Home :: Trophy Deer Scouting Tips
I would like to share some trophy deer scouting tips that you can put to use today; that will make a more successful trophy deer hunter. These deer hunting scouting tips will also help feed your personal deer hunting enthusiasm year round.
As a whitetail deer hunter, you can and should scout for deer year round. I encourage you to continue scouting for deer after your hunting season has closed. You can even scout for deer from the comfort of your own home with internet access. More on that later. But for right now, here are a few deer scouting tips to keep you focused and busy.
The off season is a great time to do some background work when it comes to trophy deer scouting. Think about it; during the off season there is still a lot going on when it comes to deer hunting. Talk to people. Try to find out where trophy deer were harvested last year and in years past. Go to big game registration stations; ask the local attendant about the trophy deer that were registered this last season. Ask how that compared to years past. Ask what hunting area, or areas, most were taken from, and when. Is this hunting area open to public hunting or is it private hunting land? Your state's department of natural recourses, or your state's fish and game department, has maps detailing public hunting areas. A county plot map (available at county court houses for about $25) will show you private lands, and even give you the land owners name. If it is private, ask if the land owner hunts himself, many don't. If not, find out when the deer were harvested. Lets say a nice trophy deer was shot during the firearm season. Once you know that, you may have an opportunity to archery hunt that area. Seeking permission to hunt on private land in the off-season is sometimes easier than if you walk up to the same landowner during an open hunting season. It is also a good time to establish new friendships. Join hunting clubs and associations. Go to banquets and to sport shows (like the "Deer Classic"). Talk to a few taxidermists. You can check out local archery and gun stores, and so on. The point here is not to intrude on another hunter's specific hunting area; but to see if there is an opportunity to hunt an area nearby. Remember; that during the rut, a trophy whitetail deer will travel up to several square miles searching for does in estrus. That's much more area than one or two hunters can cover themselves.
1. Do your homework. Use the internet for researching your deer hunting area. Department of Natural resources and Fish and Game departments all have websites (note links below). Use them, crawl them over, and seek out statistics; like last years buck harvest in certain areas, deer harvest per square mile, public hunting lands, special drawings and hunts, permits, license information, topographical maps and so on.
2. Do a Google search for "Google earth", and bookmark it. Study your hunting area from satellite photos. Look for land features in and around your hunting area. This can greatly aid you in your deer scouting efforts. Maybe you will see an abandoned farm stead - notice a possible apple orchard or grove? Look for trails, unimproved roads, logging roads, tree lines, field edges; make yourself copies and note the prevailing winds. You might discover something you didn't know about the area.
3. Get topographical maps of your hunting area. You can do a lot of preliminary scouting for trophy deer by knowing terrain features like elevations, ridge lines, saddles, gullies, creeks and rivers, fields, swamps, potential bedding hot spots and more. Mark potential stand sites and approach routes. Combine topographical maps with "Google Earth" and its like being there.
4. Another way to keep your deer hunting interest keen is to buy yourself deer hunting equipment or clothing. Many deer hunting items are on sale after the hunting season. This is also a good time to plan your next seasons deer hunting trips. Plan a deer hunt out of state; even if you don't go.
1. Over the winter months there is much you can do to locate a great hunting area for trophy deer by scouting and looking for deer sign. Do some antler shed hunting. Bucks shed there antlers every year. They drop them late January through early March. The key here is get out and find them before our other forest floor friends find them and eat them. If you have snow on the ground; fallow fresh deer tracks and trails. Look around feeding and bedding areas. Whitetail deer will stay much closer to these areas during the winter months to conserve energy.
Keep a look out for sheds as the snow starts to melt. On a sunny day, sheds may glisten as the sun light reflects off them.
2. Without snow; look for deer trails, tracks, beds (trophy bucks usually bed alone), droppings, rubs, scrapes, feeding areas, and make a note of these locations in relation to heavy cover. Plan for next season's stand locations. Again note prevailing wind direction and plan your approach. If you have a GPS; mark these locations and plot your way points.
3. Keep an eye out when you deer scouting for those small sanctuaries that trophy deer like to hold up and bed in. Look for large deer droppings. Most deer will defecate after bedding and upon rising; if not pushed out of their bedding area. Look for small deer trials into and out of these sanctuaries. Are there connecting routes to other deer bedding areas? How about escape routes to nearby dense cover. If so, make a note of it. Look for last years scrape and rub lines. Make a note of these, especially heavy rubs on large trees.
4. Notice signs of deer hunting activity. You don't want to be in an area with a lot of hunting pressure? Whitetail trophy deer habits change real quick once the air fills with the stink of human scent that deer are not use to on a daily basis. Trophy whitetail deer tend to stay at least a half mile from any human contact. Hunters leave tell-tail sign that you can and should be aware of. Notice hunting stand sites, or the trimming of shooting lanes. If you see trail markers, ribbon tape, reflective pins, slashed tree trunks, candy wrappers, shell casings, or any other litter; you may want to find another spot. Do you notice human foot prints, ATV sign, or 4x4 trails that will indicate levels of hunting pressure.
5. Scout often and whenever you can, just keep your impact low on the deer hunting area. Again, practice noise and scent control. Encourage your deer hunting partners and camp members to get out and scout too. Make it a weekend event and do it often, up till about a month before the deer hunting season. Hunting areas need to rest. Scouting for trophy deer is another way to expand your deer hunting experience and will help to keep you motivated.
Articles: Click on links below for more great deer scouting and other hunting information.
States and Canadian provinces - D.N.R's & Fish and Game Departments,
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