(A) 14 Step Season Prep: Step 4- Post Season Scouting and Shed Hunting

Okay, so we have pulled down our stands or moved them to better locations. You have already initiated the scouting process. By using the knowledge that you learned last year, while sitting in last seasons stand locations, we have learned something more about deer movement. In Step #3 you should have scouted around your old tree stand locations to move the stand to a better tree or pulled the stand from an unproductive area. Now comes the time for exploration. I really enjoy scouting and shed hunting because they can tell me what I have been missing the previous season. So let's talk about both of these subjects and how they relate to each other.

1. Time to stir up the woods: Do you know where all of the bedding areas are on your property? Do you know where the trails are located that lead from bed to feed? Where are the transition areas that deer use to travel from bed to feed? Where are the buck staging areas located that deer use waiting to enter your food sources? Don't feel disappointed if you don't know the answer to all of these questions. However, you will be more successful and confident if you spend the time to research the answers. Now is the perfect time because there is no vegetation in the woods, the days are a little warmer, football season is over, and the NCAA basketball tournament is a few weeks away. Get outside and start walking, but don't just look for obvious deer trails. Let's discuss some of the things I try look for.

2. Feeding areas: This is always an easy place to start. Walk just inside the field edges and look for trails coming into the fields. Usually this will be on the inside corner of the field but walk the whole perimeter. Try to think like a deer and how they will access the field, feel the most comfortable eating out in the open, and where the best shadows will likely occur (deer feel safer eating in the shadows before dark). Tree stands in this area should be used primarily for early and late season when deer concentrate on food sources. However, you can also place observatory stands a safe distance to food sources so you don't tip deer off. There should be bedding areas in close proximity to the food source that deer will use once the vegetation returns. As you start working back into the woods, searching for bedding areas and transition areas, pay attention for other potential food sources. For example, if you find white oak trees clumped together on a ridge top, you have found an alternative feeding area.

3. Bedding areas: Where are the does and bucks likely to bed during the early season? As previously stated, they will not usually bed together but will both be in close proximity to the feeding areas. Concentrate on thick cover within a couple hundred yards of the the food sources. When it is hot in early season (September), deer usually don't travel far unless they are pressured. Mature bucks like to use ravines and creek bottoms because they generally stay cooler this time of year. Once you have located these areas, it is time to focus on the bedding areas that deer will use during the rut. I like to concentrate on thick bedding areas located further away from the food sources. I do this because once the vegetation is minimized, deer usually travel further to reach better bedding areas for security cover. These will be the bedding areas that does use once the leaves drop in the woods. Does also like these areas to hide from the constant buck harassment they encounter during the rut. A mature buck will be checking downwind of these bedding areas often. However, if you have something like a cedar thicket close to a food source, with very minimal pressure, you may have a great all season bedding area!

4. Transition areas: These are the areas that can be spectacular hunting areas because deer use them constantly. You can also usually slip in or out of these areas easily to access stand locations. This is where I like to concentrate my search while looking for heavily used trails. Once I have determined my regular food sources and bedding areas, I simply find the best intersection of trails that bring them together. I like to hunt transition areas most of the time for a couple of reasons. Transition areas keep you safely away from bumping deer in their bedding areas and don't alert deer to hunting pressure once they are out in the fields feeding. Yet, they still need the transition areas to get from point A to point B. Give these areas a try this season.

5. Staging areas: These areas are usually located 50-100 yards from the feeding areas. Mature bucks will usually use these areas waiting for the sun to go down before entering the fields. If the deer herd is pressured, all of them may browse in staging areas until night fall. Staging areas are excellent places for afternoon hunts, especially during early season. In fact, I feel more confident hunting mature bucks in staging areas instead of sitting over food plots. However, I have not experienced great success hunting staging areas in the mornings. If you have, I would like to hear about your experiences.

6. Shed Hunting: As you scout to learn your hunting property keep your eyes open for deer sheds. You never know where you will find them. I have found sheds in fields, CRP grass, bedding thickets and next to out buildings. Sheds can tell you what deer made it through the winter or what deer you have living on your property that your trail cameras missed. Although shed hunting is fun for me, I prefer to concentrate my time in the woods on learning how the deer live there. If I happen to stumble across a shed, that is just an added bonus. However, there are occasions that I strictly concentrate on shed hunting. My family loves to be outdoors. So, I can use this opportunity in the spring to take my family out in the woods and search for sheds. The kids love it, they get very excited and have a sense of accomplishment when they find a shed antler. To be honest, if things are slow shed hunting, sometimes I place previously found sheds ahead of my kids to make the trip more successful for them. When you have completed your shed hunts, try to match up the sheds and see if the same deer is living on your farm from last year. I know of two farmers that live a mile away from each other. They each found one side of shed antlers. A couple of years later, they were talking about the sheds they had each found (obviously belonging to the same deer). When they put each side together, they had the sheds scored, finding the deer would have scored well over 200". I saw these sheds personally and it is hard to describe the size of this rack. I wish I would have taken a picture of them.

7. Additional things to look for: If your hunting property has hills or varied terrain, you can use that to your advantage. Look for benches on the sides of ridges or saddles going over a ridge. The points of ridges are also excellent ambush locations. Also look for points extending out into fields. Regardless of terrain, you should also scout creek crossings, funnels, pinch points, tree lines, water sources and edges where the vegetation density makes a change. To learn more about topography, read Brad Herndon's book "Mapping Trophy Bucks".

So, get out in the woods by yourself for some scouting and with your family for some shed hunting. The deer have dropped their antlers and you can see a long ways in the woods. Scout and learn various aspects of your property. If you have a big farm or numerous farms, take notes after scouting so you don't forget any important details. Think about how you can make access to or from various tree stand locations when hunting bedding, transition, staging or feeding areas. Get on the inter-net and print off arial photographs of your hunting property. This will help to keep you oriented and clarify things on the property as you scout. Good luck and have fun!