Late Spring/Summer Scouting

[futuredoc]

Well it is looking more and more like I'm not going to make it into the woods this spring before green up. What tactics, or what different, do you guys do if you are scouting middle May, June and/or July? Still looking for beds? I'm sure they'll be hard to find then. Is it too late to be mucking around in bedding areas then?

thanks for the opinions,

k

[Goober]

Well, by the mid-end of summer, you can start glassing/shining for bucks, since they will be sporting some new headgear by then. I feel that this is a tough time to pattern a specific buck, as they may well be hanging out with some buddies at this time of year, and that most likely will not translate to hunting season, unless it is very early. Good news, if you can find a good buck and get his habits down in july/august, he hopefully will still be doing those things the first week or 2 of bow season, making him vulnerable. I personally wouldn't spend too much time looking blindly for beds this time of year. If you can catch a buck moving, and learn what general area he might be in, then I would try and find his specific bedding area. otherwise, the woods are going to be too thick with growth and mosquitoes to find out much. Just my opinion! Good luck!

[Zap]

I am no expert, but I would think that the more actual beds you locate the better. No matter when you locate them.
My 2 cents.

marty

[Casper]

I dont walk in the woods after morel season unless im on the edge throwing up a camera in july/august. i glass fields, pattern the bucks, but some ppl who hunt the same property think its a good idea to hang stands the day or two before opening day and scares them off their patterns. i'd go in with a stand on my back and set up on some good sign and areas where i think a big buck is bedding if i dont know the area. scout while you hunt.

[PredatorTC]

Trail cams are big for me, just be careful of where you put them. keep them out of there face

[futuredoc]

Glassing wouldn't work to well where I'm talking about as it is public land without good glassing fields. I realize that the deer would be on different patterns, but I was wondering if you guys had good experience finding beds used in the fall this late in the season. I know Dan said in his experience that bucks often use the same beds in summer and fall; I'm sure there are many exceptions, just curious what you guys have found.

[dan]

You can still find beds in summer... Just a lot harder. If you are good at reading terrain and deciphering where bedding should be, its easier. You will do a lot better scouting the beds before green up though...
I will say this though, any time spent scouting is not time wasted... Just don't take it to the point that your scouting is spooking the game enough to damage your hunting.

[futuredoc]

Dan,

What's the latest that you would invade a bedding area? June, July, August. August would be pushing I would think.

fd

[dan]

Depends on how desperate I am... For the most part I would say June but I have checked out bedding areas during the hunting season on a rare occasion.
Andrea often goes into buck bedding areas and kicks them out during the season and then hunts them there the next day... I guess its all relative to how much pressure the deer receive, and the temperament of the individual buck.
For me, for the most part, the less pressure I put on a buck the better.

[Slider1005]

Dan, when do you stop scouting for beds? When it greens up or earlier?

[dan]

Dan, when do you stop scouting for beds? When it greens up or earlier?

Generally when it greens up... But some times later.

[Sam Ubl]

Depends on how desperate I am... For the most part I would say June but I have checked out bedding areas during the hunting season on a rare occasion.
Andrea often goes into buck bedding areas and kicks them out during the season and then hunts them there the next day... I guess its all relative to how much pressure the deer receive, and the temperament of the individual buck.
For me, for the most part, the less pressure I put on a buck the better.

Why does Andre do this?

[Zap]

Because he knows how to make it work.

marty

[Sam Ubl]

Because he knows how to make it work.

marty

Insightful

[Slider1005]

Sam, I believe it's because you know the buck is there then, and you see his escape route. If the next day weather conditions are the same as the day before the buck should go back to that bed. When you kick him out you can check everything out, trees, entry and exits, and set up for the next morning. The buck might still feel safe there because he doesn't know you were in his bed, and the bed worked for him the day before, he got away from you unharmed. Little does the buck know the next morning you're there waiting for him. Andrae talks about and shows a hunt like this on the hill country dvd I think. Dan probably has more insight on this though.