Anyone Doin Some Summer Scouting?

[Danny]

All i can say is that now that the Raspberries are ripening, the movement on my deer cams have dwindled to near zero

[CharlieNY]

The heat wave has kept me from doing any scouting. In addition the deer flies seem to be everywhere this year. If I park my truck near the woods the deer flies swarm around my truck so bad that I won't even get out. Has anyone else noticed how bad they are this year?      valoroutdoors.com

[G-Man]

Been working on trail mowing and food plot prep.. the deer flies are awfully bad this year  prolly killed 100 of them on me already

[AuburnNYC]

On 7/10/2022 at 1:48 PM, Doc said:

I have to wonder what is learned from summer scouting other than just a general census of what the deer herd size looks like. Let's face it, the feeding habits vary wildly in the fall from what they are like now. Food sources are what drives the deer movements, and the food sources are totally different right now from what they will be when the season rolls around.

This 100%. Scouting this time of year you're not directly patterning deer. Can look for good bedding, transition lines, potential future food sources (for example noting a good oak ridge).

[Northcountryman]

On 7/27/2022 at 1:51 PM, AuburnNYC said:

This 100%. Scouting this time of year you're not directly patterning deer. Can look for good bedding, transition lines, potential future food sources (for example noting a good oak ridge).

I always struggle with finding a Bucks bedroom, although Ive located counltess doe beds in the past (easier, in my opinion). What consititutes good bedding for a Buck?

[crappyice]

Walked around the deer management property today I hunt in 3S. Stumbled upon a loan fawn and later a mama and 1.5 year old twins.
So dry it sounded like I was walking through October/November woods. Even the ferns were laying down and crinkling. I feel like if we get a good smoking soon (not forecasted of course) things may pop back but man it looked actually depressing in the woods.


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[BizCT]

23 minutes ago, crappyice said:

Walked around the deer management property today I hunt in 3S. Stumbled upon a loan fawn and later a mama and 1.5 year old twins.
So dry it sounded like I was walking through October/November woods. Even the ferns were laying down and crinkling. I feel like if we get a good smoking soon (not forecasted of course) things may pop back but man it looked actually depressing in the woods.


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I walked CT woods today and same thing- crazy dry atop the mountain. Tons of oak trees, but I wonder how much acorns will fall (if any). 

[ATbuckhunter]

28 minutes ago, BizCT said:

I walked CT woods today and same thing- crazy dry atop the mountain. Tons of oak trees, but I wonder how much acorns will fall (if any). 

Actually they'll drop sooner because the tree is stressed

[AuburnNYC]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:49 AM, Northcountryman said:

I always struggle with finding a Bucks bedroom, although Ive located counltess doe beds in the past (easier, in my opinion). What consititutes good bedding for a Buck?

Going to caveat that I'm not Dan Infalt or anything. In my experience does will sacrifice bed safety for other things, like convenience to food sources. Bucks I've found generally bed in the safest, thickest, most remote terrain available to them in a given area.

So for me some places (like Southern NY) that may be mountain laurel on the military crest of a point where they can look down the hillside in front of them and hear anything coming from behind in the laurel. In another place it may be cutover and in another that may be a spot of high ground in a marsh (though I've never killed a "marsh buck").

For example, on a piece of land I used to hunt does would bed basically anywhere things were moderately thick - even close to the camper trailer we stayed in. They'd even bed in open woods among blowdowns etc... I only saw bucks in person and on camera outside the rut in the thickest stuff on the backside of a series of fields during daylight hours. That area was thick enough that you couldn't walk through it without making a commotion, to the west was level ground and fields and to the east open woods with a steep downward slope. I suspect they liked it because they could visually cover the downslope with their eyes while anything coming from the fields would be easy to detect.

[Kmartinson]

On 7/10/2022 at 1:48 PM, Doc said:

I have to wonder what is learned from summer scouting other than just a general census of what the deer herd size looks like. Let's face it, the feeding habits vary wildly in the fall from what they are like now. Food sources are what drives the deer movements, and the food sources are totally different right now from what they will be when the season rolls around. Of course, the way we are driving season openers earlier and earlier, perhaps the variations may not be as different as it used to be. I have seen smoking hot summer trails go stone cold when the leaves and temperatures begin to fall. I have seen the growth of farm crops effect deer movements. I have seen the ripening of fruit trees move deer patterns.

And then there is rut which trashes everything that might be learned right now. There are other seasonal changes that put summer scouting in question. So, I have to ask, what useful info for fall hunting can be relied on from the movements that you see in the summer.

