Late Season Scouting
Late season scouting for deer can be a lot of fun especially if there is snow
on the ground.
Scouting can help you determine the deer
population and the quality
of those deer.
Late season scouting can also help you
find those hot spots that you may have overlooked in the past.
The first signs that we look for are deer trails. With all the leaves off the trees and the undergrowth gone we can see the trails in the woods a lot easier. What you are looking for are places where the trails are bottlenecked. A bottleneck can be a hole in a wall, a downed tree, or any other obstacle. You also want to look for places where there are river crossings. These would all be great places to consider for setting up an ambush.
River crossings can be great places to ambush a deer. The deer will take their time before they cross, giving you a good chance to shoot. Also, as the deer cross from the other side of the river they will stop on your side and look around before going on.
Bottlenecks have advantages and disadvantages. The biggest
advantage is that the deer will travel through them.
Some deer will run through a funnel area while others will be on red
alert as they go through them. The key to hunting a funnel is to
use the surrounding environment to break up your silhouette. This spot is one of those places where not paying
attention to the details can really hurt you. In the photo above is good
place to ambush a deer. The ideal setup would be to place your stand 20 yards down wind of the
break in the wall. You want a clear view of the wall as well as the trail leading up
to
the wall. This would be a good place to setup a stand and clear
out shooting lanes. When clearing shooting lanes you don't
want to go overboard. You want to clear some lanes without cutting down too much.
If you cut too much it will be hard to
conceal
yourself.This is also a good time to see how the deer move off the land that you are hunting. Walking the borders of the land that you hunt will show you trails that you may have missed in the passed. This will give you an idea were the deer are going when you can't find them. This is also a good time to look for bedding areas.
Bedding areas can be very hard to find. Walking in the snow is one of the best waya to find bedding areas. The tracks in the snow will also give you some idea of how the deer get into and out of bedding areas. Deer tend to have many bedding area so don't stop looking when you find one area.
The last but not least important area that we want to be look for is
where the bucks are rubbing up the trees. Trees that are rubbed
are a lot easier to see in the late season. This is the
most important sign that you want to find. Whatever the reason that bucks are rubbing in one spot this year will
probably make
them rub in the same place next year. Areas like this are
places that you can plan your future setup now. So when late season scouting keep your
eyes open for rubs.Late season scouting will also help you find late seasoning feeding areas. The deer will feed on different food sources as they become available. Late season scouting can be used as a tool to make you a better deer hunter.
Late season is one way to help you find next years deer. If you want to kill a good buck every year you have to scout all year long. This is the key to any good deer hunter. Also remember as you scout for deer, keep an eye out for turkey sign. Late season scouting for turkey is not as beneficial as is it for deer but it will at least tell you if there are any turkeys in the area.
Well get out there and look for those deer.
Good Luck
