How to make summer scouting suck less?

[Weldabeast]

I'm sure those deer up north u see on utube in the sawgrass marshes do the same..... I think they spend way more time in the water than we think

Long time ago I was working framing a huge house/mansion on the intercoastal waterway and we would see deer swimming the canal all the time first thing in the morning...they would swim over into the neighborhood and eat the rich people's plants all night and swim back over to the woods to spend the day. This is a 75-100 yard swim with real strong current. I never saw it but the boss man said he saw dolphins investigating the deers 1 morning.

 

[arrowchukker]

My summertime scouting trips are limited to trail cam photos. I can’t hunt them now, chances are any kind of pattern will not be the same as when October rolls around.
I love getting pics of deer now. But most of the time, and more so with the bucks, their range now compared to when the season opens up, will be different.
Think like an optimist. If you are not getting pics of bucks now, somebody near you is, and very likely that deer will be the one you end up tagging.

 

[BTaylor]

I'm sure those deer up north u see on utube in the sawgrass marshes do the same..... I think they spend way more time in the water than we think

Long time ago I was working framing a huge house/mansion on the intercoastal waterway and we would see deer swimming the canal all the time first thing in the morning...they would swim over into the neighborhood and eat the rich people's plants all night and swim back over to the woods to spend the day. This is a 75-100 yard swim with real strong current. I never saw it but the boss man said he saw dolphins investigating the deers 1 morning.

They cross the lower White river here on a fairly regular basis. It's 225 -250 yards across depending on river level. MSU has documented some that routinely cross the MS river and the parts I am familiar with are pushing 1000 yards or more depending on water level.

 

[Sbrammer]

Around here bucks seem to like to make scrapes under what I call Beech trees. They may not actually be Beech trees. They usually have white bark, bright green small, pointed leaves and low hanging multiple branches. Not all will have scrapes under them, in fact most won't. When I am scouting, I keep an eye out for these small trees. If I see them, I walk over and carefully inspect them for two things. One, I look for broken branches on the lowest level of limbs. I like to see twisted and chewed off tips. Sometimes a tell will be one or two branches will be dead or have brown leaves. If I see that, even if the ground is pretty well covered with leaves, I can see where they have been scraping it in the past. A lot of the time leaves and pine needles will cover up the past season's scraping, but the broken branches are a dead giveaway. The second thing I look for is the actual pawed out spot on the ground. Sometimes it is visible, sometimes it is hard to see. I may look at 40 to 50 of these trees each time out and find one or two scrapes. Out of those scrapes, I might find one out of every four or five trips out that I would actually hunt over.

Pictured below is one of these Beech trees along the edge of a swamp. Under it are a couple of scrapes. It is growing right next to a good-sized red oak. This spot is way back, in the bottom of a draw in thick pines with hills to the South and North. It's hard to access and there is no sign anyone has been there. This sort of spot would be worth hunting in my book.

Here in SW Va beech trees sprinkled around on a hillside equals lots of deer sign. Don't know what it is about those copper leaves, but deer have to leave sign all in the middle of them.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

What sucks about summer scouting!? It’s summer (best season) and woods (best environment) together!! Snake boots and board shorts c’mon lol

 

[Twenty Up]

I let the animals have the woods up until late July into August here in GA.

Then I’ll gradually deploy cell cameras to keep tabs on bachelor groups to hopefully catch them in their summer pattern, before the velvet shed.
I’ve never killed a mature buck in September in Georgia… but I’ve seen and gotten close more consistently than any other month outside of January.

The biggest killer is the heat, thermals, lack of any wind, foliage, bugs, snakes and alligators. Quality lightweight clothing that wicks sweat so you don’t chafe, permethrin & picardin treated clothing paired with a shot of apple cider vinegar the night before the hunts, with snake boots and a thermacell is a must.
- I’ve personally seen the damage that Lyme disease will do, and I want no part of it.

Early season scouting and hunting is extremely challenging and demanding, but the animals are on a very predictable pattern if you’re up for it. Creek bottoms, creek & river crossings, oxbows in rivers all seem to do well for me early season.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I let the animals have the woods up until late July into August here in GA.

