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Trophy Deer Hunting Tip #1
By: Frank DeVito
The best time to scout an area is in the spring the temperature and weather is
usually at it's best and hiking up and down mountains is still something you can
actually enjoy with sweating every ounce of fluid out of you body. Also the
foliage is just starting to come in so you have a much better view of the
terrain in most cases. Now I'm really not looking for deer during my spring deer
scouting. I know that the chances that they would be in the same area all
year long is slim to none. What I am looking for is what I like to call buck
history. I'm looking for signs that the deer leave during the ruts and also
during the cold winter months.
I like to try and find out what trees the deer's may have been rubbing. If I can
find several good rubs I know that when fall rolls around the deer are probably
going to be coming by these trees again. I'm also looking for sheds. I've had
times where I have found a couple of antler sheds within a close proximity of
each other. These sheds are all the proof that I need that the deer where here
last winter and next winter when a cold spell hits the area they will most
likely come back.
I also like to find areas that offer late season hunts where there's a real good
chance that a cold spell will hit and maybe even a good dose of snow. Once this
happens the deer will immediately start migrating towards their winter grounds.
In Idaho you have some great opportunities in November and in Colorado during the
3rd and 4th season hunts.
I have so many friends that hardly do any scouting at all. They think they now
the areas and don't need to scout anymore. I have to admit that some of them do
but most would be much more successful harvesting that trophy buck if they
just spent a little more time in the woods scouting. They usually go ahead and
hit their favorite spot and if the deer aren't there they spend the next two
days trying to scout and figure out where they might be. If you only have a
couple of days to hunt a year this really decreases you changes of harvesting
that trophy deer.
By going out early I'm more familiar with the lay of the land and can better
adapt to changes. Also we've all seen how progress, if you want to call it that
cuts in on our valuable hunting spaces. I've seen spots that only a couple of
years ago where full of deer but do to changes in the environment, new homes and
naturally or unnatural changes have caused the deer to move to another
area.
Last but not lease it's a great time to take your kids out into the woods. They
love to scout and the extra set of eyes and ears don't hurt a bit.
Good luck and great hunting.
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