Does anyone scout anymore?

[phade]

No worries bud. I feel the same. In NJ where I live baiting is even legal. It's despicable. Putting out feed, your camera telling them what time you need to be there n than resting a crossbow on a rail at a bait pile is no different than shooting a dog at a water bowl. No sport in knowing it all or doing nothing to get something. Not saying all camera guys bait but how is it Gander Mt is in NY where bait is illegal yet they're always almost out of stock?

Not passing judgement just feel it's detrimental to the sport and actually learning it.

When I was a kid my hunter Ed instuctor told me it took an average of 4 years to kill the first deer w bow and averaged 100 hours between deer for a good bowhunter. I stayed in the woods as long as possible trying to reach the 100 hours. I wonder how many guys or gals would do that today?

Ask people to read a compass, read a map, God forbid sharpen a knife, butcher a deer or carry a stand. It's a different world n to me it is enough.

Again no disrespect to anyone this is just how I feel.

I tell folks who use only technology to "hunt" they're hurting themselves. What happens when one goes out of state w a week to get it done? Where do they look? What do they look for?

 

They shoot the deer because the camera is sending pics from 650 miles away....

[moog5050]

The "your not as good of a hunter as me" threads are truly sophomoric. Use a crossbow - your not an archer. Use a cam - it's not really hunting. Then I read a - not all hunters that use cams bait. Seriously.

It's a hobby. Enjoy it and let others do the same ON THEIR TERMS so long as it's legal.

[ants]

I still go old school. Not saying that using cams doesn't work, but I just head out pre season and do the boring old look for sigh and trails thing..

[moog5050]

Oh and since I got this photo, I better pick out the mount. Its in the bag. Heck there are two in that photo. One for bow and one for gun. Just need them to stay in that spot for a while. It's just that easy. Lol

[Bowguy 1]

Oh and since I got this photo, I better pick out the mount. Its in the bag. Heck there are two in that photo. One for bow and one for gun. Just need them to stay in that spot for a while. It's just that easy. Lol

Youd mount that little deer? Ssssh you do need help. Ah just kidding. Guess it's not cool to go against the things others do. To each his own as long as it's legal, I'm old school n I believe those ways better but it's my perogitive just as yours is to do it your way

[Bowguy 1]

Oh and since I got this photo, I better pick out the mount. Its in the bag. Heck there are two in that photo. One for bow and one for gun. Just need them to stay in that spot for a while. It's just that easy. Lol

Youd mount that little deer? Ssssh you do need help. Ah just kidding. Guess it's not cool to go against the things others do. To each his own as long as it's legal, I'm old school n I believe those ways better but it's my perogitive just as yours is to do it your way

[Elmo]

I only hunt public land so all I do is scout.

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[wooly]

I'm not sure what I do now would be considered scouting, but I do spend quite a bit of time getting familiar with a lot of the bucks in the neighborhood this time of year.

I've sort of given up with the cameras myself...., unless I'm the one that decides when to trigger it.

So far I've gone 3 seasons in a row seeing and killing bucks that I've watched and photographed over the summer.

I just like knowing which of the better deer have potential to become "home bodies" as fall approaches. It has helped me get over shooting the first legal buck to step out many times now.

[nyantler]

I enjoy killing a buck in an area I've never been before... part of the fun for me is not knowing anything about the area when I hunt it, then going in and finding a good buck. Most of the big bucks I've taken I never knew existed until the day I killed it. I would never hunt any deer using  trail cameras to find and locate it... I do however thinks its kinda cool if someone has a cam pic of a buck I have already killed... and although it's not my cup of tea to use trail cams as a means to find bucks, I still hold the opinion that if it makes your hunting experience better then, by all means, have at it.

[eagle rider]

Cameras do it all, we look for activity in the late summer when we clear shooting lanes and then put cameras in there.  Between all the guys in the club we have 18 cameras up.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Cameras do it all, we look for activity in the late summer when we clear shooting lanes and then put cameras in there.  Between all the guys in the club we have 18 cameras up.

