Super Scouting Strategies... Should You Scout Or Not?

By Brad Herndon  

The sky to the east was just starting to show lightness as my wife, Carol, prepared her equipment for a morning firearm hunt a year ago. When she had everything together she walked directly up the middle of a picked soybean field that was about three fourths of a mile in length. At the south end of this field she had previously placed a ladder stand in a medium-sized sycamore tree. This was a great location for a gun hunter since it overlooked an area where two small hollows funneled down at the end of the soybean field. This formed a converging hub that deer used when traveling from hillside to hillside in the region. In addition, the deer often crossed the south end of the soybean field within shooting range of a gun hunter.

Carol had her safety belt on, her gun loaded and everything in order by the time shooting light arrived. She noted the wind was out of the northeast, as predicted, and favorable as it could be for a stand position in the bottom of the hollow. The wait was on.

Just after first light two doe came out into the field. Moments later a yearling buck crossed the field 40 yards north of the stand. Shortly the figure of a larger deer materialized in the field 400 yards to the north. As it came south Carol raised her binoculars and checked it out. It was a 3 1/2-year-old buck with a messed up right antler. After checking out a scrape along the edge of the field, the deer continued south, passing within 40 yards of the stand. Eventually it headed up the forested hill to the east.

Shortly after 8 a.m. Carol heard a noise to the east. For roughly two minutes she listened to a deer walking. Finally a yearling buck appeared. Behind it was another, nicer buck. Carol watched as both deer entered the field and walked over to where the point came down to the field edge. Both bucks crossed the creek and starting walking along the edge of a CRP field, roughly 60 yards away. The wind was perfect.

“I was really studying the bigger buck as they crossed the creek and came around the point,” Carol told me. “I knew the nicer buck was at least 3 1/2 years old and I could see he had five points on the main beam toward me. Still, I wasn’t sure I wanted him. Finally I thought, ‘I’m going to shoot him.’

“As he walked along, I placed the crosshairs on his chest and squeezed off the shot. He flinched and bounded south for about 50 yards before angling into the woods. I heard him crash and fall back down the hill. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! What if I’ve shot a nice 2 1/2-year-old buck?’ Once I got to him, I was happy. He was a good 11-point with forked brow tines, about a 140-inch buck.”

Scouting Pays Off

I relate this hunt to you because careful and precise scouting was the primary reason my wife was successful on this hunt. This hunt, by the way, occurred in a region we were familiar with that had produced several nice bucks in the past. During early archery season, however, it seemed every mature buck around had simply vanished. Our archery stand sites on higher ground that always produced mature buck sightings were deader than a hammer.

And while we suspected the trophy bucks could be staying low in the hollow around the soybean field – which was only about 200 yards away from some of our high ground archery stands – we knew better than to bow hunt there. We had tried that several times in the past and because of switching wind directions we almost always got picked off by bucks before they got within shooting range. Still, occasionally in bow season we would ease down to the north end of the soybean field where we could glass the area without being seen. Two different times we watched a pair of mature bucks in the field.

This was why we put the ladder stand in a prime location, which would be excellent for firearm hunting, but worthless for bow hunting. Carol’s hunt proved our strategy correct on the very first hunt she made there.

And speaking of killing a big buck the very first time a stand site is hunted, this is something I see happen often. You’ve also read articles where many other outdoor writers have said the same thing. Perhaps you’ve had it happen to you. Statements like this obviously lead us to believe we should never scout, never mess up the woods with our scent, and never bother the area at any time in the fall if possible. In the rest of this article I’ll explain, from my experiences at least, what works and what doesn’t when it comes to scouting.

The Best Time To Scout

I scout year around; I just do it in different ways. Obviously the little peekaboo scouting strategy Carol and I did in the soybean field worked to perfection. But it is only one of many methods of scouting that is available to you.    

In my opinion the very best time to scout is right after deer hunting season has expired. You’re not hunting then so there is no need to worry about spooking the deer into the next county. You can walk every deer trail, look at every rub tree, and check every bedding area in your hunting regions. This is also a good time to see how whitetails use late season food sources and to check out oak tree concentrations on the property. In addition, this time of year can’t be beat for locating funnels that are formed by the topography of the land.

