PEAX Equipment

Summer Scouting

Idhikker

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Sep 11, 2017
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219
If you had a mid September high country deer hunt, how valuable do you think July and August scouting would be? Do the deer you've hunted stay patternable or at least in the vicinity?

My experience is a bit of a mixed bag though I'd venture to guess summer scouting has some value and deer stay nearby if not in the wide open up high after mid September in the majority of cases.
 
I’d definitely do an August trip. By that time you can pick out if a deer will be a shooter or not for you. In my experience they tend to stay in the same areas, although once they drop velvet they’ll be much tougher to hunt as they don’t tend to feed as long during the day. I think an August scout trip would give you a good idea of the quality of deer in your area
 
Agree with MTHunter. Still definitely valuable to scout in July and August. Buddies that have drawn 44 have had very good luck doing this with bucks not moving far, if at all, from July and August scouting.

My experience (heavily pressured OTC) has been as soon as they get hard horned it's like a light switch, only feeding during daylight for maybe 30 minutes a day. I still don't think they move far by 9/15, but I just can't seem to turn them up during late August and early Sept. They're there I'm pretty sure, I just can't find them. Late June is my favorite time to scout, might not be the most productive, but it's the most fun.
 
Absolutely worth scouting. I agree with previous posts in that they change habits dramatically once the velvet comes off. How far they move depends largely on how much frost burns out their feed sources. They will also become more nocturnal and bed in much tighter cover.
 
I think it is good to visit your hunting grounds regularly. You can learn a lot about your game habits in the off season, even if it changes during hunting season.
 
On this topic, I listened to a very good podcast on Eastman Elevated with Stephen Rosso tonight. He scouted a buck in August in Western Wyoming and shot it around the rifle opener. Scouting is huge for those guys over there. Thanks for the comments. I do think it's harder after they rub their horns.
 
I do subscribe heavily to pre-opener scouting, if that's all the time you have. Like Randy is always talking about trading hunt days for scouting days if your limited on time. The 3 days prior to the hunt is real time data.
 
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