Do you not think the local mature deer population know of these areas? How often do you check them? I can scout from afar where some cant but i just dont like the idea of going in and stinking it up even a little bit.  It also makes a difference if you are hunting a special deer or if any deer will fit the bill.

[The_Field_Ager]

Seems cameras are all the rage. I believe it can hurt you if done unproperly as it seems most do. Long range locating w binos is safer and cameras only tell you what's in their sight.

Limits your odds imo

 

 

Binos don't work if you hunt tight woods like I do. Yes, scouting is essential in terms of looking for beds, rubs and trails, but cameras, well hidden, tell us which trails and what times are best to hunt. 

[The_Field_Ager]

Just to add... I raise all my cams at least 6/7 feet up. It makes a difference, especially if you don't place the camera right over, or in the middle of a trail. Low set cams always attract attention.

[The_Field_Ager]

I enjoy killing a buck in an area I've never been before... part of the fun for me is not knowing anything about the area when I hunt it, then going in and finding a good buck. 

 

This is why me n the boys make an annual Adirondack trip. Definitely adds to the fun. Locally however, I Like to know who, when and where.

[Nomad]

I don't scout. I've hunted the same little 90 acre piece of a 3,000 acre farm for 30 years , patterns pretty much the same . Many of my stands have been in the same general area after a few years of seeing patterns during the season and there are often old rotted wood ones from guys before me in the same spots.

In my first year of bow though 1,988 I hung my one stand where I thought it looked good . Killed a BB after a few sits. Turns out that is a great spot and one could kill a deer most days there.

My scouting is solely what I see during the season , and adjusting to that, which pretty much stayed the same after 30 years .

I've got a few cams , none are up,yet. Haven't thought about shooting my bow perhaps the end of August.

I've got too many other interests, to do the deer thing year round , heck of the 3 others I mostly hunt with 2 only enter the woods during the season .

[DanielT]

We go scouting right a round first weekend in September. ..we put up some cams and cut trails if needed...then in the evening we will sit on field edges and film deer in velvet. ..to see which field we want to hunt in woods near

[Bowguy 1]

Do you not think the local mature deer population know of these areas? How often do you check them? I can scout from afar where some cant but i just dont like the idea of going in and stinking it up even a little bit. It also makes a difference if you are hunting a special deer or if any deer will fit the bill.

That's a big part of the point. Being in a area puts pressure on the deer, thick cover means you touch more brush n leave more scent deer can pick up on.

[phade]

Do you not think the local mature deer population know of these areas? How often do you check them? I can scout from afar where some cant but i just dont like the idea of going in and stinking it up even a little bit.  It also makes a difference if you are hunting a special deer or if any deer will fit the bill.

 

Running cams can do a lot of damage if not done right. That said - not every deer, mature bucks included, are the same. Some deer tolerate very very little intrusion, while others tolerate it more. Nobody knows their disposition. One intrusion at this time of year isn't going to make the buck run for the hills and never come back - especially if that locale worked for safe exit for the buck - that's why they chose that spot.

 

Most all of my cams are set now to soak - I have one cell cam I want to move because it's not getting any action for some reason (I think the low rains since it is on the marsh edge), but otherwise, they're set to sit until a walk through is done to ensure stands and lanes are in huntable shape, probably some time in August.

 

The August pull will tell us what is around. Some will stay and some will leave for fall ranges, etc. but inventory will be half done. Once the velvet comes off, if something needs done, I'll pull cards on cams on the way in or out.

 

One thing is for certain, I know some very serious trail cam guys around the country, from Kentucky/Ohio, to Iowa, and Idaho. The % of deer on cam vs. not, that end up being ground checked, is 80%-20%, easy. I can't recall the last time one of them sent me hero pics of a newcomer they didn't know about. There's plenty of guys who do it without cams, but like everything else, it is just one tool in the bag of tricks to use.

 

At the moment, there's really only one buck that I know of, that I can't seem to get pictures of, despite being seen three times in person (one each by each hunter in my group) over the course of the last year. He seems to stick to a property border and doesn't go into our core. I have a cell cam there now and he'll show up in August most likely, like he did last year.

