Most hunters think scouting takes place a few weeks before the season starts, but really it should be done all year long. There are several different scouting seasons, and for the next few weeks I’d like to take you through those different seasons. Today’s topic is pre-season scouting. Pre-season scouting takes place in the summer months and lasts until approximately the middle of September. During this period you should start locating travel corridors between food sources and bedding areas. A good start for this would be to locate aerial pictures of your property, I happen to like Google Earth, but that’s just me. Next, if you can get your hands on a topographic map, look for natural funnels that run through your property. Deer like to travel at the lowest elevation possible, so locating these low spots will help narrow the areas that need physical scouting. Once you have looked over your maps take to the woods and start recording notes of travel routes, old scrapes, and old rubs. Mark these discoveries on your map, then go home and study the map. Check to see if the rubs are in a general line, and check to see if all the trails converge on a central location. Most of this can be done from the comfort of your own home, which is nice, and it keeps you from pressuring the deer in the woods.
Stay tuned next week for scouting the early season!
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