and decide to hit the woods and gather intel because rubs, scrapes, trails, sign, etc. is at an all time high post rut/season. What are your top 3-5 things (in order of importance) that lead to you determining where to prep your summer stand placements?
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- Thread starter Bushape
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Bedding, bedding, and bedding
1. Topography
2. Evidence of previous human intrusion (where'd the last guys have stands)
3. Potential food sources
4. Bedding
I want to know, where they bed, where they feed, the topography that links the two, and most importantly, where the most pressure has been in the past.
2. Evidence of previous human intrusion (where'd the last guys have stands)
3. Potential food sources
4. Bedding
I want to know, where they bed, where they feed, the topography that links the two, and most importantly, where the most pressure has been in the past.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Very similar to Buzzard Breath's list:
1) Sanctuaries - where are deer getting away from hunting pressure
2) Past hunting pressure - where have hunters been hunting in the past
3) Rut sign - bucks make rut sign where they interact with other deer. Usually, these places are travel pattern convergences or intersections. Basically, high deer interaction zones.
1) Sanctuaries - where are deer getting away from hunting pressure
2) Past hunting pressure - where have hunters been hunting in the past
3) Rut sign - bucks make rut sign where they interact with other deer. Usually, these places are travel pattern convergences or intersections. Basically, high deer interaction zones.
Wiley
Well-Known Member
1. Where to set an ambush for trespassers.
2. Pre-dig large holes for various needs
3. Start some seriously scary rumors at the local watering hole
2. Pre-dig large holes for various needs
3. Start some seriously scary rumors at the local watering hole
Not much to add, but i would be reluctant to set stands too early
Right now sign should be still pretty fresh . All of the above looking for pinch points and game trails.
Topography
Topography
Thick cover in relation to topography.
Topography
Thick cover in relation to topography.
I'd add to specifically mark oaks on GPS. Particularly if you find a good stand together in one spot. Like a deer drug dealer or maybe a Chick Fil A. Use your preferred analogy.
Oh yeah forgot the most important aspect . You should contact me to help you out hunting these deer , too many deer on this lease so they need thinning out ! 
I start with old rut sign and go
From there.
From there.
paleohunter
Member
You have many good responses. Now is a good time to look for sheds while checking out several areas for food plots and potential locations for stand placement for next year. Find your food plot areas and pull soil samples. Proper food plots in the spring and summer will help you observe you herd with cameras in the off season. Hancock Seed Company has great prices on your seed for plots. I always scout bottlenecks and funnels. Congratulations on your new lease and good luck.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
All the above.
Then I want to look at the big picture and figure out how I can manipulate the habitat to force the deer to travel where I want them to, while at the same time increasing carrying capacity. You prob cannot do either if it's just a lease, however.
Then I want to look at the big picture and figure out how I can manipulate the habitat to force the deer to travel where I want them to, while at the same time increasing carrying capacity. You prob cannot do either if it's just a lease, however.
Find the bedding areas. If possible figure out future food plot locations and soil test.
I suggest walking the trails, all of them, entirely. This time of year is perfect because they are most visible right now. By doing so you will encounter the vast majority of bedding areas, feeding areas, sign, terrain features, habitat features, and most importantly how the deer use them all. Nothing beats boots on the ground. But you'll need to process what you find in a comprehensive, understandable way. Otherwise your brain will jumble together highlights and you'll forget details.
Something I do is trace my walks on Huntstand, pinning & noting everything I find relevant to deer hunting. At the end of a good scout day I'll have a map that looks like toddler scribbles, but with a little time I can break it down into useful information. It allows me to visualize from a birdseye view how the deer use the property, the purpose of each trail, where they live, where they eat, and likely when. For instance, trails emanating from a persimmon grove will be busy in October while trails in a locust thicket will be busy in December, even though it's the same deer. But following the trails from food to bedding and visa versa lets me know exactly the routes the deer are likely using at a given time of year, which deer it is, and why. Still takes time to learn a property but it's a start.
Something I do is trace my walks on Huntstand, pinning & noting everything I find relevant to deer hunting. At the end of a good scout day I'll have a map that looks like toddler scribbles, but with a little time I can break it down into useful information. It allows me to visualize from a birdseye view how the deer use the property, the purpose of each trail, where they live, where they eat, and likely when. For instance, trails emanating from a persimmon grove will be busy in October while trails in a locust thicket will be busy in December, even though it's the same deer. But following the trails from food to bedding and visa versa lets me know exactly the routes the deer are likely using at a given time of year, which deer it is, and why. Still takes time to learn a property but it's a start.
Yessir. I re-walk properties I've hunted for years at least once every other year because things change. Of course I'm going to bust deer out but they've got 7 months to forget about it.
WORM82
Well-Known Member
Don't tell anyone about it
Find someone with rabbit dogs or bird dogs, hunt it thru the end of season, mark everything you find doing that on a gps, load it to a map, then go back in March and walk more connecting the dots and figuring where you may want to start with stand placement and any habitat management improvements you want or can accomplish in the off season. Continue this cycle for as long as you have access to the property.
Swampster
Well-Known Member
As a landowner, I appreciate your list more than all the others. Remember, the buzzards can do their work much faster if you first remove the clothing!
