First Scouting Trip of the Year

JTHOMP

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Messages
862
Location
Louisiana
I've been burning a hole in my computer screen every chance I get thinking about where I want to be hunting come October. Near the last weekend of October for rifle opener to be exact. The area I have been hunting the past 2 years has been good to me. However last season taught me it gets way more pressure coming from private land that I expected. And talking with a game warden yesterday, he confirmed that plus he told me of another access route people pay to use to get to the public parcel. Its a big chunk of land with plenty room to move around in, but once you access it you almost have to commit to hunting it due to how long it takes to get in it vs going back to the truck and go somewhere else. I knew going into this season I need more Plan B spots if I'm going to continue to be successful.

For anybody hunting in Southeast or maybe even some Northeast or Midwest places I HIGHLY recommend listening to the Southern Outdoors Podcast. I normally don't listen or watch much whitetail stuff. There's so much of it that I get burned out, and a lot of it is garbage. But a couple weeks ago I listened to an episode for the first time. From listening to the discussions between Andrew, Jacob, and their guests I have filled my onX with places I need to scout. They are a great source of information of how to put the pieces of the puzzle together to make a game plan for when and where to hunt. Where I was scouting was a few hours from the house. So I picked out an episode and hit the road.

Sunday morning I went to where I wanted to scout first. Come to find out the area was closed for military purposes. Biggest part of scouting is determining where not to hunt, right? Started driving to another area I had previously marked. After I got out of the closed area I noticed that some nearby terrain features on the map fit the bill for areas they were just talking about that bucks like to bed. Parked the truck and started walking. It didn't take long before I was finding last year's rubs. This area had been heavily thinned since those rubs were made. I suspect with how open the edge of the cut over is, it won't hold many deer since it's not thick. But once it thickens up again over the next few years it should be a good spot to hunt.

I kept scouting that drainage looking for thickets in the area. The woods were open and I could see 100yds give or take. Eventually I noticed a bright green patch through the timber where the canopy opened. That's what I want to see. Bumped a doe and a fawn near by it. Saw a fair amount of deer and pig tracks in the area, but nothing to really get excited about it. Checked another patch of pines adjacent to the bottom, but the stand was more mature and not good bedding. Made a loop back to the truck, and headed for another area.

On the way there, there was a game warden parked. He gave me some information on the military area as well as some other info on what to expect from private land pressure which made me reconsider a couple spots. I had enough time to check out another area before going home. The walk would be about a 4 mile loop from the truck around a large beaver pond and the adjacent bottoms. I was hoping to find deer sign where maybe they would be crossing on or behind one of the dams, or sign that they are bedding within some of the thick stuff within the pond. Saw 2 old rubs in all of that time. While skirting the edge of the pond I heard pigs grunting. The grass was so thick there was no way I could get close without making noise. So I figured I would grunt like a pig and make my way towards them. Had my winder checker in hand the whole time. The air was completely stagnant. I was able to get within 5-7 yards of the pigs. Not sure how many or what sizes they were. I could see the tall grasses moving above them, and finally caught a glimpse of black. At that time my scent must have drifted to them and they busted me. I had videoed myself grunting and slipping through the grass. Listening to it I have a had time telling the difference between mine and their grunts. So maybe I convinced the pigs as well until their nose told them otherwise.

Can't wait to be back there Labor Day weekend. I'll have a lot more time to scout other areas, and hopefully kill a few pigs since dove and nutria season will be open. Here's a few photos I found interesting during the trip.

Squirrel cuttings under a long leaf pine. I've never seen so many cuttings. The photo doesn't do it justice.
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Cypress tree that has been aged and documented to be alive at the time of the Louisiana purchase. Still trying to find more information on it.
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I hate giant banana spiders and their sticky paracord webs. But I appreciated this one taking out a horse fly I was swatting at.
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