My son and I have been doing desk scouting and identified some areas that look promising for deer. This will be our first year hunting so we're pretty green, but learning fast.
We've hit the ground in three places in the past few weeks. Just trying to touch on them to see where we should be spending our time. Two of the areas are confirmed by non-hunters I know to have deer. So we looked for prints, trails, rubs, droppings, etc. but found absolutely nothing. These areas are overrun with hikers and campers right now, so I guess I'm not really surprised.
However, the third area had tracks everywhere along the roads, and I found a couple of what I think are decent trails. Beyond the roads it's thick brush, too thick to get very far off the roads in most places. There don't seem to be any real good glassing spots. But I'm thinking this spot is worth more attention, so I'd like recommendations on what we should be doing when we go back to spend more time there. I'd like to put up a trail cam or two to get an idea of what's around and see movement patterns, but there are no trees to attach them to. Anyone have advise on how to set up a cam with no trees? Also, I have heard that deer move from higher to lower ground in the colder months and can just vanish if scouting is done in warmer months. I'd hate to spend time here and have that happen. But this is already fairly low elevation so Is it wrong to assume they might actually just hang around? Since access is so easy we'll plan to be in position on opening day. I highly doubt we are the only ones eyeing this spot.
I'd greatly appreciate any advise on what we should be focusing on and what strategy we should be using in this kind of terrain. Thanks!
We've hit the ground in three places in the past few weeks. Just trying to touch on them to see where we should be spending our time. Two of the areas are confirmed by non-hunters I know to have deer. So we looked for prints, trails, rubs, droppings, etc. but found absolutely nothing. These areas are overrun with hikers and campers right now, so I guess I'm not really surprised.
However, the third area had tracks everywhere along the roads, and I found a couple of what I think are decent trails. Beyond the roads it's thick brush, too thick to get very far off the roads in most places. There don't seem to be any real good glassing spots. But I'm thinking this spot is worth more attention, so I'd like recommendations on what we should be doing when we go back to spend more time there. I'd like to put up a trail cam or two to get an idea of what's around and see movement patterns, but there are no trees to attach them to. Anyone have advise on how to set up a cam with no trees? Also, I have heard that deer move from higher to lower ground in the colder months and can just vanish if scouting is done in warmer months. I'd hate to spend time here and have that happen. But this is already fairly low elevation so Is it wrong to assume they might actually just hang around? Since access is so easy we'll plan to be in position on opening day. I highly doubt we are the only ones eyeing this spot.
I'd greatly appreciate any advise on what we should be focusing on and what strategy we should be using in this kind of terrain. Thanks!