Post/Pre season Scouting.

Scouting!

 My scouting has began!

So I stared my post 2013/2014 pre-season scouting a couple weeks ago.. I like to use the Snow and the lack of leaf cover to locate key features that other wise disappear or are much harder to locate later in the year.

A friend and I were able to get permission to hunt on some new land this year, so we have been learning what we can. 

The property is around 50 ac. So not knowing what to expect and with snow on the ground we hit the woods.. Nothing beats, boots on the ground seeing the sign with your own eye's..So armed with GPS, & Cell phones we hit the woods to learn what we could...

 After a couple of hour of wondering the woods and collecting data, I was able to put together a map of this new property. I have found maps like this to be key to my hunting success. With a family of five and working a full-time job I don't always get a lot of time in the woods, so I use the time I am in the woods to create maps for planning my upcoming season or hunts...

I create maps like this for all the properties I hunt. I GPS all major trails, bedding areas, food source, and potential stand locations. 

 

With the snow this time of year it brings to light deer trails not always seen with out it..I use the snow to help locate funnels and bedding areas that I may other wise miss. I create most of my digital maps using my Garmin E-trex, I will record tracts with my GPS.  I also recently downloaded Trimble's GPS hunt App and found it quite functional. I am only using the free version of trimble's App and seams to work just fine.. I only wish i could down load from it...

My next step...

"Trail cam's, us them don't abuse them"

 Now that I have a grasp of the lay of the land I plan to put Trail cam's out and see what all lives in the new woods. I don't have cam's out yet but hope to in the next couple weeks..

I use trail cam's until  Mid to early Sept. and will take them down not using them again until mid to late Oct...  When I started using trail cam's I learned quickly not to hunt trail cam's.  I use them to view animals in and around the property but I don't always hunt the locations I have my camera placed...The first couple years after starting to use trail cam's I used cam's all season long and solely hunted the areas I had set my cameras and in the end didn't fill a tag that year where my camera was seeing deer.  I think that year because of the high activity involved with placing and checking cam's regularly the deer avoided that area more and more while becoming more night visitors...  Once I put my cam's out i'll post some pic's of my findings...

As much as Technology can help us be more successful, it still takes true woodsmen-ship to make a successful hunter.