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Post season scouting, How's it going?

The rut sign will be there. I didn't start finding scrapes until around Oct. 20 this past year. Rub lines, from what I saw this past season, were coming into heavily used (what I assume are doe) bedding areas. Most of these spots were coming off the main ridge, on the east facing slope, on a sort of point or flat spot. Most of these rubs were right darn near on the bedding areas, so you might benefit from walking along elevation lines along the slope until you hit something. This would be on the upper half (mostly upper quarter) of the hillside. I also found concentrations of rut sign around cedar thickets for whatever reason. I haven't cracked that one yet, but if you find a patch of cedars in what is otherwise hardwoods, go check it out
I have found a good many scrapes. Actually have found a lot of rubs just nothing much that says a decent deer is around. One area has some forearm to calf sized rubs, everything else has been thumb sized stuff. Got the rest of the spring and all summer to sort out where I will start with cams. The area with the good sign really jumped out to me on the maps and it has turned out to be by far the best area so far. All of the rest of the areas I have looked at so far have spots here and there in them that look like likely spots but they have just had deer sign in them. The next area I intend to look at is very similar to the good area I found map wise. I plan to check it and if there is better sign there, I will know what I am looking for map wise and can gain efficiency with the boots on the ground work.
 
I’m jealous. My time is still being sucked up by middle school basketball. We have our last game tonight, assuming we lose. Is it wrong for the coach to hope his team loses? :oops:

We lost. We played well, the second half was probably our best half of basketball all year but they were just a bigger, stronger and faster team.

Looking forward to getting into the woods for the first time this weekend!
 
Since my last post on this thread, a light came on with map scouting that also has played out in the woods as well. Last week I dropped a ton of pins on spots that I re-map scouted after it clicked what I was supposed to be seeing. Did a 9.5 mile loop saturday and checked a big handful of the new pins. 100% of them had deer sign exactly where it should have been. I also went back and looked at the maps of areas in the river bottoms I have hunted my whole life nearly and kinda threw up in my mouth a little looking at all the spots I have missed for so many years. Still have to put it all into action this coming season but I have not been this fired up about hunting since I was a kid. Never been this confident going into the woods. I have always managed to get on and kill deer and have been decently successful killing mature deer but looking at it now, it seems sorta shocking really. Guess I just worked hard enough at it to find some success. It seems counterintuitive to think you could apply mountain tactics to skillet flat ground but you can and I expect to find that I should have been. I just had never been exposed to mountain hunting. I still will have to do my part by hunting smart at the right times and with the right conditions but it is hard to overstate how much confidence you can gain from studying a map, dropping a pin on spot thinking a deer is going to walk right there and going to look at the exact spot and the sign matches the thought process. I am at 57 miles of mountain scouting so far. Probably have 25-30 to go to finalize my scouting on the 2 areas I have zeroed in on and then I will be ready to hang cams and wait for season.
 
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Since my last post on this thread, a light came on with map scouting that also has played out in the woods as well. Last week I dropped a ton of pins on spots that I re-map scouted after it clicked what I was supposed to be seeing. Did a 9.5 mile loop saturday and checked a big handful of the new pins. 100% of them had deer sign exactly where it should have been. I also went back and looked at the maps of areas in the river bottoms I have hunted my whole life nearly and kinda threw up in my mouth a little looking at all the spots I have missed for so many years. Still have to put it all into action this coming season but I have not been this fired up about hunting since I was a kid. Never been this confident going into the woods. I have always managed to get on and kill deer and have been decently successful killing mature deer but looking at it now, it seems sorta shocking really. Guess I just worked hard enough at it to find some success. It seems counterintuitive to think you could apply mountain tactics to skillet flat ground but you can and I expect to find that I should have been. I just had never been exposed to mountain hunting. I still will have to do my part by hunting smart at the right times and with the right conditions but it is hard to overstate how much confidence you can gain from studying a map, dropping a pin on spot thinking a deer is going to walk right there and going to look at the exact spot and the sign matches the thought process. I am at 57 miles of mountain scouting so far. Probably have 25-30 to go to finalize my scouting on the 2 areas I have zeroed in on and then I will be ready to hang cams and wait for season.
The caltopo shading aspect is clutch isnt it? Remember though access and timing of access.
 
