You can see the broken branches overhanging this social scrape.

Well, I have heard many great deer hunters say that they scout almost as much as they actually hunt throughout the season.  I don’t think I am doing it on purpose, but it seems the couple of times I have had the chance to get out in the woods (other than my trip in Kansas) have been during the midday.  So, I’ve been following the philosophy of mucho scouting = (hopefully) mucho success.

On Friday, I had 2 hours in the afternoon and went and ground-truthed a couple of other public land spots that I have been eyeing.  I re-visited one honeyhole to check on the oak tree situation - acorns are raining!

Second spot, I found a couple well-worn trails working their way out of a thick cutover into a hardwood/powerline edge.  Using my folding saw, I knocked a couple saplings down and got 2 spots ready for ambush there.

On my third walk, I hiked in about 1/2 mile and started to see deer sign everywhere…and not just tracks.  I found some good-sized cedar trees that had been rubbed (3-4″ diameter) and a solid scrape line consisting of 7-10 scrapes.  All being actively used, and all being used fresh.  That spot may have to wait until muzzleloader season comes in on Saturday for the eastern region of deer season. 

With the weather changing and my thesis nearing completion (about a week and a half left), I’ll be in the woods much more than the first 3 weeks of deer season so far, and I think I have a couple good spots scouted!