Scouting

[BowmanMike]

So who does their scouting in the winter or now? I started to the first time this year,so i will have to see if it will bear fruit/meat this fall.

The coming season will be my first bowhunting on public land as well.

[genesee_mohican]

I put in as much time as possible walking, scouting and setting new stands this time of year. I like to dive right in after deer season ends as I have thre knowledge of the season on my mind. No snow on the ground now, so last fall's scrapes stick out very well, and looking for sheds adds a lot of excitement and purpose to the walk. When hunting public lands, it's extremely important to explore and learn the land.  I tend to seek out the hard to reach places where a mature buck might feel safe traveling during the day.  Some good info on line from guys like John Eberhart.

[Swamp_bucks]

Ill be out in the morning shed hunting/ scouting.  I always like to see what i missed during the season.  Rubs,scrapes deer trails this time of year everything tends to stand out more.  Especially this year since i gave up my lease i need a couple better spots for bow.  Picked 4 spots out doing drives in gun season i thought needed an extra walk through.  Good luck scouting public land can be challenging but without as many hunters anymore you have more options.

[BowmanMike]

11 minutes ago, Swamp_bucks said:

Ill be out in the morning shed hunting/ scouting.  I always like to see what i missed during the season.  Rubs,scrapes deer trails this time of year everything tends to stand out more.  Especially this year since i gave up my lease i need a couple better spots for bow.  Picked 4 spots out doing drives in gun season i thought needed an extra walk through.  Good luck scouting public land can be challenging but without as many hunters anymore you have more options.

You hunt chenango county,right? There seems to be a lot of public land there. It is not bad here in otsego either,and i think bow hunting pressure is light. I can't wait to find out for sure.

[Swamp_bucks]

57 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

So who does their scouting in the winter or now? I started to the first time this year,so i will have to see if it will bear fruit/meat this fall.

The coming season will be my first bowhunting on public land as well.

Someone gave me advice on here last year that really helped me .  Since deer do move to winter in different areas. look for decomposing scat it will help you figure out where they hang out in the fall more.  That piece of advice helped me locate my spot for opening day of gun where i took my buck.

[BowmanMike]

27 minutes ago, genesee_mohican said:

I put in as much time as possible walking, scouting and setting new stands this time of year. I like to dive right in after deer season ends as I have thre knowledge of the season on my mind. No snow on the ground now, so last fall's scrapes stick out very well, and looking for sheds adds a lot of excitement and purpose to the walk. When hunting public lands, it's extremely important to explore and learn the land.  I tend to seek out the hard to reach places where a mature buck might feel safe traveling during the day.  Some good info on line from guys like John Eberhart.

Some of John's stuff actually motivated me to go scout in the winter.

Also,i am getting a much more mobile setup this year,so going public will be a nice option. I am becoming more aware of my entry and exit as well,something i was pretty half assed with before.

Edited March 14, 2020 by BowmanMike

[Swamp_bucks]

1 minute ago, BowmanMike said:

You hunt chenango county,right? There seems to be a lot of public land there. It is not bad here in otsego either,and i think bow hunting pressure is light. I can't wait to find out for sure.

Yea theres thousands of acres here. Thats not bad hunting, where i went on opening day of gun there was 3 trucks on 700 acre piece and thats including mine and my brothers.

[BowmanMike]

1 minute ago, Swamp_bucks said:

Yea theres thousands of acres here. Thats not bad hunting, where i went on opening day of gun there was 3 trucks on 700 acre piece and thats including mine and my brothers.

Wow,that is nothing especially for gun season..I think i won't venture on public during gun here,unless it is late in the season. Lots of blockheads in the woods early on in gun season.

[Buckmaster7600]

I started yesterday, I’ll be hiking different places in the ADK’s looking for sign and sheds. As the snow melts it showed everything that was there in November just the way it was left. From now until I can get my boat in and start salmon fishing I’ll be scouting every day off.


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[Swamp_bucks]

2 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

Wow,that is nothing especially for gun season..I think i won't venture on public during gun here,unless it is late in the season. Lots of blockheads in the woods early on in gun season.

Im going to venture minus the guy i saw this year sitting on private opening day at 200-300 yrds away ive ran into 4 guys in the last 4 years on stateland thats bow,gun and turkey(4 different pieces).  2 of those guys were small game hunting early october.  I know alot more than that hunt the area but just dont seem to see them anymore and bow season i dont think i could tell you the last bownhunter ive seen in the woods i hunt.  Even with my lease i had 75% of my hunting is on stateland.

[G-Man]

Rubs, leftover acorns, old scrapes, trails. All show up well now.. and can be filed away as places to quick scout in late summer.. many oaks still have leaves and stick out if your not familiar with them in your area. You can find hidden groves.. sheds show bucks that made it through and maybe available in fall next year..