The caltopo shading aspect is clutch isnt it? Remember though access and timing of access.
Straight up cheat code. I really like being able to toggle to the hybrid and match up google earth. Once matched I switch back to the map builder layer so I can fine tune pin drops for topographical features that also have vegetative features.
 
Going to archery hunt a couple of field strutters on the private I hunt but going to really try to make a priority of scouting for deer while run&gunning turkeys on some public tracts this season. Famous last words. How are you all escouting these tracts? I started using onx’s color shading for steep terrain going to start there and also turned on the coniferous/deciduous layers and the clear cuts to identify those food trees and transitions. But everybody will probably be doing the same….. how are you finding the no pressure zones??
 
Going to archery hunt a couple of field strutters on the private I hunt but going to really try to make a priority of scouting for deer while run&gunning turkeys on some public tracts this season. Famous last words. How are you all escouting these tracts? I started using onx’s color shading for steep terrain going to start there and also turned on the coniferous/deciduous layers and the clear cuts to identify those food trees and transitions. But everybody will probably be doing the same….. how are you finding the no pressure zones??
I get a huge amount of deer scouting done turkey chasing but it is not methodical like my pure post season scouting. I am just moving trying to get on a turkey. Just pay attention to what you are seeing as you go along. In my experience, some of the best spots will be the ones you just stumble over. The trick is recognizing them for what they are when you see them. When you find a great looking spot just mark it and move on. Keep turkey hunting. Then come back to the spot post turkey season and really walk it out well and look the whole spot over.

Around here no pressure zones are generally at least 500 yards from any road or access lane and on the other side of a creek or standing water. All, and I mean all, of the permanent stands I have found have been within 250 yards of a road or access lane. The biggest advantage a determined hunter has is to count on other people's laziness. It is an almost certain bet.
 
Going great when I have time to get out.
I've been swamped with my new Handyman service and family stuff.
unfortunately I moved back to New Jersey but, It is what it is.
I've been scouting a little bit and Its been good because In most of my old successful spots I have a lot of knowledge about and Those areas have quite a bit of sign. Good sign and the sign I'm finding is in the right spots. Not much changes if the deer are not disturbed constantly.
I could I say most I also am seeing a lot of the same old same old hunter habits, presets over bait piles on a thick edge or transition that screams to me
NIGHT TIME ONLY
the spots in the wide open woods littered with rubs and scrapes. Those types of places will tell you how much pressure is in the area and you need to adapt and think outside the box because believe me The bucks do
Remember when you're out scouting that humans are creatures of habit and routine , so use that to your advantage and get away from the other hunters which will mostly be in the spots described above.
Guys who are new or getting into a new area remember that it usually takes a few seasons to figure out how and when the deer are using a certain area.
Keep it fun and be safe.
 
Going to archery hunt a couple of field strutters on the private I hunt but going to really try to make a priority of scouting for deer while run&gunning turkeys on some public tracts this season. Famous last words. How are you all escouting these tracts? I started using onx’s color shading for steep terrain going to start there and also turned on the coniferous/deciduous layers and the clear cuts to identify those food trees and transitions. But everybody will probably be doing the same….. how are you finding the no pressure zones??
Put the app you turned me onto on my phone and also added Spartan forge this year. Have barely opened Onx. All of my e-scouting this spring has been with those and google earth. I also look for interactive maps on the site for a particular public piece and check the basemap options there too. Most of the time I will have 3-5 windows open and when I find a spot to look closer at I will size and orient each map to that spot so I can click between them and be looking at the same scale for the spot.
 
Put the app you turned me onto on my phone and also added Spartan forge this year. Have barely opened Onx. All of my e-scouting this spring has been with those and google earth. I also look for interactive maps on the site for a particular public piece and check the basemap options there too. Most of the time I will have 3-5 windows open and when I find a spot to look closer at I will size and orient each map to that spot so I can click between them and be looking at the same scale for the spot.
If you don't mind me asking, what apps other than SF are you using? Thanks in advance sir. I'm trying to use e scouting this year and trying public for the first time. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for, but going to spend as much time possible finding sign and trails. Just not sure what to pick apart e-scouting to the map itself.
 
