What time of year to scout and hang stands.

[Hunting3m]

Me and my dad only hunted 2 years on a friends property he managed and did all the work. This year we have permission to hunt a property with only a few other hunters allowed to hunt. The question is, when do we put out cameras? When do we hang our stands?

[G-Man]

Go out and hit thw area on foot in early spring looking for trails old rublines, natural funnels, cover breaks, and food scorces. I scout year round, if your looking for strictly camera time. Right before sept will give you a good idea of individual bucks in your area, but i am a firm believer that any disturbance is to much. Keep your cameras on field edges and feeding areas that are easily accessible and away from your stand area. as for hanging stands i try to do it in summer right before a rain do all my trimming at least 2 months before season

[Gthphtm]

There was an article in one of the pred. hunting mags. latest issue that said it is Not a good idea ti find an area you like and go in and do your trimming a week or so ahead of your hunt. Do it well in advance.

[Doc]

Early spring is a good time to check out the previous year's rut and travel patterns. Scrapes and rubs and trails will be clear until the foliage starts to come on the under-story. Very often, the same areas will be used annually unless something happens to the area like maturing of trees, the change or elimination of food sources, the destruction of bedding areas, etc.

Once in a while Mother Nature will throw you a curve like she did this hunting season in my area. We had a failure in the production of all acorns and wild apples. Since that is the primary (almost exclusive) food source that draws most of the deer into their fall travel, feeding and bedding areas, I had to rely primarily on in-season scouting trying to figure out the new and strange patterns. What I found was that without a concentration of these traditional food sources, and since we have not been an agricultural area for many decades, the deer travels were not very concentrated, and they ranged over a much wider area with very little obvious sign.

If you are hunting farmlands, it might be worth your time to have a conversation with area farmers to see just what crops they intend to put in and where. It can be good intelligence to gather while you are refreshing your hunting permissions.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I scout everytime i'm in the woods. Now with the snow it's great to see were the deer have been. I note what food plots are getting hit hardest and what ones are getiting the least amount of traffic.

As far as stands thats months away for me. But keep in mind everyone does things different.

Good luck.

[deerpassion]

Hit the woods now! Just scouted / squirrell hunted n improved upon this past seasons sets... All rubs n scrapes are still fresh enough to pinpoint this past season activity... I personally found an intersection with a three way outlet that had unbelievable rubs and a few scrapes with fresh scat and tracks only a few hundred yds from my set this year where i shot a doe and a buck ... Let's just say there 's a much bigger buck I missed out on because I never saw him do to a few hundred yds !!! I'll set a cam out now just to gage the traffic through there m then early August till the opener I'll put it back out to further refine what I'm really goin after come bow season... Now is a great time because it's all fresh sign and screw it , there gonna forget u were there come next season , minimal impact !!! I love taken strolls in the woods , always learn something new about the land I have to hunt , even if it's public which drives me more to figure out what others are too lazy to.. And THAT equals success .. It's one thing to be a good hunter on private parcels where u can control the pressure, but to be consistent on pressured public land.... Priceless !!! Even if the bucks don't break 120's due to the nature of meat hunters !!!! Good luck , just walk and observe mother nature . Love this sport till the day I die!!!!!!!

[ants]

Go out now, especially if the area is new. Get the lay of the land. This years sign will still be there (rubs, trails and with the recent thaw, scrapes) I went out today just to take a walk & look for sheds. No luck on the sheds, but I found a beaten down run that must have been there during deer season, but I never came across it. If you turkey hunt in the spring , thats another good time to check things out. I normally don't start setting and cleaning out stands till 2 or 3 weeks before bow opens.

Edited January 14, 2013 by ants

[Doc]

Actually, this January thaw has been pretty complete. There is almost no snow on the hill right now. All those scrapes and trails are exposed right now. And of course this is the best time to check for sheds. Couple up the shed hunting with scouting and get out there before the snow buries everything again.

[josephmrtn]

all year!!! actually the BEST time i think is mid summer since then you can cut shooting lanes and not have much growth to trim come hunting season...

[Five Seasons]

it's amazing what you see when the heavy snows have patted down the brush. I went out on MLK and was able to get into some brush and sapling areas previously inaccessible unless i had a machete. The rubs I found blew me a way. Best to hang stands in the spring and trim lanes and approach trails throughout the summer because the lanes you have with the leaves down may not be there come fall.

[fasteddie]

I took a walk ( about 2 miles ) a short while ago and checked out a friend's woods . Found a few deer trails and a couple possibilities of spots to hang stands . It was 21 degrees out and about 7 - 8 inches of light fluffy snow .

[wheelieman]

I Hang Stands in the begininng of September, but scout year round, I'll put my cams out in July and and visit them once every few weeks, I also always keep a stand in my woods so during season if i see deer moving in another area i can go and put it up mid-day,