Whitetail scouting

[Booger]

Howdy - I've been trying to do a little preseason scouting and not finding many bucks in the daytime. I thought by now they would have gotten over hunting season and be showing up more in the daytime. What I'm wondering is; do you think that I'm in an area that doesn't have any big bucks, or are the big boys still laying low?

Booger

[DogDude]

Booger,

Wow, you are getting a jump on the season. It's a little early in the year to be learning a whole lot, and my response to your question is a fence setting, but it could be a little of both. In my opinion, the really big bucks are nocturnal for the most part, year round. They'll take some chances during the day, when the rut is on, because that urge overtakes common sense and caution, but there's a reason that they get to be big bucks and it isn't because they're stupid or just lucky.

If you have big deer in your area, you should be seeing some tracks with a big spread, big dew claws and some sign of the previous seasons rubs that will give you an indication of what class of deer you have in that area. The down side to reading last year's rubs is you don't know if the deer that made them is still amoung the living.

The fact that you're in the woods looking this early means that you're serious about deer hunting, so I'm betting that you figure it out long before fall.

Good luck,

DogDude

[Yooper]

Well, I don't know where you're at, but in Michigan, if you want to pre-season scout for big nocturnal bucks, you have to resort to the redneck pastime. By this I mean driving and shining with a big old spotlight. Like I said, I don't know where you're at but this is legal in Michigan as long as it isn't too close to firearm deer season and you don't have a gun in the truck with you. I know my farmland gets hit with a "drive-by" nightly with people looking for deer.

I'll sometimes take a spot and look around my fields and I always see those big boys that hang low during the day. They're usually by my old blind too. I think they do it to torment me.

Just whatever you do, don't shine one of them lights into somebody's house. Nothing freaks you out more than to have a 3,000,000 candlepower spot light up the living room at 10 o'clock at night.

[Booger]

Yooper, thanks for the info. I'll give it a try spotting deer that is. I don't want to get shot at so I'll leave the windows to someone else. At least I'll find out once and for all what is going on.

Booger

[Brent]

Maybe try moving around to different spots as well. Don't stay in the same spot everyday at the same time. Mix it up a little bit. You might be interested in buying a scounting camera as well to help see those "night time monsters" :)

[westjl23]

My suggestion would be similar to yooper's in that you should watch fields. Early in the year I don't like walking around the woods and spooking deer, I feel it is better to stay low impact and leave as little scent in the woods as possible. Once deer season rolls around keep an eye on the does, if you find a bedding area that holds does, place a stand nearby and save that spot for the rut. Like someone had previously posted, most mature whitetails are nearly completely nocturnal and the rut is about the only time you will catch them in daylight. If you are truly interested in harvesting a buck and maybe even a mature deer, i would watch for does and don't spook them, once the rut is on, the big boys will come cruising. good luck!

[mbauman]

I find the best way to know what is in a area is a trail camera (digital)

[grayling]

Trails cameras (digital) work fantastic and can help you pattern the deer in your area as well as giving you insight to the size of the deer in your herd. Just make sure you set up the camera with time and dates so you know when they are hitting certain areas. I move my camera twice per month to differnt areas to scout.

I just recently invested in the video trail camera and it is really a great tool. It can actually help you figure out which trails are being used and if you are serious you can begin to pattern your deer based on weather, wind, and morning vs night movements.

Lastly, it is really entertaining!

Good luck,

Grayling

[Ryanbl25]

I have been trying to find the bucks on my property for a while now but having no luck. I know they are there but can't find where they go when I don't see them. The bucks do not come up to my feeders or any of the salt licks and I have never found one shed on my property; the only time I see them is during the rut in GA. Have the bucks moved to another property or are they just hiding? What should I do to try to get one on my scouting camera?

Ryanbl25

[Perferator]

I've seen a couple of big bucks here on my property in northern lower michigan. They come out just before dark as is their habit. Of course the only way you can be sure it's a buck at this time of year is to catch a glimpse of the plumbing. A big buck will look similar to dog by following the belly line down to the genital area. In a few weeks the antlers will be "nubbing" out pretty good.

The does here are laying low as they are dropping fawns. Soon enough they will venture out of the swamps into the fields in lowlight condition. By time August comes around all will be hoppin' and poppin' for scouting.