First timer hunting on public land

[onebulletbarne]

I've been looking at some aerial maps of this piece of public land, i remember watching one of the hunting beasts video where dan talks about big bucks love to live in and around water.
in the image below are a couple areas highlighted in red where it might be a good place , however that being said i haven't scouted boots on the ground these this areas, strictly aerial images. With only scouting aerials what do you all think ? i"m aiming for mature bucks. These areas are roughly 3/4 of a mile to a mile away from nearest parking maybe a little more but you have to cross water to get to these spots

hunting spot 2.png

Here are the same spots but with satellite view. First image is the small piece of land surrounded by the river towards to upper right corner of the map and the second pic is the one towards bottom right of the map. What are some signs i should be looking for to clue me in that there might be other hunters in that area other than stands or cameras

[Trout]

You're on the right track studying the maps! First thing I'd do is drive the area to figure out where all of the possible access points are such as parking areas, pull offs, etc. Then I'd walk all the transition lines. I like to plan that route ahead of time using the line distance tool to follow all the edges I want to walk, but also to know how many miles I will be walking. I plan for about 1mph, which helps me figure out how many hours it's gonna take to see it all. Say I've got 6 hours of walking, I know I need to scout that piece on a weekend day if I want to do it in one trip as I can't do it all after work before dark.

As I'm walking and driving around the area, aim marking everything of interest. Onx is a great tool for that, but Caltopo is just as good and free. The only con to caltopo is it doesn't show landowner info, which I really don't care about being a public land hunter. The shaded relief layer in caltopo is a gold mine of info, even in flat terrain, and I will add any areas of elevation change also. Anyway, mark everything of interest- scrapes, rubs, runways, pinch points, water sources, other stands, hunter sign (tracks/tire tracks/litter), where I jump deer, etc. If the area is relatively open, I'm walking the perimeter of any thicker cover. I'm also looking at tree and foliage species to get an idea of what the food sources are, and yep, you guessed it, if there are small stands of a particular food source, I'm walking the whole edge and mapping that edge out. If there is a river/creek/pond, I'm walking the whole edge and looking for sign.

Then I go home and look at it all and see what the big picture is. Caltopo and onx both sync to your computer if you have one so you can look at it on a bigger screen. There will be waypoints everywhere, but you will have a great idea of how the deer use the landscape. From there, if I'm still interested in the area, I will plan trail cam locations. Putting cameras out in the summer to inventory, and then in-season scouting from there to figure out the rest.

[onebulletbarne]

You're on the right track studying the maps! First thing I'd do is drive the area to figure out where all of the possible access points are such as parking areas, pull offs, etc. Then I'd walk all the transition lines. I like to plan that route ahead of time using the line distance tool to follow all the edges I want to walk, but also to know how many miles I will be walking. I plan for about 1mph, which helps me figure out how many hours it's gonna take to see it all. Say I've got 6 hours of walking, I know I need to scout that piece on a weekend day if I want to do it in one trip as I can't do it all after work before dark.

As I'm walking and driving around the area, aim marking everything of interest. Onx is a great tool for that, but Caltopo is just as good and free. The only con to caltopo is it doesn't show landowner info, which I really don't care about being a public land hunter. The shaded relief layer in caltopo is a gold mine of info, even in flat terrain, and I will add any areas of elevation change also. Anyway, mark everything of interest- scrapes, rubs, runways, pinch points, water sources, other stands, hunter sign (tracks/tire tracks/litter), where I jump deer, etc. If the area is relatively open, I'm walking the perimeter of any thicker cover. I'm also looking at tree and foliage species to get an idea of what the food sources are, and yep, you guessed it, if there are small stands of a particular food source, I'm walking the whole edge and mapping that edge out. If there is a river/creek/pond, I'm walking the whole edge and looking for sign.

Then I go home and look at it all and see what the big picture is. Caltopo and onx both sync to your computer if you have one so you can look at it on a bigger screen. There will be waypoints everywhere, but you will have a great idea of how the deer use the landscape. From there, if I'm still interested in the area, I will plan trail cam locations. Putting cameras out in the summer to inventory, and then in-season scouting from there to figure out the rest.

Thank you very much for the information! What time of the day do you scout in-season? Have you had any trouble with putting your cameras up on public?

[Trout]

Thank you very much for the information! What time of the day do you scout in-season? Have you had any trouble with putting your cameras up on public?

No time in particular. Say it's a weekday and I'm going out for an evening hunt after work, there isn't going to be a ton of time for me to scout and hunt. I will make a decision what area I want to be based on the wind and weather conditions and sign I've observed the previous days I hunted it before I get there. I may even have a particular tree in mind, but I'm not locked into that destination. As I walk to that area I am looking for the freshest deer sign or any other clues that give me confidence to hunt a particular tree. If we were a reporter, we are looking for a lead, we don't have the whole story but we kind of have a good idea what's going on but we are looking for that next piece of info that furthers our understanding of what the deer are actually doing.

Once I find that lead, maybe it's a fresh track or rub, I'm making my best guess as to what it's telling me and adapting my original plan to whatever that is. Maybe I set up and don't see anything- which happens a lot. That's just as good as seeing deer, cause now the noose is tightening and I build on that the next trip. Over the course of the season, all those leads add up.

