I went out Saturday to scout a Raleigh property that I’ll be hunting during the archery season this fall.  The rain washed away all the old tracks on Friday and Saturday morning was the perfect time to check for fresh tracks and deer sign.  Sure enough, on just 25 acres, I found 6-8 sets of tracks laid down in the last 12 hours and bumped into 2 small does that were bedded just off a powerline. 

Native deer browse was abundant on the property and I am excited to see what it produces those first couple of weeks of archery season.  There is a pond on the property and off the back side of the dam was a little beaver pond (only about 10 feet across) just littered with deer tracks.  If it gets dry over the next month that could be a great ambush spot.

The most impressive forage sources were the numerous muscadine grapevines and patches of smooth and winged sumac.  Sumac leaves are fantastic deer browse and the fruit when ripe attracts everything from raccoons to black bears to songbirds to white-tailed deer.  A great wildlife food that many hunters often overlook.  You’ll find sumac most often along powerlines and other early successional disturbances - maybe an overgrown field. 

End result - a successful scouting trip.  Got to see a few deer, find some great early season food sources, locate an isolated waterhole in cover, and mark a few trees that I’ll be shimmying up with my climbing stand….all on 25 acres.