Newbie Scouter looking for advice

[skeelsave]

This is my first year that I am getting serious about killing deer. I have 3 toddlers now and want to put a bunch of quality meat in the fridge "for free" hah.

See below for the land I'm scouting. It's about 200 acres of wisconsin woodland along a river that goes about waist deep. I have some questions:

1) I have seen a ton of deer trail and tracks down on the beach and along the river. One set of wolf and beer track, and no human tracks on beach. Would this be a decent area to hunt on dry and warm afternoons? Deer gotta drink right? I have no idea what time those deer are going down there to drink and I haven't seen any deer scat at all down there so maybe it's all old trails. The trails are insane in the lower left though.
2) I have been focusing on the land that is close to the agriculture and river so far. The orange area I have not scouted yet. Should I expect much from scouting that area?

 

[HuskerInIowa]

Have you seen deer anywhere while you’ve been scouting or just trails? Not that a heavily used trail is a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. Just thinking the biggest piece of advice I read somewhere and have tried to get better about this year is to sit where the deer are, not where you think they should be.

 

[skeelsave]

Have you seen deer anywhere while you’ve been scouting or just trails? Not that a heavily used trail is a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. Just thinking the biggest piece of advice I read somewhere and have tried to get better about this year is to sit where the deer are, not where you think they should be.

I haven't seen any deer yet. I'm seeing new tracks on the beach when I go out there so I know they are still there. I'm pretty sure I'm being too loud when I'm scouting. I got out yesterday and found a few more decent spots and faster ways to get to them. Hopefully I'll start seeing them soon. I think I just need to keep getting out there and adding my findings.

 

[kbetts]

I haven't seen any deer yet. I'm seeing new tracks on the beach when I go out there so I know they are still there. I'm pretty sure I'm being too loud when I'm scouting. I got out yesterday and found a few more decent spots and faster ways to get to them. Hopefully I'll start seeing them soon. I think I just need to keep getting out there and adding my findings.

Faster isn't always better. Low impact ins and outs is where it's at.

 

[philsanchez76]

Faster isn't always better. Low impact ins and outs is where it's at.

Yeah about 2 seasons ago I started just acting like I was still hunting during all my scouting and man I started having a lot of deer encounters during those sessions. it definitely helps you figure out where deer are bedding. Id also try to organize my scouting session so I was walking into the wind as much as possible, that way I wouldn't spook deer hundreds of yards before I reached a spot.

 

[thedutchtouch]

I'd scout the whole orange area bit by bit. You don't know what you're assuming until you get in there. Walk til you find deer, and mark where you bump em, don't bother marking tracks and poop and such. Over time you'll have a pattern of "saw deer during daylight" rather than "deer were here at some point somewhat recently".

I spent two seasons following and setting up onntracys and sign, but had no way of knowing if it was nocturnal or not. This year I've set out two cell cameras which has helped a small amount confirming day vs night activity, but realistically I've switched to a "walk until you actually see deer" mentality thanks to a few members here giving me advice, and have killed a few deer as a result. Scout til you find doe bedding, and then set up on it. I've bumped deer out of bedding and then shot deer within an hour in the same spot.

Caveat: this advice is all is from a newer (3 dead deer) hunter, seeking to meat hunt. This strategy seems to be successful for finding deer for the freezer, I can't personally give any horn hunting advice, or rut specific strategies, as I am not targeting specific bucks, but if a buck walks infront of me I won't complain. @kyler1945 is a big proponent of the scout your boots off to find deer instead of setting on sign/ hang and hope hunting, and I credit him with a lot of my early success. Trying not to be too much of a fanboy, there's quite a few other knowledgeable people on here as well.

 

[Jagger0502]

The rut is coming on this week in my area. During the rut, I focus on heavily used trails from one area to another where doe run frequently. Sit on a trail all day and bucks are likely to cruse by chasing doe or heading from one breeding area to another looking for more doe. Looks like there is plenty of water on the property so pinpointing a water source might not be your best bet. If there is a heavily used trail I would walk it and look for fresh scrapes and intersecting trails where two or more trails come together and set up. If you know where it is thick or bedding areas likely a heavy trail in this area would be a good bet, a few rubs and scrapes make it even better.

with multiple trails you really have to forecast the wind. It’s a crapshoot during the rut where they will be coming from but try to set up with best shot opportunities with the wind to your face but expect them to come in from behind you. If a steady wind is blowing into one trail or the other, it’s more likely a buck chasing a doe will be running into the wind, a buck moving from one area to another could be running any trail any time no matter the wind. Again… during the rut anything is possible but these areas will have more deer passing thru, you just need to be ready for them because they will be moving.

work on a call you can make with your mouth to stop them. A bleat or whistle.

 

[skeelsave]

Thanks guys. From what I understand we are still just prior to rut in WI, plus it's still warm this week, so I'm going to try the "still-hunt" scouting this week or until it gets colder.

@Jagger0502 Thanks for that breakdown and detail of rut strategy. I'll be following that plan. I think I have a few trails in mind and I'll sharpen my whistle too.

 

[Jagger0502]

Thanks guys. From what I understand we are still just prior to rut in WI, plus it's still warm this week, so I'm going to try the "still-hunt" scouting this week or until it gets colder.

@Jagger0502 Thanks for that breakdown and detail of rut strategy. I'll be following that plan. I think I have a few trails in mind and I'll sharpen my whistle too.

I can tell you my buddy can stop a deer dead in his tracks with his whistle. He has even had them walk towards him when he whistles. I can’t whistle to save my life when a deer walks by… all my stress, tension and buck fever go right to my lips, I sound like a 4 year old without front teeth trying to blow out my birthday candles. I bleat them to a stop which works well.

 

[skeelsave]

I can tell you my buddy can stop a deer dead in his tracks with his whistle. He has even had them walk towards him when he whistles. I can’t whistle to save my life when a deer walks by… all my stress, tension and buck fever go right to my lips, I sound like a 4 year old without front teeth trying to blow out my birthday candles. I bleat them to a stop which works well.

I'll work on a bleat too in case hah