High Success Scouting Methods

by Jake Schlangen - AC Pro Staff

Bow season closes and you figure you might as well put your stuff away and forget about it until next fall and hope that luck strikes you. Or you can use a smart scouting approach to maximize your odds of getting that trophy of a lifetime. In hunting, there really is no way to guarantee that your tag will be filled. By implementing a smart year around scouting approach, your odds will greatly be raised and you will get a chance to know your deer herd. The bow season may end the last part of December but the deer are still leaving valuable clues to future success. In the off season during the late months of winter, deer and the sign they leave behind are more visible than perhaps any other time of year.

So where do you start? My scouting season starts in February and March when the deer start to lose their antlers. This is a great time of year to be in the woods because tracks are easy to see and you can see exactly where the deer are traveling. Knowing where the deer are at that time of year is important if you want to find their shed antlers. Finding those antlers will give you a great idea of what bucks survived the hunting season and shed hunting can be a great motivation builder for the rest of the year.

The next step in scouting that I take is getting out right after snow melt. This time of year deer trails, scrapes and rubs are all highly visible from the year before. Since much deer movement is annually the same, this sign is very important to building a plan for the next year. This is the scouting stage where I start to hang tree stands, build blinds and get to know all areas of the property very well. You can step into some of those areas that you stay out of in the fall and not have to worry about bumping deer out of your hunting area. I would not go through those areas more than a couple of times to minimize disturbance, but do not overlook them. This is the time of year that most of my physical preparation of my hunting areas is done and probably the most important.

Late summer scouting, from late July thru mid September is some of the most exciting of the year. This time of year I am putting trail cameras out and glassing feeding areas. Mature animals are on their feet during late evening hours and may be more visible than any other time of year. I take a low impact approach to scouting this time of year. I stay as far as possible from the fields while still having a good vantage point and use a spotting scope to see where the deer are entering fields. I put my cameras in places I can get in and out without leaving much scent and disturbing deer. Spotting deer and putting your trail camera pics together will give you a great idea of the bucks and deer movement in the area and where they live. In many states that have an earlier bow season; this info will give you a great early season hunting plan and the upper hand to situations that may occur.

Do your homework and spend the offseason getting prepared and your success rates will greatly improve. Your success of tagging deer will greatly improve but your knowledge of the deer movement will be greater as well. This will give you the advantage of knowing the quality of the deer in your area so you can set your goals accordingly. Make sure when scouting you are recording the information on maps and in a journal. This information will help you in future seasons as well.