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How to make summer scouting suck less?

Buy a bug face mask, something like this:

Coghlan's Mosquito Head Net: Ultra-Fine Mesh Netting Protection for Face and Neck Against Bugs Gnats Flies Insects, for Outdoor Camping, Hiking & Fishing https://a.co/d/ijjS1Pc

May look ridiculous, but I can attest to how nice it is to watch the skeeters struggle to get you. I also use permethrin on all of my clothes.
 
there's a southern outdoorsman podcast where Daniel Williams mentions going out to scout in July/August and looking specifically for cool air areas/columns. those areas exist because of thermal pull, etc (wish I had a better grasp of the physics) and we can't hardly sense them except when it's blazing hot out there. but those areas will be favored as travel routes for bucks, so he says.

i think that's also a tactic for deep south early season: find wherever is coolest and you'll probably be in the deers bedroom....
 
mschultz373 said:
there's a southern outdoorsman podcast where Daniel Williams mentions going out to scout in July/August and looking specifically for cool air areas/columns. those areas exist because of thermal pull, etc (wish I had a better grasp of the physics) and we can't hardly sense them except when it's blazing hot out there. but those areas will be favored as travel routes for bucks, so he says.

i think that's also a tactic for deep south early season: find wherever is coolest and you'll probably be in the deers bedroom....
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I happened upon one of these spots last summer. It was very hot and humid, and I was following a creek. At one point a doe busted up from a little thicket that the creek ran through. I went in to where she had been and there was a little pocket of cool air in a sort of bowl, about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than anywhere else around in that one little spot. I was sort of taken back by how much cooler that pocket was.
 
Weldabeast said:
These kinda threads are so cringe ......hahaha


Ok, living in fla pretty much my whole life I think I must be kinda an expert on this......the first thing u need to do is have a predetermined route/destination/goal for that day. Use the tech and cyber scout as much as u can. In my case majority of the places I hunt are walk in only so I want to be riding my bike down the improved roads before sunup getting to the area I want to explore hopefully as the sun peaks. Ur quick drying clothes ( long pants and long sleeve shirt that's tucked in) should have been treated with permethrin the night before. Whites and light colors is what id recommend...easier to see ticks and dark colors attract our biting flys. If u want to be weird about snakes then wear the appropriate stuff but it 100% isn't needed. I'm normally in Crocs or barefoot. I can't/won't comment on the hunting related gear u should bring but what I got when I go scout is a compass, reflective tacks, flagging tape, gallon of water, rangefinder, a length of rope and a long 4 step aider, a mesh bug headnet, lightweight gloves, and ur walking stick. I want to be riding back to the truck by 10-10:30...11 at the latest. For me scouting this time of year is only an AM thing. It's still 90 degrees at 8pm so afternoon trips don't really interest me at all.

The mindset need a to change a little....if u go out barnstorming u gonna get worn out and dehydrated so much faster now vs hunting season. I can cover 2x or 3x as much ground during the cooler months vs summer. If I find a nice shady cool spot I'm taking a break and rehydrating.....drink lots of water. Charlie horses = u dehydrated. pee smell a little funny = u dehydrated. Heat exhaustion and stroke sneak up on ya...it's got me multiple times and I've seen it happen to plenty of other people while working thru the years. A bandana or neck gaiter dipped into the creek or pond it a luxury...... 1 thing I'm experimenting with and can't sign off on yet is my daughter gave me this little water atomizer/mister thing. It's pretty small and doesn't weight enough to notice. It charges USB. U open a cap and put a small amount of water inside..maybe 3 or4 tablespoons?....u push the button and it atomizers the water and a tiny little fan blows it out of the nozzle. It definitely cools ya off but I haven't decided yet if I like it enough to permanently add it in with my other gear
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Thanks so much for this. A lot of good stuff here.

Last year is the first year I used snake boots. WOW what a consoling piece of gear! I still was aware of the ground, but was analyzing more for sign than usual. My original intent was to wear the snake boots in early season and then switch back to my old pair, but honestly these things were so comfortable I never switched back.

One needs to keep in mind, if wearing snake boots, the protection is negated when moving up hill.
 
Easy… don’t. Summer animals and summer patterns are way different than fall. I’ll concede if u hunt late summer early September then some just in time is useful but to spend much time out now I find pointless.
 
I didn't read all of the posts so pardon me if this product was already mentioned.
The Original Bug Shirt is the best $90 that I ever spent.
I'd seen them on a bunch of YouTube videos of Canada guys on wilderness canoe trips.
Then, last summer my wife and I took a wilderness trip in the Boundary Waters MN.
We stopped in a sporting goods store up there the day before our launch and I saw those shirts for sale. Something in my head demanded that we buy a couple.
The mosquitoes were horrific but those shirts made it bearable.
They vent fairly well and they aren't as hot as they look. Wear a cotton T shirt under it.

bugshirt.com

Home of The Original Bug Shirt® Company

The handcrafted Canadian made Original Bug Shirt® first introduced to the public in 1991; providing full body protection from mosquitoes, ticks and other biting insects.
bugshirt.com bugshirt.com
 
mschultz373 said:
Has anyone ever been struck by a venomous snake? I’ve never had issues with snakes even in hot weather. They seem more afraid of Goliath than we are of them.
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I wonder the same thing.....i kinda go out of my way to find and observe snakes. I love seeing them. The only ones who have ever struck at me were because I was messing with it. Never had 1 strike naturally on its own. We have 6 venomous snake species here local and from all of my interactions throughout my life I have never had a bad situation...the non venomous snakes are the 1s who are strike happy
 
NMSbowhunter said:
I happened upon one of these spots last summer. It was very hot and humid, and I was following a creek. At one point a doe busted up from a little thicket that the creek ran through. I went in to where she had been and there was a little pocket of cool air in a sort of bowl, about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than anywhere else around in that one little spot. I was sort of taken back by how much cooler that pocket was.
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There's a disturbance in the force

Have any of u guys/gals come across areas/spots on the woods where it just feels off/weird? I was walking thru the rows of planted pines a couple seasons ago and as I stepped into this tiny clearing (maybe 10ftx10ft) the air changed. It was a 5 degree difference in temp and it felt like it was...
saddlehunter.com
 
mschultz373 said:
Has anyone ever been struck by a venomous snake? I’ve never had issues with snakes even in hot weather. They seem more afraid of Goliath than we are of them.
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No, I never have but I have almost stepped right on top of a copperhead a few times and only caught myself inches from the snake. The only reason I didn't step on it was I happened to see it first. Copperheads just lay there to be stepped on. Moccasins seem to want to get away, so I generally see them move.
 
mschultz373 said:
Has anyone ever been struck by a venomous snake? I’ve never had issues with snakes even in hot weather. They seem more afraid of Goliath than we are of them.
Click to expand...
Luckily havent been hit but have been struck at a few times. A couple times were in really thick viney areas near water and the strikes didnt get through. Twice I have been struck at when I saw the snake just before it struck and jumped, the strike missed. All of those were cottonmouths. Rattlesnakes warned early enough to not get within strike range and copperheads just didnt move when I was about to step on them. Durned chicken snakes have struck at me more than anything else but I was messin with them too.
 
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