Early Scouting - Countdown 'till August

[YosemiteSam]

I took my son up to my primary hunting spot yesterday & setup a trail cam.  Our season starts mid August so I'm only 11 weeks away from chasing deer again.  It's early to be scouting but since I can only get up once a month at most to this spot (2-hour drive), I need to setup the camera early.  The roads are open and the deer are back in earnest after their migration out.  We saw a doe cross the road just as we got out of the truck.  Ever since I followed their migration trail for a couple miles in fresh powder last fall, I've been wanting to visit these spots again to see what's moving & when.  This was my first opportunity.  Most of the bushes haven't even leafed out yet and the meadows were only starting to green up.  There were even a few, scattered patches of snow around. 

We started just above where I first discovered their migration trail last fall.  I circled around & above, up where a thick pine wood rises out of a boggy meadow.  We immediately found some fresh deer trails following the same route out of the meadow & started following them into the woods.  Not 50 yards into our hike, we jumped a deer (9 year-olds aren't very quiet).  I think there was some fuzz on the top of its head but it was moving pretty fast.  Maybe it was just ears.  Maybe it was a forkie in velvet.  Possibly, it was the spike that I saw so many times last season (now with a little more up top).  Tough to say.  But it's a heck of a start.

We followed that trail to where that deer was standing & found a good spot to setup the camera.  The camera now looks over 2 intersecting trails that both come out of the edge of the meadow.  We looked around at possible ambush sites, routes of travel & I was amazed at how much recent activity there was.  I can't help but think of all the angles I won't see.  But it's still more than I'll see at home.

If all goes well, I'll try to share some camera pics as I get them.  I know there are plenty of foxes & lions in the area so it should be fun to see what walks by over the next month.

[Bowguy67]

Idk anything about your area but back here it’s too early. Crops are just starting, grasses and weeds are blooming and flowering, the nut trees will be dropping by prob Aug somewhat. It’s changes too much. The information we gained now might help but not much.
We start early Sept. I don’t start til a month before and I do so not with a camera. By walking oak ridges and looking up for trees bearing nuts. I know which trees are preferred and which are secondary. I’ll check fields for crops like corn or bean, freshly harvested cornfields can be great, green beans are also real good.
My point is in scouting preseason it’s not where they are that matters, it’s where they’re going to be based on different factors. Food being a very big one. June is much different around here than mid Aug.
sept different than Aug but by planning your hunt by strategizing where they’re gonna go come season you’ll be ahead of someone who knows where they were in June. Jmo and something to think about

[Wannabe1]

Good luck this season. Hope it all pans out for you and look forward to some trail cam pics!

[sneakybow]

Idk anything about your area but back here it’s too early. Crops are just starting, grasses and weeds are blooming and flowering, the nut trees will be dropping by prob Aug somewhat. It’s changes too much. The information we gained now might help but not much.
We start early Sept. I don’t start til a month before and I do so not with a camera. By walking oak ridges and looking up for trees bearing nuts. I know which trees are preferred and which are secondary. I’ll check fields for crops like corn or bean, freshly harvested cornfields can be great, green beans are also real good.
My point is in scouting preseason it’s not where they are that matters, it’s where they’re going to be based on different factors. Food being a very big one. June is much different around here than mid Aug.
sept different than Aug but by planning your hunt by strategizing where they’re gonna go come season you’ll be ahead of someone who knows where they were in June. Jmo and something to think about

Out west where we are the deer are gonna be where they are in August at this time of year.  Only thing that might change is a few hundred feet of elevation after the snow melts off. Muleys are nothing like whitetails when it comes to patterning them.  I grew up in Tennessee,  never paid much attention to trail cam pics other than to see what made it through the season before.  I did a scouting trip here last night and this morning to try out some new gear and check out my unit.  Was good to lay eyes on a few deer and a cow moose.

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[Bowguy67]

Well like I said I know nothing of them. I’d think crops/food sources would change but idk the cycles. Just seems so early. Maybe not from what you’re saying. Best of luck w em.

[sneakybow]

Well like I said I know nothing of them. I’d think crops/food sources would change but idk the cycles. Just seems so early. Maybe not from what you’re saying. Best of luck w em.

Trust me, I don't know much about em either from looking at the past few years! Tag soup is getting old

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[YosemiteSam]

Well like I said I know nothing of them. I’d think crops/food sources would change but idk the cycles. Just seems so early. Maybe not from what you’re saying. Best of luck w em.

Trust me, I don't know much about em either from looking at the past few years! Tag soup is getting old

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Pretty much the same here.  Giving myself permission to use the rifle this year if I fail to get something during the archery season.

Pattern-wise, yes, it's early.  But the deer I saw were basically in the same spots I saw deer last year from Aug until late Oct.  It's all pre-rut hunting here, too.  So we hunt bachelor bucks in velvet during the archery season.  By rut, the rifle season is already over.  It's CA's way of keeping the success rates down, I guess.  5% success is just too high for some people.

[sneakybow]

Well like I said I know nothing of them. I’d think crops/food sources would change but idk the cycles. Just seems so early. Maybe not from what you’re saying. Best of luck w em.

Trust me, I don't know much about em either from looking at the past few years! Tag soup is getting old

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Pretty much the same here.  Giving myself permission to use the rifle this year if I fail to get something during the archery season.

Pattern-wise, yes, it's early.  But the deer I saw were basically in the same spots I saw deer last year from Aug until late Oct.  It's all pre-rut hunting here, too.  So we hunt bachelor bucks in velvet during the archery season.  By rut, the rifle season is already over.  It's CA's way of keeping the success rates down, I guess.  5% success is just too high for some people.

I used to live and work in Yosemite.  Never hunted while I was there,  too much of a hassle since I couldn't have any kind of weapons in the Park. I just rode motorcycles instead.  You guys can start early in the northern zones can't you?

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[YosemiteSam]

The coastal zone opens in July & closes just after Labor Day. The rut starts early there, too. I’ve seen bucks chasing does from Labor Day all the way through thanksgiving. But I’m staying out of there this year. I need a break from all that poison oak. I’m going to miss my week of solitude down there this year.

Sneakybow- What kind of work did you do in the Park, if I may ask?

[sneakybow]

I did desserts and pastries at the Ahwahnee,  before they went all crazy with renaming everything.  I still call it the Ahwahnee,  can't bring myself to call it anything else.

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