Then I’ll gradually deploy cell cameras to keep tabs on bachelor groups to hopefully catch them in their summer pattern, before the velvet shed.
I’ve never killed a mature buck in September in Georgia… but I’ve seen and gotten close more consistently than any other month outside of January.

The biggest killer is the heat, thermals, lack of any wind, foliage, bugs, snakes and alligators. Quality lightweight clothing that wicks sweat so you don’t chafe, permethrin & picardin treated clothing paired with a shot of apple cider vinegar the night before the hunts, with snake boots and a thermacell is a must.
- I’ve personally seen the damage that Lyme disease will do, and I want no part of it.

Early season scouting and hunting is extremely challenging and demanding, but the animals are on a very predictable pattern if you’re up for it. Creek bottoms, creek & river crossings, oxbows in rivers all seem to do well for me early season.

Tell me a little more about the shot of apple cider vinegar the night before. I'm with you on the Lyme disease. I am more concerned about ticks that snakes.

 

[Jammintree]

Early season scouting and hunting is extremely challenging and demanding, but the animals are on a very predictable pattern if you’re up for it. Creek bottoms, creek & river crossings, oxbows in rivers all seem to do well for me early season.

I’ve also observed that summer patterns can be extremely predictable. But in the areas I hunt, by the time hunting season arrives the deer have long since left summer patterns. Heck, they’ve shifted to fall patterns and the bucks are breaking the fall patterns and starting pre rut.

So what I’m wondering: is summer scouting a more effective tool in the south? Cause in the NE summer scouting seems like a whole lot of excessively hard work for very little usable intel.

 

[bigmike23]

I’ve also observed that summer patterns can be extremely predictable. But in the areas I hunt, by the time hunting season arrives the deer have long since left summer patterns. Heck, they’ve shifted to fall patterns and the bucks are breaking the fall patterns and starting pre rut.

So what I’m wondering: is summer scouting a more effective tool in the south? Cause in the NE summer scouting seems like a whole lot of excessively hard work for very little usable intel.

100%. It's cool and nothing else to see a big buck in the summer in my neck of the woods pa. They have huge range shifts once they go hard horned. It's why I don't run cams until mid September. Usually cams go dead for roughly two weeks which is why I put them out mid Sept so there's some cool off time til season start.

I'm not interested in game I cant hunt if they shift into private.

I spotlighted this deer 3 years ago in late Sept. It was by far the biggest buck I have ever laid eyes in my neck of the woods. Huge 12 pter with foot long g2s and 10 in g3s. Right next to a game lands shooting range near a clear cut. I hunted that whole area down and through up cams to get a pic of him. Never saw him again nor got a picture. He was killed during rifle season in a sportmans club 2.5 miles as the crow flies away. Forgive the quality

 

[BTaylor]

100%. It's cool and nothing else to see a big buck in the summer in my neck of the woods pa. They have huge range shifts once they go hard horned. It's why I don't run cams until mid September. Usually cams go dead for roughly two weeks which is why I put them out mid Sept so there's some cool off time til season start.

I'm not interested in game I cant hunt if they shift into private.

I spotlighted this deer 3 years ago in late Sept. It was by far the biggest buck I have ever laid eyes in my neck of the woods. Huge 12 pter with foot long g2s and 10 in g3s. Right next to a game lands shooting range near a clear cut. I hunted that whole area down and through up cams to get a pic of him. Never saw him again nor got a picture. He was killed during rifle season in a sportmans club 2.5 miles as the crow flies away. Forgive the quality View attachment 103505

Guessing it is legal to shine 'em up there??

 

[bigmike23]

Guessing it is legal to shine 'em up there??

Up until 11. I actually used to walk all the trails leading to the clear cuts.
I always suspected if you saw a buck immediately after sunset, it was logical to assume he was bedded pretty close throughout the day. That twelve and an heavy massed 8 pter are still some of the biggest deer I've ever seen in clear cuts. I tend to avoid clear cuts nowadays because that's where everyone and their mother hunts

 

[BTaylor]

I’ve also observed that summer patterns can be extremely predictable. But in the areas I hunt, by the time hunting season arrives the deer have long since left summer patterns. Heck, they’ve shifted to fall patterns and the bucks are breaking the fall patterns and starting pre rut.

