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Scouting new land

Posted By: DGAMBLER

Scouting new land - 09/16/20 04:50 PM

What are your "go to's" for finding good places to hunt on a new property? I'm going to be hunting a large piece of property this year and I'm not sure where to start. I know to try and find deer sign, but what particular areas would ya'll look for and around?
Posted By: Out back

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 04:51 PM

I start with the most recent aerial I can find and look for transition areas.
Posted By: AU338MAG

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Out back
I start with the most recent aerial I can find and look for transition areas.

This. Always start with aerial photos and took maps. This will locate areas to scout on the ground.
Posted By: jmudler

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 06:12 PM

Let me add, scouting really starts the after hunting season.
Posted By: 2Dogs

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 06:26 PM

In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.
Posted By: Semo

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by 2Dogs
In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.
Posted By: Squadron77

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 06:57 PM

I always search for the edge or transition areas where something changes in the landscape. Where pines meet hardwood or an old CRP or old fence row. If it's pre rut I look for old logging roads where bucks love to make scrapes.
Posted By: TDog93

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 07:02 PM

And once u find your spots and develop - stay out until hunt season as much as possible - when I feed I usually try to between 11 and 1 or not prime time hunt times

My deer are always very relaxed acting opening weekend and that is my most consistent time to see a shooter
Posted By: General

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 07:13 PM

Aerial's are also a great way to identify funnels.
Posted By: Squadron77

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 07:50 PM

Originally Posted by General
Aerial's are also a great way to identify funnels.

Yes, cyber scouting is the new term these days. That is the quickest way to find places you want to walk and scout.
Posted By: DeerNutz0U812_

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by 2Dogs
In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.
In the flatlands its like dynamite.....
Posted By: Chiller

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 08:35 PM

1st and most important find a stump. Then pour Clorox on stump and hang camera. Deer will flock to stump and walk around like crack addicts. Next PM whild bill to help you build and maintain a deer sanctuary.... kidding aside look at aerials and topo maps for estimates. Then and most important put boots on and go scout. If it's a large tract then do small sections at a time. Absolutley nothing matches actually seeing it with your own eyes and taking notes. Take a compass
Posted By: CarbonClimber1

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 08:50 PM

I find big rock...bigggggg rock...i look at rock...poke rock with stick.....mmmmmm....good rock.....put corns on rock...i wait by rock...kill big deers
Posted By: GomerPyle

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by 2Dogs
In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.

what, specifically, are you looking for on topos for hill/mountain areas?
Posted By: Stickers

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 10:00 PM

EDGE. Deer are creatures of the edge/transition areas. Scout them with cameras, decide where to setup based on sun rise/set and predominate wind.
Posted By: 2Dogs

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by GomerPyle
Originally Posted by 2Dogs
In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.

what, specifically, are you looking for on topos for hill/mountain areas?


Structure, that being points, knobs, hog back ridges , saddles, anything that might be a pinch point. I'll then put boots on the ground , locating food, trails, possible bedding areas. edges and specific pinch points. Edges and pinch points are where you kill em.
Posted By: Semo

Re: Scouting new land - 09/16/20 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by 2Dogs
Originally Posted by GomerPyle
Originally Posted by 2Dogs
In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.

what, specifically, are you looking for on topos for hill/mountain areas?


Structure, that being points, knobs, hog back ridges , saddles, anything that might be a pinch point. I'll then put boots on the ground , locating food, trails, possible bedding areas. edges and specific pinch points. Edges and pinch points are where you kill em.


One big thing is looking at the adjacent topographical features and how they "flow into" the specific ridge you may be hunting. I like to look for saddles between two major ridge/point junctions that may have a bench below. Especially if the bench has some breaks just below the saddle which is actually a fairly common landform (due to water erosion) and 8f some adjacent ridges have points or hog backs that flow into that saddle break. If I see those things I'll definitely check it out on foot.

Obviously food and vegetative cover are super important, but if I'm hunting a homogeneous landscape the saddle is my first spot to check out.
Posted By: Whild_Bill

Re: Scouting new land - 09/17/20 03:44 AM

I guest hunt on a lot of properties I’ve never set foot on. I key in on food sources. But I don’t usually hunt in the actual food sourse then I will look at that food sourse and locate the trails leading to and fro cover and bedding. You can kill deer on the. Food sourse but if your looking for mature bucks you need t hunt closer to the beds. I like to walk creek beds and wet weather creeks to scout. It’s just my system and we just know what works for us. And I usually find a way to get an arrow in one if I want it. Once you find em then you got to get a plan to center pinch
Posted By: jbatey1

Re: Scouting new land - 09/17/20 03:51 AM

Originally Posted by 2Dogs
In hills and mountains I'll study a topo before I set foot on it. Aerials never helped me much.



This. I can look at a topo and tell you exactly what areas I want to look into well before I ever actually look into them. Only time I really use aerials are if I want to see what or where something like a cedar thicket or etc is.

Locating saddles, points, ridges etc and then finding edges and pinch points are alot of what I like.
Posted By: DGAMBLER

Re: Scouting new land - 09/17/20 02:30 PM

Thanks for the input guys, but it looks like I may need to wait a week or so and let things dry out before I go riding around on unfamiliar territory.
Posted By: FreeStateHunter

Re: Scouting new land - 09/17/20 02:39 PM

If you don't know how to hunt using topo maps this book helped me years ago (https://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Trop...+topo+book&qid=1600353512&sr=8-6). Once you read through and understand how to read the topo map for the purposes of scouting then when you get a new property you'll have 5-8 spots identified before you ever set foot on it.
Posted By: bassmaster95

Re: Scouting new land - 09/18/20 07:57 PM

The way I always go about it on a new place is go ahead and be ready to spend the day in the woods and put your good boots on. I start with the trails and look around for rubs and scrapes and the types of trees in the area. Acorns are your friend. Look for tracks, crap, pinch points and funnels. Find all that and you’ll find the deer
Posted By: Bamarich2

Re: Scouting new land - 09/19/20 04:21 PM

Google Dan Infalt and whitetail scouting. It’ll help you greatly.
Posted By: stkshtr

Re: Scouting new land - 09/22/20 01:42 PM

I look for water source. There are usually good trails that either cross or parallel them. Acorns usually will be good around the creeks as well.
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