If you don't mind me asking, what apps other than SF are you using? Thanks in advance sir. I'm trying to use e scouting this year and trying public for the first time. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for, but going to spend as much time possible finding sign and trails. Just not sure what to pick apart e-scouting to the map itself.
Caltopo is the other map not named. What type of ground are you planning to hunt? Flat, hills, mountains, Ag, river bottoms? Being new to public ground hunting keep in mind you may have to account more so for how hunter pressure influences movement but that can be an advantage for you. What type of deer are you looking for? Just any deer or mature deer? What region of the country? There are some really good hunters on here from all over the place.
 
Did some public land scouting this past weekend. VERY worn trail and several good rubs in the area. It looks like a cow trail but no cow sign. I put a camera up, we'll see what shows up.
 

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how are you finding the no pressure zones??

It's all about access around here. Thick, steep, no places to park, roads that rattle your teeth. It doesn't take a whole lot of that to weed out most of the hunters.

Too honestly places that don't have a lot of deer. Vast majority of hunters like to see quantities of deer and are pretty good about flocking to those areas. Good quality deer on public I find get old most often in places that aren't that.
 
Did some public land scouting this past weekend. VERY worn trail and several good rubs in the area. It looks like a cow trail but no cow sign. I put a camera up, we'll see what shows up.

I'm a big fan of rut hunting intersections, and right as greenup is starting is my favorite time specifically to scout for trails. Even the faint ones really pop and the heavy ones look like interstates.
 
Caltopo is the other map not named. What type of ground are you planning to hunt? Flat, hills, mountains, Ag, river bottoms? Being new to public ground hunting keep in mind you may have to account more so for how hunter pressure influences movement but that can be an advantage for you. What type of deer are you looking for? Just any deer or mature deer? What region of the country? There are some really good hunters on here from all over the place.
Thank you so much for the help sir. Here is a overview of the area. The odd looking patch of hardwoods is the section of public sir. It says roughly 300 acres. It is bordered by a couple of duck hunting clubs and natural ag on either side. Flat terrain from what I've seen and a lot of acorns scattered. I'm hoping to really put boots on the ground and spend several hour scouting next weekend. I'm only archery hunting, I'm looking to harveat my first Buck this year and hopefully a decent 3 year old. Possibly a doe off here as well. I'm honestly just looking to make mistakes so i can learn. Truly thank you so much for the help.
 

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Thank you so much for the help sir. Here is a overview of the area. The odd looking patch of hardwoods is the section of public sir. It says roughly 300 acres. It is bordered by a couple of duck hunting clubs and natural ag on either side. Flat terrain from what I've seen and a lot of acorns scattered. I'm hoping to really put boots on the ground and spend several hour scouting next weekend. I'm only archery hunting, I'm looking to harveat my first Buck this year and hopefully a decent 3 year old. Possibly a doe off here as well. I'm honestly just looking to make mistakes so i can learn. Truly thank you so much for the help.
Check out all the inside corners of field edges and walk any creeks in there and look for prominent crossings. Also look for the highest and lowest spots where a road runs along the property deer like to cross roads at the highest and lowest spots (usually lowest). That's a good place to start to backtrack them to their bedding. With 300 acres, you should be able to scout out every foot of the place in a couple of trips. Start by walking the outside edges and work your way in.
 
Thank you Gentleman so much! I’ve got a lot to go on from y’all’s advice and I’m pumped to get out there and see what I find!
 
Thank you Gentleman so much! I’ve got a lot to go on from y’all’s advice and I’m pumped to get out there and see what I find!
I agree with these guys on inside corners. Caltopo may be a little advanced for your stage and in my opinion shines most with elevation changes. Your spot looks fairly flat. I think you should try to assess how many other hunters are in there on a public tract that small. I would also like to clarify that most of the guys I know in this thread can't be rightly called "sir" or "gentleman".... I would award them with "dude" at very best
 
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