I think this is relevant in many cases, on our land i sometimes see the largest oldest class of deer don't travel to far from home. Often they live on the same ridge system all year and I have seen many does go to them to be bred. I stem count and good cover with low presure can keep a buck in on spot all year long.

[Kmartinson]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:49 AM, Northcountryman said:

I always struggle with finding a Bucks bedroom, although Ive located counltess doe beds in the past (easier, in my opinion). What consititutes good bedding for a Buck?

No presure, good cover, high stem count. When you find the bed and think about the wind it will make sense. East ridges, and east edges of transition lines, where the bed will be facing south east in many cases. But that's not always the case, in hill country they love to live all over bowls, I assume because the wind swirls so much.

[Northcountryman]

3 hours ago, Kmartinson said:

No presure, good cover, high stem count. When you find the bed and think about the wind it will make sense. East ridges, and east edges of transition lines, where the bed will be facing south east in many cases. But that's not always the case, in hill country they love to live all over bowls, I assume because the wind swirls so much.

Transition lines? what do you mean?

[Northcountryman]

3 hours ago, Kmartinson said:

I think this is relevant in many cases, on our land i sometimes see the largest oldest class of deer don't travel to far from home. Often they live on the same ridge system all year and I have seen many does go to them to be bred. I stem count and good cover with low presure can keep a buck in on spot all year long.

Probably would see that all the time in remote area like the Adirondacks, right?

[SportsmanNH]

2 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Probably would see that all the time in remote area like the Adirondacks, right?

Actually NCM I would think not . I would think that big deer in the Adirondacks would do the same as big bucks in the North Maine Woods . Both areas have the same characteristics . Mainly big woods and a low deer density . Big bucks will travel for miles searching for each family group of Does to find the one in estrus . Its like they keep a little notebook of which group has a hot doe or one that that will be hot within a few days. He doesn't wait for her to get hot cause he knows Betty a couple miles away should be due. He will come back for Betty later. Its been said that a Big Maine buck can travel as far as a 20 mile circle in a day checking all the Doe groups . Here is a fun video of a buddy on another site I go to. His name is Jeff Russell .One of the best trackers I know. Both him and his Brother Josh . Last year Jeff shot the biggest buck in Maine by weight . He picked up his track real early crossing a logging road . Then tracked him for a few miles before he got a shot.

 

 

[Northcountryman]

Sweet video , Bud !! Ok thank you for sharing

 

[Northcountryman]

25 minutes ago, SportsmanNH said:

Actually NCM I would think not . I would think that big deer in the Adirondacks would do the same as big bucks in the North Maine Woods . Both areas have the same characteristics . Mainly big woods and a low deer density . Big bucks will travel for miles searching for each family group of Does to find the one in estrus . Its like they keep a little notebook of which group has a hot doe or one that that will be hot within a few days. He doesn't wait for her to get hot cause he knows Betty a couple miles away should be due. He will come back for Betty later. Its been said that a Big Maine buck can travel as far as a 20 mile circle in a day checking all the Doe groups . Here is a fun video of a buddy on another site I go to. His name is Jeff Russell .One of the best trackers I know. Both him and his Brother Josh . Last year Jeff shot the biggest buck in Maine by weight . He picked up his track real early crossing a logging road . Then tracked him for a few miles before he got a shot.

 

 

So , you would say then that the higher the deer density , the more likely bucks stay out in one area? 

[SportsmanNH]

1 hour ago, Northcountryman said:

So , you would say then that the higher the deer density , the more likely bucks stay out in one area? 

Yes , they have no reason to travel miles to find girlfriends when they are surrounded by them . Some will always travel a ways . Like when you were single going bar hopping from one town to the next lol .  Then there are the smaller bucks stepping into a dominant bucks territory , getting smacked around , so they leave to find their own ground . I would venture to guess that in higher density areas a bucks circle is closer to 2 miles.

[Kmartinson]

17 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

17 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Transition lines? what do you mean?

 

Where 2 different types of cover meet. Edges of hardwoods and softwood or swamp and hardwoods. You can See them on topo maps.

[Kmartinson]

14 hours ago, SportsmanNH said:

Yes , they have no reason to travel miles to find girlfriends when they are surrounded by them . Some will always travel a ways . Like when you were single going bar hopping from one town to the next lol .  Then there are the smaller bucks stepping into a dominant bucks territory , getting smacked around , so they leave to find their own ground . I would venture to guess that in higher density areas a bucks circle is closer to 2 miles.

Right! 2.5s are all over. 

[BizCT]

In areas where an adult buck is harvested at a rate of 0.5 per square mile. That means 1 adult buck is being killed per 1,280 acres (640 acres per sqaure mile x 2).