One other point on what time of day to scout, its really nice if you can get out of work early and give yourself more time. But don't feel like there is a right/wrong time to scout. The best time is the time that works for your schedule. That said there are some times I don't want to be scouting such as the last hour of daylight when deer are most likely moving. Sometimes I go hunting and just spend the whole time scouting cause I don't find that lead I'm looking for, but as I'm scouting, I've got my bow in my hand and I'm stillhunting, keeping my eyes and ears on a swivel in case I cross paths with a deer I want to shoot. If I get to that last hour and haven't settled on a spot, I will stillhunt till dark or find a good spot for an observation sit and try to learn more that way.

As far as cameras on public goes, I've been very lucky and have never had a camera stolen. I hang my cameras about 10' up angled down towards the area I want to take pictures of. I use paracord to attach them to trees instead of a webbing strap (less visible), and I try not to put them in places people can easily see them. Lots of people have cameras stolen or messed with every year, though, so if you can't afford to lose one, a lock might be a good investment- but still doesn't guarantee it won't get messed with.

[onebulletbarne]

Thank you very much for the information! What time of the day do you scout in-season? Have you had any trouble with putting your cameras up on public?

No time in particular. Say it's a weekday and I'm going out for an evening hunt after work, there isn't going to be a ton of time for me to scout and hunt. I will make a decision what area I want to be based on the wind and weather conditions and sign I've observed the previous days I hunted it before I get there. I may even have a particular tree in mind, but I'm not locked into that destination. As I walk to that area I am looking for the freshest deer sign or any other clues that give me confidence to hunt a particular tree. If we were a reporter, we are looking for a lead, we don't have the whole story but we kind of have a good idea what's going on but we are looking for that next piece of info that furthers our understanding of what the deer are actually doing.

Once I find that lead, maybe it's a fresh track or rub, I'm making my best guess as to what it's telling me and adapting my original plan to whatever that is. Maybe I set up and don't see anything- which happens a lot. That's just as good as seeing deer, cause now the noose is tightening and I build on that the next trip. Over the course of the season, all those leads add up.

One other point on what time of day to scout, its really nice if you can get out of work early and give yourself more time. But don't feel like there is a right/wrong time to scout. The best time is the time that works for your schedule. That said there are some times I don't want to be scouting such as the last hour of daylight when deer are most likely moving. Sometimes I go hunting and just spend the whole time scouting cause I don't find that lead I'm looking for, but as I'm scouting, I've got my bow in my hand and I'm stillhunting, keeping my eyes and ears on a swivel in case I cross paths with a deer I want to shoot. If I get to that last hour and haven't settled on a spot, I will stillhunt till dark or find a good spot for an observation sit and try to learn more that way.

As far as cameras on public goes, I've been very lucky and have never had a camera stolen. I hang my cameras about 10' up angled down towards the area I want to take pictures of. I use paracord to attach them to trees instead of a webbing strap (less visible), and I try not to put them in places people can easily see them. Lots of people have cameras stolen or messed with every year, though, so if you can't afford to lose one, a lock might be a good investment- but still doesn't guarantee it won't get messed with.

If you setup on sign that u might think is good and u don't see anything odds are its old sign or night sign? Will you give it another sit?

[Trout]

That depends. I'm a pretty analytical guy, but sometimes you just gotta go with your gut. If it feels like I just picked the wrong day or time, I will probably give it another shot. If I get down from the tree after that first sit and feel like I never want to sit that spot again, I probably won't.

It's really exciting to discover beast tactics and Dan's teachings, but after a couple years you learn that tactics only get you so far. At some point you have to develop your own style based on the tactics you naturally gravitate towards. The tactics are just a foundation, modifying them based on your own personal experiences and observations is when things start to really click and hunting is a whole new level of fun.

[G-Patt]

With only scouting aerials what do you all think ? i"m aiming for mature bucks.

With just looking at the aerials, the 2 things really stick out to me is the oxbow in the river and the river itself. That oxbow is going to hold bedding, and the hard transition of the river will give away trails leading to and from bedding. I would plan to still hunt/scout through the oxbow, gain intel and hopefully get a shot at something that would excite me. Pay attention to the wind and the best way to access those areas based on wind. Do a search on this forum for "oxbow," and you'll see some great advice on the best way to hunt them. Some hip waders would be helpful if the river is not too deep. Try to pick a moderately windy day (10 to 20 mph) to cover your noise if you plan to scout/still hunt in-season to give you cover. Definitely plan to scout this entire area thoroughly post season/ early spring. Trout gave you good advice on trail cameras and logging points of interest on your apps and how to pull the puzzle together. I personally like to use HuntStand & CalTopo because they are both free and excellent.

You had a question about time of day to scout. I personally like mid-day scouting since most of the movement activity of the deer is at a minimal, and they've retired to their day beds. If I can jump deer and locate their beds, that is excellent intel. Make a point of what the conditions are at the time you jump them and wind direction on your app. Odds are, they will return to that bedding location given similar conditions and wind.

All of this takes time, patience, work, analyzing the information you've developed and lots of luck. Let us know if you score at this spot.