By John Eberhart

Proper “Post Season Scouting” can make a difference in next seasons rut phase success!

In my years of tracking statistics, one remains consistent year after year. The fact that nearly 60% of the Pope & Young entries each year is taken during the rut phases. With that high a success rate during such a short portion of the season, it is basic logic that a hunter focuses most of their efforts on it.

Most hunters do the majority of their scouting during pre season, but during that time frame they are simply looking at summer bedding to feeding area sign. By pre season most of the previous seasons fall rut sign such as scrapes, rubs, licking branches and fall runways are difficult if not impossible to identify. Sure, pre season scouting might help you set-up on an early season buck, but most likely the sign you are looking at will change prior to the all important rut phases.

The answer to the “when is the best time to scout question” is simple, right after the previous season. Post-season scouting combined with location preparation will give you the upper hand during next seasons rut phases. This is especially true when hunting wary bucks in heavily hunted areas where pre season scouting turns mature bucks nocturnal prior to the season opener.

Note: In areas that receive snowfall, wait until it melts before scouting. Deer alter their patterns and congregate to the best and easiest food source when the snow flies, making runways left in the snow meaningless. Snow also covers up ground scrapes, and they are a very important factor during the rut. Once the snow is gone the area will look exactly as it did before it fell.

A few other advantages of post-season scouting:

1. Spooking deer will not have negative consequences as it would during pre-season scouting. You can scout every inch of your property and take several days to do so without it affecting fall deer movements. During pre-season mature deer can’t differentiate between scouting and hunting; they simply react to any sudden influx of human activity. In pressured areas this reaction usually comes in the form of altering movement patterns or most often by turning nocturnal.
2. In most areas of the country the foliage is gone by the time the rut phases begin, so during post season you will be looking at your hunting area just as it will be during the rut phases.
3. When setting up locations you see exactly what background cover you have, if any. This should dictate how high up the tree you need to set-up.
4. Other hunter sign such as scars on trees from climbers, shooting lanes, and scars on the ground from bait is also easier to identify prior to new growth. In heavily hunted areas, other hunter activity will influence deer activity and movement patterns more than any other factor, PERIOD!!!!

If you have access to the Internet, print an aerial photo and topographic picture of yours and the immediate surrounding properties in the largest magnification possible. While aerial photos are always taken in the summer, when combined with the topographical maps they will offer an overview of the area and help locate funnels, water, points, timber, crop fields, ridges, saddles, etc., some of which can be difficult to recognize from ground level.

The photos and maps of the surrounding property should aid in knowing where and why deer cross the property line.

While I would never consider pre-season scouting or hunting without knee high rubber boots, an activated Scent Lok suit (jacket, pants, headcover, and gloves) and a scent-adsorbing backpack, at this time of year (6 to 8 months prior to season) they are not required.

Once on foot focus your attention on the following sign for stand locations: primary scrape areas, funnels between bedding areas, funnels between bedding and feeding areas, fruit and mast trees, rub lines, convergence points of two or more runways, and water in areas with minimal water sources.

I define a primary scrape area as a group of several ground scrapes in a somewhat open area. They are most commonly found near a preferred food source with concentrated doe activity. While the ground scrapes are made by bucks, each scrape will have one to several overhanging licking branches that are socially scent marked by does and bucks with their saliva, preorbital, nasal, and forehead glands.

If setting up in a large scrape area, set up near the scrape with the most utilized licking branches because it is likely being revisited the most. Keep in mind that in pressured areas scrape areas must offer perimeter cover for daytime visits, thus reducing common perimeter scrapes around short crop fields as hunting locations.

Funnels or pinch points are narrow areas of cover between two or more destination areas. Funnels between bedding areas are excellent locations during the rut phases when bucks cruise their core areas searching for receptive does. I have found that in heavily hunted areas this cruising activity usually takes place between 11am and 3 pm.

Funnels between bedding and feeding areas can be hunted during the entire season. Keep in mind that crop rotations, and fruit and mast production may alter deer traffic to an area that had little traffic last fall.

