New public land scouting thoughts

[RWP]

Hey Gang,

With my first post on here, I have a question or discussion rather. I spent the first part of the years counting public land in Oklahoma however, due to some changes we are moving back to missouri so I am changing my game plan up a bit and I am now looking at some public land in Missouri. Since I am a little late to the party, I will primarily be scouting virtually although I will be spending some time boots on the ground but I don’t want to disturb the areas too much. I have added a marked up pic of one of the areas I am looking at. I ha e some ideas but curious what others with more experience than me think about what I have marked and what I have most certainly missed.

[J. Holden]

I'll just start by prefacing I'm no expert deer hunter.  That piece of ground you have looks great too!  I see your red squares are all on the North side of the creek running thru that property.  I'm not sure how deep it is, or how safe it would be, but you may want to investigate crossing the creek/river.  I'm guessing that quite a few hunters will stay on the North side as well.

Second I'd see what crops are in those fields this year.  The deer may not have travel too far for food.  That SE corner of the property looks exciting to me.  All those hedge rows make for some great little corners that offer you the ability to cover two or three fields.

Just a thought too, maybe see if access can be gained via private property from the south.  Not sure what the rules are.  Where I hunt in IL I have to park in the designated parking which can make it difficult.  However if your dominant wind is NW like mine the deer will know you're there before you leave the gravel.

Good luck and let us know how you do!

-Jeremy

[RWP]

I'll just start by prefacing I'm no expert deer hunter.  That piece of ground you have looks great too!  I see your red squares are all on the North side of the creek running thru that property.  I'm not sure how deep it is, or how safe it would be, but you may want to investigate crossing the creek/river.  I'm guessing that quite a few hunters will stay on the North side as well.

Second I'd see what crops are in those fields this year.  The deer may not have travel too far for food.  That SE corner of the property looks exciting to me.  All those hedge rows make for some great little corners that offer you the ability to cover two or three fields.

Just a thought too, maybe see if access can be gained via private property from the south.  Not sure what the rules are.  Where I hunt in IL I have to park in the designated parking which can make it difficult.  However if your dominant wind is NW like mine the deer will know you're there before you leave the gravel.

Good luck and let us know how you do!

-Jeremy

I was thinking about that south side of the river also. The depth or crossing points is something that I don’t know yet either but will find out when I do scout on foot. I also plan on getting a kayak so should help with access when I do. The image is a small part of the overall property. It is in total a little over 4000 acres so I really have a lot of scouting to do but wanted to focus on a small area for this year.

[Orion]

There are several strips of woods between agricultural fields on both sides of the creek.  I'd locate in them.   Deer aren't going to move through open fields during the day.  Will move through corn, of course.

The big unknown here is how many other hunters will show up once season starts.  In your scouting, look for signs of previous hunters as well as deer. Good luck.

[pavan]

If it were in Iowa, you be competing with other hunters for every funnel looking situation, especially in NW Iowa.  if there are a lot of hunters, go to places that they do not.  in due time the deer will pattern the hunters and not go where they do during daylight hours.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Looks like a great piece of property. I would check the funnels with a quick walk through. Keep in mind access that can get you in quietly and predominant trails that can be hunted from downwind. 

I agree on other hunters. Look for sign that you may not be the only person hunting there like cats eyes and marks on trees.

[RWP]

I did talk with the wildlife biologist that manages that property.  He said that the area doesn’t receive a great deal of hunting pressure during the early part of bow season so I am hoping that I can get in there mostly to myself. We shall see


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[sneakybow]

I will say that that piece of property looks very familiar.  I believe I may have hunted that before on some of my public land hunts in Missouri. If it's where I think it is you can get across that water fairly easily.

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[Gdpolk]

I’d spend one or two days with boots on the ground in all these locations circled. There are notable typography features for all of these places. Log away what looks good on the ground and keep options open based off of wind directions and other hunters. 

All these places could be scoped out in one long day or two days.  With season 2 months out before archery opens, your presence will be long forgotten before season opens.

