Once you’ve found some “public hunting land near me,” (see part 1 of our public land 101 series where we address that HERE) the question becomes, “how do I know exactly where to set up?” When you look at a vast area, this is complex and its many times difficult to determine where to put a stand or blind. However, there is one basic thing that can help you more than any other to start having success seeing and possibly taking deer – scouting.
This isn’t an in-depth guide on exact locations to target or times of year to target them, but gives some principles to help you gather the data you need to then determine where to set up to hunt. Scouting cannot be underestimated as the key factor to determine your success, and should happen all year round. Here is how to look at it and categorize areas as low, medium, or high odds places to target a new public land area near you.
STEP 1: Off-Season Scouting: Look for what they DID.
Winter and spring are great times to get out and see sign from the previous season. Looking for old rubs, scrapes, bedding, and food sources will help you know how deer historically use the land, and also predict how they will use it in the future. Take notes and try to figure out what times of year deer left the sign you are seeing, so you can also target it at the same time next year. This data can help you drastically narrow down the best and worst areas – effectively removing large swaths of land from your map. Deer are creatures of habit, so what they DID, will largely be what they will DO. Capitalize on this.
STEP 2: Mid-Summer Scouting: Look for what is THERE.
Summer deer can be easily viewed in fields many times, and are not as wary as later in the fall. This allows you to easily glass them from roads and far off observation points. You can also start putting out non-intrusive trail cameras at these locations to maximize your observations 24/7. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is where they will be during hunting season, but use this intel to tell you what kind of deer are in the area. Some will relocate as summer turns to fall, but some will stick around and you’ll also know which areas generally have good bucks and which don’t. This helps narrow down your area of focus, getting you closer to “where to exactly hunt.” (For more on APPROACHES to public land hunting, get our free guide HERE)
STEP 3: Pre-Season Scouting: Look for what they are DOING.
So you have some ideas of bucks you’d like to target from summer observations, but a few weeks before season these patterns may shift due to bachelor group breakup and food sources changing. Now is the time to get last-minute scouting and intel on particular bucks you’ve been seeing from your mid-summer scouting, and try to identify their patterns right now. What is their preferred food source? How are they coming and going to it? This alone can tell you exactly where to setup the first few days of season to potentially fill a tag. (Read more about how to kill a buck day 1 of season HERE).
STEP 4: During-Season Scouting: Look for how they are CHANGING.
As season goes, deer change behaviors due to food, hunting pressure, and breeding. The trick is to stay ahead of them, not behind them. Historic intel you collected in step 1 can help with this, and also scouting that happens during hunting season.
Most hunters spend way too much time hunting limited to no sign, and therefore have little success due to this. The key is scouting more, hunting less. Finding current sign like hot scrapes, fresh rubs, and fresh tracks to indicate current deer movement and stay with or ahead of them is vital to know where to hunt them and have being in the right spot on “public hunting land near me.”
One major trap hunters face is creating hunting pressure. So how do you hunt your new public land hunting spots without ruining them, and also avoid other hunters doing the same? Our next post will be about how to avoid this trap, and accessing public hunting land near me.
For specific help where you hunt, consider a strategic hunting analysis with Adam. Both virtual and in-person options are available – inquire about that HERE!