Fruit and mast trees such as apple, oak, or whatever grows in your region must be noted and checked later in the year for production. When these trees produce and are located within cover they will usually be visited prior to entering exposed crop fields, and prior to bedding down in the morning. These trees can be hunted throughout the entire season.

Follow rub lines that offer cover in both directions. If a rub line enters a bedding area and the buck survived, he will likely follow the same route next season. Re-check it prior to season for fresh rubs and if found set up as close to the bedding area as possible and hunt it within the first couple days. In pressured areas, after a couple days of season, other hunter pressure will likely turn mature bucks nocturnal until the rut phases at which time they alter their movement patterns to doe traffic areas.

Whenever a pre-season trip is required to confirm food production or any other activity an activated Scent Lok suit, gloves, and clean rubber boots are required to keep human odor to an absolute minimum.

Check water sources in areas without creeks, rivers, and wet swamps. On two occasions I have discovered remote water sources surrounded by scrape activity because they had an abundance of doe activity. During warm weather conditions deer can frequent water at any time of day if the source offers sufficient perimeter cover for daytime activity.

Check any points of cover that protrude into tall weed or crop fields. It is common for mature does and bucks in pressured areas to utilize the best available cover before entering fields where they feel vulnerable. The best location I ever hunted was a narrow draw protruding into a crop field. When the field was in standing corn the bucks felt comfortable moving along its edge during daylight hours due to the security cover of the corn, and laced its edges with scrapes.

At this time of year bedding areas should be thoroughly scrutinized. Bedding areas often have interior terrain features that are hubs for rut activity. If such an area is discovered, set it up and do not return until the rut to hunt it.

In pressured areas it is common to hunt small fragmented parcels anywhere from 5 to 40 acres in size and if there is a bedding area and you do not hunt in it a couple times during the rut phases, you are making a big mistake. Quite often these areas are the only places where a mature buck will be vulnerable moving during daylight hours. Make sure you commit to an all day hunt and be in your tree a minimum of an hour and a half prior to first light and stay until dark. By doing this you will not spook deer with your entry or exit to neighboring properties.

The majority of TV shows and videos are filmed on exclusive micro-managed property where other hunters are a non-issue. Always be on the lookout for other hunter sign. In pressured areas knowing where other hunters are hunting is often more important than locating movement patterns. You may set up on the best sign in the world, but if there are other hunters nearby, there is an excellent chance that the sign you set-up on was made during the security of darkness.

When scouting state land in my heavily hunted home state of Michigan, I have one standing rule. If I can access a location by walking in an upright position, I will not set it up. Locations are only set-up where most other hunters refuse to go. Access to these types of areas will usually require waders, hip boots, a canoe, a boat, or crawling on my hands and knees through brush.

The simple fact is that as we attempt to pattern and hunt mature deer, they pattern and avoid us. Thus, understanding average hunter behavior, and how that behavior affects deer movements is vital to success. The truth is that mature deer are far better at avoiding us than we are at getting close to them.

Note all pertinent information about other hunters locations, such as how high are they hunting, are they in a good location, does their location in the tree offer adequate cover, do they have proper shooting lanes, do they use bait, and how much attention has the hunter paid to detail. Is the stand on the edge of a short crop field, which is very common since that is what hunters read about and see on TV and in videos.  Are they hunting a singular travel route, or simply plopped down in the middle of the woods somewhere?

You should be able to estimate the competence level of other hunters by their locations and adjust your seasonal and daily timing around them. For instance, if the stands are on the field edges, the hunters are actually helping you by causing the mature deer to spend more time within cover and bettering your chances.

As you scout and set-up locations mark your aerial photos or draw maps with notes so that you have a foundation on paper for a plan of attack. Just as any successful business endeavor requires a plan, you should have a plan in place for each phase of the hunting season.

Other than some brief pre-season scouting for early season hunts, the vast majority of your scouting and tree preparation should be done for the year.

Have a great spring.

John Eberhart
Scent-Lok Contributing  Pro-Staff Writer

For more information from John Eberhart, check out www.Deer-John.net