• Potential feeding place.  Trees in the open may have more mast than those fighting for sunlight.  Probably best at/around dusk/dawn and mediocre mid day
• inside corner to said feeding place which also intersects the funnel/tree tail into it from the SE
• Inside corner to field in the N
• Good funnel location between fields and trees and with water source.  Look for a shallow place in the creek which could be an easy crossing in this area
• another inside corner
• another notable inside corner
• Good funnel location between 3 fields and water source with several treelines intersecting into it
• funnel intersection point...not a lot of cover so it could be a dud or could be a gold mine that is often overlooked by other hunters for being too thin on cover
• good intersection point with 4 travel lanes coming into it and two types of fields by it for potential late feeding sources
• inside corner of field in a funnel/travel corridor
• another inside corner of field in a funnel/travel corridor
• peninsula of trees with spotty cover around it.  If deer are moving North into this field this is likely the place they will use to pop out into this field to feed
• another inside corner in a major funnel
• dead center of a large block of trees with several travel corridors leading into/out of it
• islands can be a hub where people sometimes overlook activity.  Late season when the food sources in the main corridors are getting thin this island of trees will likely have a bit more food in it and the deer will come here.
• A thin funnel on a mild inside corner to access deer coming N/S into the main hub of trees
• another main hub of trees which could be a great food source with bedding on the edges of it
• A great inside corner on the edge of a dense block of woods that is likely easy to access but just far enough away to get rid of a lot of other hunters

[Hoosierarcher88]

With the marked areas i would focus on 9,13,12 and 8 in that particular order

[TealCoin]

I'm all on board with GD Polk's words.  Very well put sir.  Looks like you have multiple options here with this tract of land.  One thing I enjoy doing (being that some/one of the field are beans) is going out and sitting at dusk just to watch what/where the deer are coming into the field.  This may come beneficial in finding where they are.

[RWP]

Thanks everyone for the great information! I am looking forward to getting out there and putting it all to use

[Hoosierarcher88]

i marked 2 more spots i myself would really look into. The dot over near 6 depending what is in that field it offers a very secluded feeding area. The spot over by 13 i would sit on the south side of the river/creek with my back to the water facing the tree row to your south. This puts you facing a T intesection of 2 paths of travel while eliminating the chance of a deer slipping around behind you. I have 3 spots on public land that i hunt that are extremely similar and 1 spot on private ground that was the same with a steep creek bank that i hunted all this very same way and have been effective almost every season.

[Hoosierarcher88]

The one nice thing about hunting next to flowing water is that it does help cover some sound you may make. As for the beanfield comment i will say ive been guilty of crawling out into the middle of a bean field with a pair of binoculars and sit abd watch the deer as they come out then belly crawl back out

[TealCoin]

The one nice thing about hunting next to flowing water is that it does help cover some sound you may make. As for the beanfield comment i will say ive been guilty of crawling out into the middle of a bean field with a pair of binoculars and sit abd watch the deer as they come out then belly crawl back out

I've done the same thing myself!  I carry a small tripod stand in and a good book to read until the timber goats show up.  Nice way to glass and this time of year they are in great color and fuzzy horns.  Makes for a good way to spend the evening.  I'd take a thermocell just incase!

[Sam McMichael]

I wish I could make better use of maps and aerial photos when beginning the scouting process. Unfortunately, I need to spend time on the ground. I can see trails, empty beds, creek crossings, etc. and get a better than fair idea of animal movement. One thing that plays into useful scouting is being familiar with what's on the surrounding areas. I am often amazed at what guys glean from these photo maps and the hero pictures showing up later in the season based on this scouting. I guess a lot also depends on understanding topo maps. When I hunted public land, there were relatively few areas that had food plots and crop field that made a major difference in the productivity of the National Forest land I was on. Then, I looked for thick places that were not close to the road. Isolation is a factor in the consideration of cover.

[Bowguy67]

This is my opinion. I know someone will say different but you need to plan your season.
First off being it’s public land it prob gets pressure. Where is everyone coming in from? That includes private property.
A deer push away from anywhere guys come in means they went somewhere. Where do you think that might be?
Now once you determine this key in on preferred food sources. Like oaks in some inconvenient for most to get to spots. One thing about preferred food, it changes. In my area for instance it’s whites, than blacks so sitting blacks first is silly. All you’ll see is acorns falling. You need to time things.  Get back far enough to have natural deer movement. The other option that works is finding escape routes but you can’t go in the same as everyone else.
Forget these little red squares and use your brain to analyze where guys are coming in, where they’re going and where you’re gonna sit. Don’t try for the low hanging fruit. Least not very long
If I told ya I’m from NJ and never see anyone you’d think I was lying most likely.
We do it by walking farther, crossing a river or lake, climbing a mountain is an especially good option.
I’d def NOT sit a field no matter what the draw on state land.
10% of the hunters kill 90% of the deer. It’s cause they think different.
Good luck

[bunyan]

All grew tips!  Don't forget that a lot of hunters are thinking the same and go in severs hundred yards or more from the road. Sometimes the animals are closer, not farther from the parking and everyone is walking right past them. Every year once the leaves drop I will see deer bedded within feet of a road as I'm driving down the highway. Let the sign guide you! Good luck!