[nyantler]

The small properties most hunters hunt hold deer that are use to smelling human scent. The occasional visit to such hunting properties probably cause little if any alarm for most of the deer. State land even more so with all the human activity on a regular basis. Deer can tell the difference between scent that is left and the scent of a human who is present on the property.

[Bowguy 1]

Smelling human scent n obvious intrusion that isn't typical for the area like checking cameras by lots of guys blitzing the woods is pretty obviousily gonna tip em off. Back to the dogs. Beagles run lines especially in the morning when ground is damp, we call it cold trailing. Not all dogs do it but many. Rabbit is long gone but dogs don't know that. How bout bird dogs? Many point plsces where birds were previously killed, fairly recently but the bird is gone. I can't buy deer knowing you left every time.

Intrusuon must imo be discreet so as not to hurt yourself.

Why do you think celebrity hunters get first crack at an area? Outfitters have a good buck located n don't let anyone in the area until the "pro" gets there. No one runs atound checking. Mostly long range unobtrusive scouting or checking cameras carefully at the right times n less than most guys do.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Bowguy 1

[Doc]

I have hunting grounds that I have used for decades. In fact, I began running around our hills when I was 11 yrs old (that's 61 years). I'm not likely to find too many surprises, but annual conditions of food and various kinds of interferences do occasionally pop up. So one or two trips up the hill in a September time frame gets me updated to any important deer hunting changes.

 

As far as cameras are concerned, I use them just to spy on the local critters and perhaps a chance at getting pictures of sasquatch or any resident cougars that happen by .... lol. No seriously, I do always hope to get something unusual like bear pictures or something like that. Many of my cameras are not even set up to take deer pictures. A good picture of a beaver or muskrat or coyote, and my day is made. If a deer goes by ..... great, but that really is not the mission of my game cameras.

[GreeneHunter]

I go scout my property usually just after Labor Day Weekend and only too see how the stream that runs through the property fared over the summer . A few years ago Beavers moved in and dammed it up and created a nice fishing pond but the stream continues on !  I have a Tree Stand (ladder stand) in the same place for the last eight years - its actually lag bolted to the tree and produces every year consistently so scouting is somewhat a done thing .... I'm very lucky in that regard !

[grampy]

I have been fortunate enough to hunt the same area for decades. I've kept logs during the hunting season and learned deer activity by boots on the ground scouting. Last year a member here sent my grandsons a couple of trail cams. I let them pick the spots to place them. My youngest grandson age 12 placed the cam that got the pic of the mature buck on my avitar. It was taken just a short time and distance away from where he and I got into the ground blind we made together, on opening morning of firearms season! We didn't kill this buck that morning but could have later in the season had we not been tagged out for bucks. He was about 30 yards from where this picture was taken. 

 

This year I've purchased four more cams and we will be putting them out in the next few weeks, together. We won't put them in the middle of known bedding areas. Just the areas between bed and feed. And use common sense placing and checking the cams.The boys just love seeing what critters show up on the cams they place!

 

Also this same buck we have named Split-Ear, has been spotted a couple times this year. We hope to get a pic of him in velvet. And he's #1 on our hit list so far.

 

So my main point is that trail cams can be useful and fun when used with a bit of common sense.

[The_Field_Ager]

I have been chasing one Buck for 4 seasons. He uses the same series of travel routes all the time. Occasionally i get cam pics. Trying to figure out which trail he will use on a given day is a crap-shoot. I got close one time last season and have had a couple of accidental ground based run-ins. Yet he still stays around. The area is heavily hunted.He just seems to know when and where to be for maximum safety. His presence makes every season a fun adventure. Almost don't want him to be harvested.

[Buckmaster7600]

I scout 2-3 times a week started last week. My "scouting" is usually me going to the edge of a field or one of my ladder stands with Binos and a 6 pack for the last hr of daylight. Not very intrusive and pretty darn relaxing!

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