Deer use these terrain traps in a predictable manner. When I find one of these hot spots in post season I’ll try to figure out what’s the best way to get into, and out of, the hot spot while creating the least amount of disturbance possible. I also carry a compass with me so I can check which wind direction is best for this hunting location. Keep in mind when doing this scouting that placing stands on high ground will almost always be more productive on mature bucks than stands positioned in gullies and hollows. This is especially true for the bow hunter because the wind usually switches directions down low.

One other point worth mentioning is the fact you should look for any changes in terrain that has altered the deer’s movement patterns in an area that is familiar to you. One year a hot saddle we had carried little deer traffic. Post-season scouting revealed a downed tree had fallen across one of the prime deer trails, causing the whitetails to alter their travel pattern. A chain saw quickly takes care of a problem such as this.

Regarding changing a deer’s travel route, this time period is also an excellent opportunity to move a deer trail closer to your stand site. Of course this helps the archer most of all. More than once we’ve used brush and small cedars and pine trees to block a deer trail. Then it’s a simple matter to use a rake to make a “new” deer trail over to your tree stand. This works fantastically well and if you’ve never tried it, you should.

When doing all of this scouting, be sure to keep a deer journal of everything you discover. I always carry a topographical map and mark hot funnel locations, rub lines, scrapes and that sort of thing on the map.

Late Winter, Spring And Summer Scouting

I like the immediate post-hunting season scouting best because you have nothing else to distract you. I’ll admit, though, that here in the Midwest it’s sure fun to scout the late winter period starting about Feb. 16 because quite a few shed antlers are on the ground by then. If you’re disciplined enough it’s also a perfect time to scout. If you’re not disciplined, however, you get caught up in looking for shed antlers and neglect your scouting duties.

The same goes for the early spring through mid-May time period. It’s still a pretty good time to scout, but because most of us are turkey hunters we usually spend a fair amount of time looking for turkey scratchings, droppings, and feeding areas. Not to mention we may have our eye out for mushrooms, Indian artifacts and who knows what other distractions. While this is sure a pleasant time to be outside, I don’t recommend waiting this late to do your post-season deer scouting.

Now we come to summer scouting, an enjoyable sport. Who doesn’t like to drive along a back road and see one or more monster bucks, adorned in gleaming velvet, feeding in a field? Or perhaps watch them in a food plot on your own hunting property. Keep in mind at this point that seeing these deer doesn’t necessarily mean they will all be in the same location when the fall hunting seasons come in. A bachelor group of bucks will be scattered when fall comes. This is why I take a topographical map and aerial map and figure out every key funnel location I can within a couple of miles of any monster buck sighting location.

This gives me time to check with all landowners within the region in the hopes of getting permission to hunt when the fall deer seasons start. This way I’ve provided myself with the most strategic terrain traps possible, each of which I can intelligently hunt while trying to outsmart a high scoring deer. This has worked for me more than once.

Fall Scouting

Fall scouting is the most difficult time of all to indiscreetly scout. “Don’t ever walk in the woods before bow season comes in,” is a statement you often hear deer hunters make. I agree the ideal hunt is one where you can get in a stand site without ever walking in the territory beforehand. Moreover, this isn’t usually possible, especially if you love to squirrel hunt like Carol and I do. We squirrel hunt a bunch each fall with many of our hunts occurring on our leased land. Toward the start of bow season we make sure our hunts are in the least likely locations to kill a trophy buck. We stay out of our very best deer hunting locations for at least two weeks prior to the opening of archery season.

This has worked well for us since we’re pretty consistent in killing mature bucks out of these areas. It works, I believe, because our post-season, spring and summer scouting has enabled us to know our hunting regions well enough to build our confidence up. We know where the deer feed, where the scrapes and rubs are placed, generally where they bed, and we’ve found good shed antlers. The sheds, obviously, have convinced us the buck, or bucks, we want to shoot are indeed alive. With all this knowledge, it’s a pretty simple matter for us to stay out of the woods, hunting our stand sites only when conditions are perfect.  

