Scouting a New Property
 

Have access to a new quarter of land for deer this fall. I'm in the area later today and going to do a preliminary scout of it. Check out access and trails.
I'm hoping the snow level has dropped that sheds will be fairly obvious. I've never found a shed in good condition, so I am hopeful something may be there.
Going to plant a couple cameras and see what up.
I've always been a crown land guy, so having this opportunity is pretty exciting!

Congrats on a great get. Exciting for sure. Good luck on the sheds but the cams will tell the tale. Watch for the active trials in the snow, most likely be the same ones they travel all year.

I have also been a crown land guy until I started helping friends develop an old mobile home site for camping back when covid came along. Its a 30 year old abandoned farm property that they inherited. A quarter of bush surrounding 2 inner fields that are rented out, a waterbody on one side, hay field on the other. Truly WT deer heaven. 2 seasons in the deer blind so far and the property/area is full of deer that have a great age range. Some of the smaller 5 points on cam 3 years ago are going to be real nice shooters soon. A couple are going to be real big if they survive a couple more years. It's hard to let them walk by the blind lol.

Having exclusive access is sweet too. Hope your new access turns out as sweet as mine did.

What part of the world are you asking about? Here we have had a LOT of snow and I fear its going to be hard on the deer population.

I gather it will not be a good season for the Antelope down south this year either . I thing I will 999 it again .

Last year was awesome, because many migrate to Montana it depends a lot on what’s happening there.

LC

Google earth, get a look from above, walk the entire land, look for last seasons sign, rubs etc
Game cams and time spent will pay off.

Well, the county did not plow the access road in, so I had to walk a lot farther than I anticipated and did not get in the property as far as I wanted. Had to trek through varying depths of wet snow (it was raining on and off up there too), 6"-14" in the grass.
That being said, tracks all over the place, deer, moose, saw some grouse even. I did determine I will be able to drive right in, and probably park a trailer at the entrance for longer scouting days. Probably even room for some buddies.
Set up a couple cams. I'll head back in late March when the snow is mostly gone with the quad and delve deeper.
At least now I have first hand sight of the terrain and can project what the balance of the property looks like from Google Earth.

Wait a month or two before pounding the bush.

You’ll find more sheds, and you won’t be stressing the game out either.

Only a couple deer on my cell cams show antlers dropping anyways, deer dropping antlers pre February isn’t a great sign of deer health btw.

I'm always surprised how people over complicate these things. Deer, like all other animals , have basic needs, look for places that fill them.

Grizz

How good do you want it to be? Last year would have been a great year, there’s no huge snows down south yet this year and if there isn’t then it’ll be another good year.

Personally I like to wait till April to truly scout the snow is mostly gone but new vegetation has not sprouted so last ruts scraps are easy to locate. The lack of green up makes it easier to spot old old rubs and when leaves first sprout the old rubs often take longer to sprout leaves too

I hunt public land so yes I drive and check for general areas but too early to really stomp around

Why bring buddies to your new found honey hole? Great way to have friends of friends out in the area. Keep your footprint small so as not to chase them over to the next quarter. Find the trails and set up your cams off of them. Check them periodically but not over check them.
WDF

Collected pictures from my cams. Lots of does and coyotes, and whatever this is....
Thoughts, guesses? I think beaver...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...df2780ff0e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...9d83354ffa.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a3880132e2.jpg

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I was hoping for most of the snow to be gone by now, nope.
Even harder walking, the crust wasn't strong enough to hold me up, and still knee deep under. Exhausting!

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