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Scouting Conversation and plenty of Questions

Scouting has been going well. With the use of boots on the ground, daylight deer sightings, in conjunction with several cameras. I’m learning a lot about the area I hunt how deer use it. I still don’t have the whole picture but it’s slowly coming together.

I still have the struggle of scouting when I I’m not confident I’ll kill a deer in a location but I’ve been doing a lot better. I’ve done more scouting and spent less time in the tree and I’ve seen more deer. I’m still working on seeing more bucks but that will come eventually.

I almost gave up on acorns when I finally found a good white oak tree that was being used and also had buck sign around it. I placed a camera on it and have gotten many deer photos almost daily. I hunted the area twice with no luck. I went to remove the camera the other day and discovered a row of scrapes every 80 yards as well as a big rub nearby.

Another new area I scouted was very swampy and had very little deer sign, and food source but could possibly be used as bedding. I’m still trying to understand how the deer use the area as I do have deer crossing a beaver dam into it. They may just be cruising through, especially the bucks.

A third recent area I scouted proved to be jam packed with huge acorns and a decent amount of food and sign or browse. I ended up setting up on that price instead of scouting more because it looked “pretty good” which was a lot better and fresher than the sign in the other spots I visited. That evening I did see 10 deer at sunset but they escaped me right out of stick bow range. I returned in the morning and had a few yearlings and fawns in shooting range but no deer of any size. After the morning hunt I found a white oak tree that is still dropping. The leaves on the ground were absolutely torn up and there was multiple scat piles. I wish I had just went a little further to that sign that you just cant not hunt because it’s that good. It was only 100 yards from the other acorns but it was clearly the primary feed tree for the deer on this section of land. I haven’t had another chance to hunt it but I’m hoping to set up on it after work maybe one day this week for an afternoon hunt. Like y’all said, good deer sign is hard to miss. You either see the deer or the clear sign of the deer.

I’ve spead up my scouting even more at least for now while there are still oaks dropping. It’s evident to me that I’ll know clearly if the deer are feeding there or not. This will save me an incredible amount of time next year early season when I focus on oaks. I’m hoping I can still capitalize on this now as it is late and leaves are changing and the acorns are finishing up. White Oaks are really about done but I have some strong red oak patches I hope will continue to hold deer.

I’ve started minimizing what sign I mark on OnX. I’ve been mainly marking actual deer I’ve seen in the woods scouting and from a tree as well as primary feed trees. I have marked occasional scrapes as they’re starting to pop up, but I’m unsure how I’ll capitalize on them at this time.
 
Scouting has been going well. With the use of boots on the ground, daylight deer sightings, in conjunction with several cameras. I’m learning a lot about the area I hunt how deer use it. I still don’t have the whole picture but it’s slowly coming together.

I still have the struggle of scouting when I I’m not confident I’ll kill a deer in a location but I’ve been doing a lot better. I’ve done more scouting and spent less time in the tree and I’ve seen more deer. I’m still working on seeing more bucks but that will come eventually.

I almost gave up on acorns when I finally found a good white oak tree that was being used and also had buck sign around it. I placed a camera on it and have gotten many deer photos almost daily. I hunted the area twice with no luck. I went to remove the camera the other day and discovered a row of scrapes every 80 yards as well as a big rub nearby.

Another new area I scouted was very swampy and had very little deer sign, and food source but could possibly be used as bedding. I’m still trying to understand how the deer use the area as I do have deer crossing a beaver dam into it. They may just be cruising through, especially the bucks.

A third recent area I scouted proved to be jam packed with huge acorns and a decent amount of food and sign or browse. I ended up setting up on that price instead of scouting more because it looked “pretty good” which was a lot better and fresher than the sign in the other spots I visited. That evening I did see 10 deer at sunset but they escaped me right out of stick bow range. I returned in the morning and had a few yearlings and fawns in shooting range but no deer of any size. After the morning hunt I found a white oak tree that is still dropping. The leaves on the ground were absolutely torn up and there was multiple scat piles. I wish I had just went a little further to that sign that you just cant not hunt because it’s that good. It was only 100 yards from the other acorns but it was clearly the primary feed tree for the deer on this section of land. I haven’t had another chance to hunt it but I’m hoping to set up on it after work maybe one day this week for an afternoon hunt. Like y’all said, good deer sign is hard to miss. You either see the deer or the clear sign of the deer.

I’ve spead up my scouting even more at least for now while there are still oaks dropping. It’s evident to me that I’ll know clearly if the deer are feeding there or not. This will save me an incredible amount of time next year early season when I focus on oaks. I’m hoping I can still capitalize on this now as it is late and leaves are changing and the acorns are finishing up. White Oaks are really about done but I have some strong red oak patches I hope will continue to hold deer.

I’ve started minimizing what sign I mark on OnX. I’ve been mainly marking actual deer I’ve seen in the woods scouting and from a tree as well as primary feed trees. I have marked occasional scrapes as they’re starting to pop up, but I’m unsure how I’ll capitalize on them at this time.
Good on you for doin this with a stick bow! Very good thread too. I, just like you, moved to an area in southern middle Tennessee (super flat terrain that is 60% privet thickets, 30% hardwoods and 10% bean fields) 3 seasons ago and started scouting. Sometimes I set up on hot sign and kill a deer that night (nothing more satisfying), but most of the time im finding spots that deer have recently used but are not any more (like im 5 days late or something). Now in my third season im finding the spots I scouted from last year are now translating into kills this year cuz I know when the deer were using that area. BUT, just when I think I have it all figured out, I go into a tried and true spot that ive killed several deer out of, and it is 100% bare of deer or deer sign. And I don't really know why. Food is still there, thickets are still thick. Who knows, maybe someone is running their rabbit dogs through or another hunter found it and overhunted it or some other reason I have no access to. So getting the big picture is good, but I don't think always attainable. Ive simplified my strategy to simply keep collecting good spots and make it my business to know when those spots are hot and when they're not. At the beginning of the season I know there are 5 spots I only have the first 10 days of season to kill from. These are all 1/4 mile or less walk in. The deer are there for the first 10 days only cuz once the pressure sets in they move. So I prioritize those spots. Then I switch to spots that are 1/2-3/4 mile in and those are good till end of Oct. Then I switch to my rut spots. AFter that, its' late season spots (1+ mile walks from the truck). I still of course try to scout new areas as well as Im always looking to collect new spots. Some spots go completely dead and maybe I will know why but likely I won't. GL with the rest of your season!
 
For me scouting is pretty simple, especially as a trapper. Look high, look low, look at the edges and look for points of interest and whats the easier or most covered ways to get to and from each.

I really dont actively look for beds, scrapes, droppings etc. If you dont see em when looking at the above, then the deer arent there or they're using cover so dense that even most of the insane hunters out there wouldn't hunt there .
 
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