Do You Have any Winter Scouting Tips?

[Doc]

Hey Goober, read my first post in this thread.

Is that where all your profound words of wisdom can be found? Well look, can I get back to you on this? I have to eat supper. Maybe later I will come back and study and learn ..... lol. I always wanted to read the words of a leading deer hunting authority. I'm sorry I missed it.

[phade]

Is that where all your profound words of wisdom can be found? Well look, can I get back to you on this? I have to eat supper. Maybe later I will come back and study and learn ..... lol.

Ignorance is indeed bliss.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I don't do winter scouting, I do winter exploring. Its amazing things that you can find with no leaves and a little snow on the ground.

[Doc]

Ignorance is indeed bliss.

Gee there was no need for that nasty remark ...lol. Didn't I say that I was coming back to read your words of wisdom and learn from the master?

Look, I spent a lot of time going through these six points and was prepared to go one by one through each and respond. But I found that with all those words, it all boiled down to a couple of facts that you refuse to listen to. First is the point that there is nothing that you can find in winter that you won't find easier in the early spring. Second, deer do not maintain the same bedding areas or maintain the same feeding patterns in the dead of winter that they do in the fall. Food and cover change dramatically and deer relocate accordingly. In some more severe winters, deer can relocate several miles.

I realize that deer in different areas may have different traits and actions, but it is pretty obvious that there is very little that happens in winter that can be related back to fall hunting opportunities. It is equally obvious that there are very few observations that can be made in the dead of winter that are not there and easier to see in the early spring. I personally prefer to maximize the efficiency of my scouting by waiting til early spring and beyond for reasons stated before. It's really as simple as that. That's my choice. You don't like it? ..... I can't help that.

I am not trying to talk anybody out of doing their winter scouting. I happen to believe that if nothing else, it certainly is great winter exercise. However I kind of sense that I am starting to step on your ego here and that is not my intention. So before all this escalates any further, perhaps we can simply agree that we don't see eye to eye on this and let it go at that.

[phade]

Gee there was no need for that nasty remark ...lol. Didn't I say that I was coming back to read your words of wisdom and learn from the master?

Look, I spent a lot of time going through these six points and was prepared to go one by one through each and respond. But I found that with all those words, it all boiled down to a couple of facts that you refuse to listen to. First is the point that there is nothing that you can find in winter that you won't find easier in the early spring. Second, deer do not maintain the same bedding areas or maintain the same feeding patterns in the dead of winter that they do in the fall. Food and cover change dramatically and deer relocate accordingly. In some more severe winters, deer can relocate several miles.

I realize that deer in different areas may have different traits and actions, but it is pretty obvious that there is very little that happens in winter that can be related back to fall hunting opportunities. It is equally obvious that there are very few observations that can be made in the dead of winter that are not there and easier to see in the early spring. I personally prefer to maximize the efficiency of my scouting by waiting til early spring and beyond for reasons stated before. It's really as simple as that. That's my choice. You don't like it? ..... I can't help that.

I am not trying to talk anybody out of doing their winter scouting. I happen to believe that if nothing else, it certainly is great winter exercise. However I kind of sense that I am starting to step on your ego here and that is not my intention. So before all this escalates any further, perhaps we can simply agree that we don't see eye to eye on this and let it go at that.

Doc, you are a piece.

[88GW]

Thank you all for the replies. I think it is safe to assume everyone has their own opinions and theories on this and that is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Again.

[fasteddie]

I know the deer will change their routes when the crops start growing but it's fun to get out there and see them and where they have been traveling . I just don't care to go through the deep snow . I guess I will have to give the snowshoes a try .

[Doc]

I know the deer will change their routes when the crops start growing but it's fun to get out there and see them and where they have been traveling . I just don't care to go through the deep snow . I guess I will have to give the snowshoes a try .

Anything over 6" is more than I want to wallow through. One year, my wife decided that I should get out of the house and go out and play in the snow, so about 6 or 7 years ago, she bought me a pair of snow-shoes. I guess there must be some kind of trick to it all because I still sunk way too far down into the snow, plus I had these awkward things stuck to my feet. I'm glad I didn't wander any farther out than I could struggle back. I'm thinking cross-country skis might work better. By the way, I still get the snowshoes down off the wall every so often, where they are hanging ....... just to brush the dust off them and hang them back on the wall ....lol.