scouting big woods.

[MAGICMAN]

How do yall go about scouting/patterning whitetail in big parcels of woods? Im new to hunting big timber & find it to be kicking my butt! I cut my teeth hunting whitetails in farmland (open fields & timbered creeks). I moved & i am having quite the dry spell. I've heard all the talk about terrain & acorns but things change so much year to year depending on the acorn crop. someone has to have a secret/suggestion that might help unravel the mystery.Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[dirtguy]

First, get a map.  Here in CT, the DEP has a website with air photos covering the whole state, and you can print high quality pics of the area you hunt.  You can see ponds, streams, wetlands, stonewalls, atv trails etc.

Second, pound the ground.  Think about getting a GPS so you can track where you've been and record way-points for important things like trails, rubs, beds, etc.  When you start plotting the points, things start to fall together.

Third - spend some time in the wetlands and streams, especially in dense vegetation.

Oh yeah - and accept the fact that it just takes time to figure out a new spot - unless there is somebody local that can help you out, or you find some old tree stands that look like they were around for a while.

[lpcjon2]

As dirtguy said and look for funnels,access to food area(fields),and my favorite swamps.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Now that my mind is going I use a GPS. Walk the whole place two or three times marking spots where you see a reason to. Scrapes, rubs, trails that come together, edges, a big oak in the middle of a pine thicket....
Once you have a bunch or waypoints, transfer them to your map and you will see patterns develop. Pinch points become obvious and you can see travel areas and bedding areas. It's the same thing we used to do carrying a map and a red marker but this way is much more convenient.

Easier to share info too. A few years back, Marty and I hunted a place in Kansas. WE put up 4 ladderstands. Gene Wensel was gonna come several days later and I gave him the coordinates on where the stands where. He went right to them in thedark.

[Ray Johnson]

Big woods is about all I hunt.Trails and funnels.I'm not necessarily looking for big buck sign.If it's there that's ok but the main thing is travel routes.I may find several huge rubs in just an open area of woods with nothing to key in on.I probably wouldn't hunt that spot.Creeks,ditches,rivers,swamps,anything that breaks the terrain up can be good.The main thing I'm looking for are heavily used deer trails,especially if there are several crossingeach other or paralelling a creek,etc...It can be very tough hunting but it's also rewarding when you do get that shot.I've gone many days in a row without seeing deer but on the other hand,if I'm sitting on a couple of good trails at the right time,it can get hot quick.

[Renaissance Man]

A couple of things come to mind, learn the seasonal food choices and preferences in your realm. Deer will have intermediate beds in between these sources. If you have acorns and the beechnuts in your area start coming down they as do other animals will feed almost exclusively on them for example.
If you are in big woods and it is hilly terrain you have to start playing the thermals up and down as the deer use them in the mountains a lot and will alter routes based on the wind flow.
Colder weather deer will prefer a southern facing slope to conserve body heat but they will do so with a nice view of the terrain and the wind from their backs.
If Rhodedendrons are in your area on the slopes they will be prime bedding areas if they are bordered by brushy stuff.
Remember even though they seem like random movement right now you will come to learn it is not so random. They live and die generally in a square mile domain. There is still going to be core bedding areas and walking around non hunting season and paying attention to where they spook from will help a lot.
If you are talking about an area where you are going to be trying diffrent areas all the time on public land etc. then all the above mentioned by others will be the standard, except when you get into a heavy hunted area or in the muzzle loading or gun seasons then you want to find the heaviest cover available in that section because the big boys will only move in there unless they are jumped.

[ron w]

Even in big woods look for the edges. Deer like edges,on farm land edges are easy to find. In the big woods look for where hardwoods and cedar or pines meet, where woods and swamps come together, all these features create edges. I you can find a food source or bedding area or both, look to see if there runways just inside these edges and then hunt them to your best advantage.........good luck.

[jhg]

You will have to understand the cyclical food sources and where the deer go when a crop is not available.

 There will be standard areas aside from the seasonal feeding spots.

Also, deer, especially bigger bucks, are individuals. Even in big timber they will have their habits and "safe" beds. I hunted huge tracts of timberland in Maine and once I found the patterns of the population in general I was able to figure out the individual bucks. It took legwork, and time in the woods. Eventually the tract will break down in the same way the land you hunted before does- travel lanes, hot spots, dead areas, etc
Good luck!

Joshua
BTW, you can't be everywhere at once either! Don't let the area overwhelm you by thinking you shouldn't be in an area if not seeing deer.  Sometimes you will be right. Sometimes not!
.

[Don Stokes]

I second what ron w said- edges exist in the woods, too. I cut my teeth on woods hunting, and unless there's a hotspot of food somewhere, edges are my preferred location for stands.

[Charlie Lamb]

If you're not out there looking around right now you are missing a bet!!

[Ragnarok Forge]

The only real tools for finding deer in the big woods are your boots and your brain.  Add in a GPS and you have everything you need to figure them out.

The spots to look have already been identified.  I always call the local deer biologist with fish and game and ask a ton of questions when I move to a new area.  One of the most important is food sources, when they are available and what terrain to find them in.  Another is which ones the deer use most / prefer.  There are some good books out on this type of hunting.  I will have to check the title of one I like particularly and post it here tonight.

[jamed]

I'm with Charlie.  Down south, most of the "green" hasn't bloomed and the ground is really wet.  Places that would have gone virtually unseen, are clearly visible without all of the foilage(sp?)  Turkey season and shed huntin time has proven to uncover some of the best used areas.  Do keep in mind that the acorns have been long gone and all discoveries will not be as heavily used during the early season, but the travel patterns don't change by much round here.  Good Luck, and start layin some leather on the ground!!!

Rusty

[Ground Hunter]

A lot of great stuff here!  I would also try and find a high point and just sit and watch with some good glass if the trees are not too full yet.  Just to get a "feel" for the place if it was new to me.  There are a lot of good books out now on using GPS, maps, etc.. a worth while investment.  H

[dirtguy]

One more though - has any logging been done, or is any planned?  Those openings created by logging can be real hotspots

[metsastaja]

Maps.  I like to start with Google Earth.
This is in your back yard Magicman

 

I have the topo overlay program for earth so quick click and I have this

 

Next you could drop some POI a path or three on the map
 

load em into a gps and start exploring.

[John Krause]

I hunted NE MO for about 15 years. Fields and small woodlots. I would see deer or have them in bow range quite often. I bought some property in S cental MO in 2007 and it is big woods. It is a MUCH harder deal. Also down there the soil is rocky and doesn't show alot of sign.

Find creek and ravine crossings. Follow the trail until you see a trail or trails that intersect it. Double your odds. Funnels are much more subtle but they are there. I also think deer side hill more in big timber. By that I mean not in the creek bottoms or ridge tops but in between.

I also think the movement is much more random in big woods. Even when you find a good funnel it may takes several sits before a deer come thu.

They bed in the thickest part of the thickest spot and in the cold where the sun hits first in the morning.

It has been a real learning experience.

[Michael Arnette]

Big woods bowhunting is tough stuff for sure. Fence and water crossings have proven great for me.