SCOUTING
“Always be prepared” is a motto that every archery hunter should adopt.
Very seldom does it happen that a hunter walks into a piece of woods he’s never been in before, finds any old tree, hangs a stand, and arrows a deer sporting head gear. It does happen but much of it is attributed to luck. As for me, I’d much rather stack the odds in my favor just a little bit. I want to know where the bedding and feeding areas are in the area I hunt. I want to know where that little stand of white oaks is located and when they start dropping acorns. I want to about that draw coming down from a ridge
that seems to funnel deer up and down from the flats below. I want to know where the rub lines and scrapes are located. I just want to know. I want to
know that the stand site I eventually select is going to provide the best shooting opportunities when the opening horn is sounded.
So, how do we get to that point? The answer is scouting so that we’ll be prepared.
Many whole books have been written on what to look for when scouting for whitetails so I can’t possibly tell you everything you should be looking for. What I can do is give you a place to start though.
Topographical maps and aerial photos are an invaluable tool when starting out. Using topo maps from your kitchen table you can pinpoint hilltops,
topographical funnels, draws, spurs, and ridge lines. Aerial photos allow you the ability to find fields, wooded funnels, heavy cover areas, and edges where two types of vegetation meet. Many of these maps can be found online for free. I like to print my topo maps on see-through sheets and
then overlay them onto print-outs of the aerial photos to give me an overall portrait of the cover and topography. If you do this, make sure both maps are in the same scale. Many of the things I want to know about can be found without having to leave the comfort of my home. While there is much more information that these two types of maps provide, deer will utilize all the terrain features I’ve mentioned. If you can find a ridge line that has a couple draws leading down to a field edge, you may have found a good early season stand site. The corner of a field that is hidden behind a hill from prying eyes is a prime area for deer to gather in the
late afternoon.
Patterning deer on fields from a distance with binoculars is another form of scouting for early season hunting. Be aware that once the deer feel that
they are being hunted, it won’t be long before the deer wait until dark to enter the field. But here’s the cool thing. Very seldom will deer totally abandon a feeding area. The deer are still near the field but now they are
hanging back in staging areas around the field until darkness. They’ll still generally leave their beds at the same time each day, but they’ll take their sweet time getting to the field. For bucks, look for ridges near
the field edge. Bucks will sometimes check out the field from a vantage point before using the cover of darkness to access the field. Back tracking trails from the field edges to find heavy cover areas where deer might
stage before entering the field is another good way to find where the deer are hanging out.
The very best method of scouting is to physically get out into the area you plan to hunt and check it out personally. Ideally, the preferred time to do this is after all hunting seasons have closed and before the spring green up. Yeah, it may be cold but you accomplish two things at this time of year. First, the woods will look very similar to what you’ll face in the fall. Summer scouting is more comfortable but with all the leaves on the trees you may miss important features in the distance. Second, you won’t be disrupting deer patterns. They’ll have plenty of time to forget all about
your intrusion into their world by the time the season opens in the fall.
Whatever you do, try to avoid scouting your hunting area in the weeks immediately before the season. A wary old buck may not be over your presence before the season opens.
Most important of all is to enjoy your scouting excursions. Involve the family or hunting buddies on your outings. Scouting during the off-season can keep you pumped up.
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