Winter scouting deer/turkey.

[RedShaft]

I was doin some scouting and was wondering if the deer and turkey sign i find now would be worth hunting come fall and for spring turkey. Did you guys ever go back and hunt the areas where you found sign in the winter months? Wish i would of had my camera this evening i could of had some pics of a buck chasing does around me.  

[varmint]

Depending on your area......

I've noticed that turkeys seem to have Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter grounds.I honestly haven't had alot of luck with scouting turkeys in the winter for the spring season.Now,if you know roughly where they were last Spring,chances are very good that they will be in the same general area this Spring.

I've killed turkeys close to a certain field every Spring for the last 15 years,but during the Winter there is no sign of them at all in that area.

[Arwin]

I've been out doing the same. It's amazing how close you can walk up on a deer this time of year. I had a doe just 8 yds away from me yesterday. She walked around me and never knew I was there or didn't care.
 I have good luck with using sign found after the season, to use for the next with deer. Turkey seem to move a little different in the spring compared to winter.

[RedShaft]

will they use the same trails too?

[Arwin]

I've had the best luck with using the after season sign, late the next season. I hunt pressured areas, so if I find that the deer are hiding in a certain area in January, they must go there when the gun pressure was on them in late November.
 Also look at the terrain where the sign is. If you find good trails near a food source, chances are it's a good early season spot or after the rut ends. Good sign that is far from  feeding grounds can mean a bedding area or a spot where deer move during the day.
 I like to find a good food source and follow the most used trails away from the field or oak stand toward the bedding area.
 Most of the time the deer will generally use the same trails unless they are pressured and forced to change their pattern. A spot I hunt has been consitant for the last three years. I know where and when they will change trails when they get pressured.