So what I’m wondering: is summer scouting a more effective tool in the south? Cause in the NE summer scouting seems like a whole lot of excessively hard work for very little usable intel.

Scout for where they will be not where they are.

 

[Jammintree]

Scout for where they will be not where they are.

That’s why I’m trying to figure out this summer scouting business.

 

[mschultz373]

Tell me a little more about the shot of apple cider vinegar the night before. I'm with you on the Lyme disease. I am more concerned about ticks that snakes.

taking shot(s) of apple cider vinegar allegedly raises the acidity of your blood such that ticks don't want bite you. i only say allegedly since I can't reference a medical journal study on this.

7 Natural Tick Remedies That Work

The CDC reports that there are over 300,000 new cases of Lyme Disease in the US each year. These effective natural tick repellents ...

www.farmersalmanac.com

apparently apple cider vinegar works as topical repellent as well.

 

[Twenty Up]

Tell me a little more about the shot of apple cider vinegar the night before. I'm with you on the Lyme disease. I am more concerned about ticks that snakes.

It’s an ol’ timer trick that I learned from another woodsmen. I’ve used it for many years now with no issues. ACV also has many other health benefits, just ****do not consume on an empty stomach****

Typically you’ll want to consume 1 shot of apple cider vinegar per day, at least 1 day (ideally several days before) before hitting the woods or another “high risk” environment where ticks will be.

I’ve had ticks on my body even after treating my boots, pants and shirt with Pemethrin/Picardin. I’ve never gotten a tick on me when I take a shots of Apple Cider Vinegar prior to entering the woods.

Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Alpha Gal are all no joke. I agree with the statement, “ticks concern me more than snakes.”

 

[Twenty Up]

I’ve also observed that summer patterns can be extremely predictable. But in the areas I hunt, by the time hunting season arrives the deer have long since left summer patterns. Heck, they’ve shifted to fall patterns and the bucks are breaking the fall patterns and starting pre rut.

So what I’m wondering: is summer scouting a more effective tool in the south? Cause in the NE summer scouting seems like a whole lot of excessively hard work for very little usable intel.

You’re not wrong. Once the velvet sheds and testosterone levels increase, some bucks will disperse. I’ve noticed it seems that the more mature bucks will hang around in the same relative area, while the younger less dominant bucks may branch out 1/2 mile + away.

*Typically* the most dominant bucks will remain in the same general area. After following several mature bucks over the years, I’ve noticed they’ll remain in a 1 mile radius. This works out well on larger properties, I don’t waste my time on smaller tracts. This has been on rolling hill terrain with some fields (hay field, pasture- NO AG) of Central GA. In hill country, they will move further distances 2+ miles.

Two bucks pictured, On Public Land, (other files are *too large* to upload.. and I’m supposed to be working) BUT they were both *shot/almost shot* in very close proximity to these pictures. Think 100-300 yards in mid September for opening week of GA Archery season.
What helps is when there’s oak & persimmon trees dropping early in and around these creek bottoms. They’ll bed in the briar/river cane thickets in the shade, feed on the oaks close by so they’re not walking very far distances in most cases.

Will update later. Got to work now.

 

[boxerboxer]

I like to forage where I can. Eat a nice cool cattail shoot, find mushrooms, ramps, etc. You’ll see cool stuff you’d miss sitting home. Almost stepped on a duck nest last night and the duck hit my leg flying away. Saw a coyote pup all alone at 15 yards last week. Few years back got to watch 2 barred owl males with locked talons fight for 10 minutes straight maybe 20 yds from me. Sure I slather myself in deet and hate some of it, but it beats the couch all day.

 

[Weldabeast]

I caught a glimpse of the elusive Chuck wills widow my last trip to the woods. Camo master extraordinar. I've only seen maybe a handful of times