Saying you’re going to avoid walking around in your hunting area too much in deer season is easier said than done, isn’t it? More than anything else, lack of confidence causes whitetail hunters to scout at the wrong times. Years ago I can remember sitting on stand on morning hunts and not seeing much. “I wonder if the deer have changed their travel route? I wonder if that huge scrape is still by the ironwood tree? I wonder if the monster rub tree down by the creek is used again this year? If it hasn’t been used, I bet the old buck who made it is dead.” These are thoughts that would endlessly run through my mind.

This created a lack of confidence and it often resulted in me being on the ground by 9 a.m. stomping the woods flat looking for the new and “hot” sign. I can assure you I didn’t kill many mature bucks back then.

How To Scout During Hunting Season

You can scout during hunting season, you just have to do it right so your odds of killing a buster buck will be as high as possible. I use both topographical and aerial maps to do most of my in-season scouting in unfamiliar regions, especially on out-of-state hunts. With them I can speed scout a large area and key in on the best ambush spots available. I look for inside corners, saddles in the hills, narrow tracts of timber connecting two woodlots or any other strategic terrain funnel. This method of scouting has enabled me to get cracks at great bucks in regions I’ve never set foot in. It’s incredible how well it works.

For example, I’ve measured three Pope & Young bucks for a fellow who lives about 50 miles from me. All have scored more than 150 inches. The last buck I measured he mentioned he hunted just southeast of his hometown. I had a CD with a topographical map of his area on it, so I pulled it up on my computer screen and looked it over. One glaring funnel immediately popped out on the map. Two inside corners formed by fields came almost together except for a thin strip of timber. On each side there were hundreds of acres of timber. “Wow,” I said, “There’s an awesome funnel!”

With an amazed look on his face, the guy said, “That’s where I killed every one of my big bucks.”

With proper knowledge, maps will enable you to pick the majority of hot stand locations in any region you are unfamiliar with. You also have in-season scouting options available to you on property you are familiar with, even if the property is relatively small in size.

A friend of mine has killed a ton of great bucks out of a woods about 120 acres in size. It’s the only place he hunts and he has developed a method of hunting he calls “probe hunting.” He basically leaves core areas that he never steps foot in. Near each of these spots he has a number of tree stands erected. Using the wind wisely, he can hunt – probe – these locations his bucks use without putting undue pressure on them. It’s certainly a cat and mouse game, but it works well for him. We use this method quite a bit ourselves.

In closing, yes, you can scout year round – if you do it intelligently. Walk your hunting regions excessively during prime hunting times, however, and you won’t fill that living room wall up with trophy mounts very fast. By understanding maps, building confidence, and utilizing low impact but strategic hunting methods during the season, you will put yourself in position to tap out that monster buck that’s been giving you the slip.

It’s worked for me!

Scouting Tools

While this article on scouting has been written in a general manner, its advice applies well to quality deer managers. While you may think your trophy bucks are “used to you” and will still be killable during season, you may be badly mistaken. Scout and hunt carelessly and a neighbor down the road a mile who scouts and hunts intelligently may kill “your” buck.

Both topographical and aerial maps are invaluable in scouting, both on familiar and unfamiliar land. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is the source of all mapping information in the United States. They also list all topographical map symbols on their Web page, plus they list all business partners they have who sell topographical and aerial maps, both on paper and on CD. Their Web site is www.usgs.gov or you can contact them at: USGS Information Services, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80225, phone 888-275-8747, fax 303-202-4693.

The author’s latest book, Mapping Trophy Bucks, explains in detail how to use aerial, topographical and plat maps to figure out trophy buck movement patterns. It explains in easy to understand terms how deer use terrain, and where, and how, for you to set up and ambush them. The 192-page full color book contains beautiful photography and lots of detailed how-to maps. For an autographed copy send a check for $28.50 to: Brad Herndon, 1838 E. St. Rd. 250, Brownstown, Indiana 47220.