Armchair Scouting
Its a commonly accepted fact that a bowhunter's season to season success is directly proportional to the amount of scouting done before the hunt begins. The more serious/dedicated trophy hunters scout year round. I've never talked to a bowhunter that didn't wish he had spent more time scouting before the season, or one that didn't have a dozen excuses why he just couldn't get all his scouting done before the season. We all have other commitments on our time that keep us from fulfilling our best intentions when it comes to pre-season scouting, and we usually have more good excuses why we can't do that important post-season scouting.
Given all the above, it should be obvious that any time you can find for scouting would be helpful. The purpose of this column is to encourage you to get some of that scouting done in the comfort of your favorite arm chair. This is not to promote a lazy attitude, but rather to help you maximize your time and achieve your full potential as a hunter. Think about those days when the weather is just too bad to be in the woods, arm chair scouting time! How about later in the day, after its too dark to be in the woods, arm chair scouting time! Although not as comfortable, you can even get some good scouting done at lunch, without even leaving work. Not only will this help you be more productive/successful during the season, planning your hunt will make the time between seasons pass much faster and more pleasantly.
The single best tool for arm chair scouting is a good topo map. Aerial photos can also be helpful, if available, but the good old standby topo map is hard to beat. Obviously, you will have no luck looking for deer on these maps! What you should be looking for is prime hunting locations. Before we go any further, lets talk about what constitutes a prime hunting location. That is a spot where you'll have a reasonable chance to take the game you're after. Because 90% of the bowhunters in the country chase whitetail deer, lets say a prime hunting spot is a place where you have the potential to take a trophy whitetail buck. Before you start trying to convince yourself that there is no such place near where you live or hunt; trophy whitetail deer are virtually everywhere that whitetails inhabit. If you don't believe me, check out the new whitetail deer record book recently published by the Pope & Young Club. The deer are listed by State, and every State has some impressive animals listed! Talk to knowledgeable bowhunters anywhere, and you'll hear stories of the big one that they've been chasing for two or more years, but haven't got a shot at. Most of these big bucks die of starvation when their teeth get so worn they can no longer process enough food during the winter. Trust me, there are big deer almost everywhere!
To grow a big racked deer you need three key ingredients: good feed, good genetics, and age structure. Most whitetail deer areas are managed to control the population and assure that there is adequate food, however areas of high quality feed, available longer during the year, will help grow bigger deer. The biggest trophy factor is age. If the wood lot you're hunting gets pushed hard during the entire gun season, there's a real good chance that there will be no bucks that survive to be 4-6 years old. Keep that in mind, while also remembering that hunting pressure will change a deer's habits in short order, making him very difficult to kill. One last point to ponder before taking out the maps is that the vast majority of hunters don't go very far into the woods, nor do they work very hard to overcome obstacles.
With these tid bits of information in the back of your mind, pull out a topo map of an area you're thinking of hunting. Two major things to look for are large areas with restricted access, and smaller areas that have obstacles for hunters to overcome. I'll give some examples to help you find what we're looking for.
In my area there are several State Forest Lands that are open to hunting. These are all clearly marked on the topo maps. Many of the areas are small enough that three guys could trample them to death in a weekend, however there are some areas that are several miles in every direction. These areas all have motorized vehicle restrictions and are well gated at all access points. This means that the only way in is by walking or bicycling. Remembering that the average hunter isn't going to walk too far to his stand, look for places that are a mile or more from every access point. Hike in a mile before hanging your stand, and you'll not have a lot of people walking under it! Not only will this get you back where you and the deer won't get disturbed, the hunters that work the edges of the area will actually be pushing the deer back to you!
As far as obstacles go, they can take several forms. One of my personal favorites is water. I'm constantly looking for places that might hold good numbers of deer and that are bordered on at least one side by water. It can be a lake, a river, a stream, a marsh, or even a bay of the ocean. Any amount of water will discourage the vast majority of hunters, who will either enter from the other side, or find another place to hunt all together. Either way is fine with me! I have a 27 pound one person canoe that loads into my truck real easy and can be carried to the waters edge with one hand. A short trip across the water, and I'm on the side of the property that everyone else is pushing the deer to! I'm also where the deer don't expect danger, and I got there without leaving a scent trail!
Major highways are another prime example of obstacles. Most major highways are fenced and restrict parking. That means that access is limited on one side and that deer movements are going to be more predictable. Find a good sized piece of undeveloped land bordered on one side by a highway, and you've got a good starting point. If another side of the property has an obstacle or restricted access, that's even better!
After diner one day last summer I was pouring over a local topo map when I noticed a long thin piece of woods bordered by a highway. The piece fell in two towns, with almost all the road access in a town that allows hunting by written permission only. There are three small swamps in the piece, which is over two miles long. This looked ideal! The next day after work I drove the road that encircled the property to check out the lay of the land, food sources and possible access points. I found that almost the entire road had been developed with expensive houses, complete with the back yard pets and swing sets that usually mean hunters are less than welcomed. I figured few people would ask for permission in this neighborhood, and fewer would get a positive response. I did find one point with reasonable access and a place to park in the town that doesn't require written permission. The map showed that, by walking the highway fence line, I could penetrate the property almost two miles and hunt all three swamps without crossing the town line into the restricted area. The drive around took less than fifteen minutes, but coupled with the arm chair scouting done at home proved that this property was worthy of more investigation. The drive by was also on a rainy day that would have kept me from doing any "foot scouting".
A few days later I parked at the access point and hiked in about a half mile to a spot that looked like a natural funnel on the map. I figured that I'd find deer sign at that point if there were deer on the property. With-in 20 minutes I had found three intersecting deer runs, a scrape line and several rubs. I picked out a likely tree for my stand and was back at the car in less than an hour. Saturday morning before the season opened, I went back again with my stand and a small saw. In two hours my stand was up, some shooting lanes were cleared, and a scrape close by had been "sweetened" with a few drops of buck lure. On opening morning two bucks walked by at less than 15 yards! I never would have found this "hot spot" if it wasn't for my arm chair scouting sessions.
Next month we'll take the process one step further when we look at how to select specific locations to check with-in the perspective hunting area when the "foot scouting" kicks in. We'll also discuss what to look for in a stand site and, more importantly, picking an access route to your stand that won't disturb the deer. Till then.....Good hunting.