So deer season has come and gone, and that means its time to pack away the gear, look at the photos and remember the fun, right?
Well, not exactly. It’s time to do some of the best scouting that is available to a deer hunter.
There’s one simple reason why, and I’ll use two trail cam pictures to demonstrate why:
It’s that dramatic of a change of the vegetation. What was once thick growth that could hide deer ten meters from you is now see-thru. Terrain features pop out much more visibly. It’s far easier to move through the woods without the constant rip and tear of undergrowth and pricky vines.
And by mid-late January, the deer are starting to move back into their normal patterns, with the pressure off of them. The leaves have been pressed down by snow and especially by deer movement. Tracks that were made when the ground was softer a bit, then froze back up are kept there, helping to mark where deer have collected. If there’s snow on the ground, it’s even better. Recent movements are plain as day, as are bedding areas. Beds can be found by looking for pressed or cleared leaves, if there’s no snow, but it’s not quite as easy.
Most scrapes are probably old ones from past autumn, but you might find one or two recent ones. It’s still good to take note, especially scrape lines where bucks are marking territory. As are rubs and rub lines.
There’s also a certain beauty to winter woods. Sleeping serenity. Quiet contemplation. A promise of what might be next season.
It’s also easier to see where deer go when I bump them, if I’m walking carefully enough to approach them. Most of the time, I don’t walk like I’m still-hunting, I’m just tromping through the woods. The deer will hear me coming hundreds of yards away and be long gone before I get to where they were. That wasn’t the case a few days ago. I still hunted along a ridge where I was pretty sure deer might be bedded. As I came into an area, a couple of does moved off as if I’d bumped them. A third blew, kind of, and moved off, but the remaining does moved only about 20 to 30 meters and then just hung out. They started moving, but were watching in a different direction. I came to find out that a couple and their dog were taking a walk at the top of an opposite ridge. It was a fun experience to get that close to a group of does like that!
This kind of scouting is good for getting into areas that seem too thick in autumn. If deer are bedding there, I can find the other exits and see if there are opportunities to move in on there. I can also get a sense of popular places that the deer like the congregate. And, I can find where the deer are not moving much, if at all.
Yesterday, I was scouting an area that I was sure was going to be full of sign, but it was dead. I came to find several stands, still up, all in an area where I would have expected deer to move otherwise. They felt that pressure and shifted how they move. It was good intel and now I know where not to be, at least later in the year.
I’m also going to use this time to check out an area for this spring’s turkey hunt. A year wiser after my inaugural turkey outing last spring, I’m going to dig into these ridge points and see where those tom turkeys might come to scratch and cruise in the morning.
It’s really not till mid/late February that I finish up scouting. This year, I’ve focused on two main places for next year’s deer hunting. My OnX maps are full of pins and suggestions, as well as photos of trees that might be good choices for stands.
And that’s about it!