time to set up, scout, and prepare for the season so me and my buddy have a good season......IS IT BAD IM REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS UPCOMING SEASON???
As soon as my foot hits the ground coming down from the last hunt of the season, the next season begins.
Honestly......I NEED a break, after the general season. I hunt a LOT. I've already walked some areas (snow on the ground, here, for a while). And, I'll do a lot more walking in the coming weekends. But then..........I'll relax. Plenty of 3D to keep me in the game coming up. I'll shoot 2 or so a month, along with shooting here at my own little range a few times/wk. But that's as far as it'll go. I don't WANT to be a 7/365 hunter. I need to find that happy medium. I'll find a new way to challenge myself this year. Maybe it'll require some more prep (likely....ex - creating a couple more ground blinds), but I won't get serious about that until after turkey season. Probably spend a couple weeks getting the ground blinds set......then won't even enter my woods until the opener.
Same here. As much as I like hunting, I have other interests as well. When my season wraps up in 8 days(I will hunt part of 6 of the next 8 days), I will have spent a portion of over 70 days out of a possible 137 days of season between local and out of state hunting. I will enjoy the next week immensely but then I'll be done for a while....a good while. Between my son's baseball, cycling/mountain biking, snow skiing, and photography coupled with a little work every now and then, I simply don't have time without giving up one of these other activities. As much as I enjoy turkey hunting, I haven't done much the last few years due to the son's baseball and likely won't again this year. So after next week, I doubt I even look at my bow until late May or early June. I will start scouting for deer in Mid July.
Heck, I am just now actually starting to "want" to hunt. Temps here up until mid-Nov suck. I like cold weather hunting. (Not sub 0, just cold) Family and other issues have prevented me from hunting my main property the way I would have liked. Scouting begins for me Feb 1. I am strongly considering going against my own grain and actually putting about 4 hangons in the trees I will hunt from next fall. I hate doing it because of the elements, wear and tear, but I also love the suprise nature of it. Also planning to get 2 quality blinds because I intend on having a 16 yr old daughter, who loves to hunt, bowhunting with me some next fall. Woohoo!! That will be the best.
I don't get to hunt as much as some of these other guys do. I once did.. and used to spend 250 hours or more in a tree. Those days are gone. These last couple years I only get up in a tree about 100 hours.. and about 30% of that is behind a camera.. so scouting is so important for me. And actually.. its my favorite part of hunting. I start in November and continue through late March.. in that time I likely spend 300 hours or more (probably more) scouting.. shed hunting.. land searching etc etc. Stands.. I hang the day I hunt. Through the later spring and throughout summer.. I rarely do much of anything related to hunting. This year though.. I'm going to begin a little (very cautious) trailcammin'... so I'll have to change some batteries once in a while.
I hang stands in spring once the snow melts but before the foilage starts. The scouting is year round.
