When do you start scouting?

[drewsbow]

same here , never stop

[Bob Foster]

I never stop, even during the season.  I hunt the same areas every year, but things change.

[old_goat2]

For whitetail I scout the first time I go hunting. I start elk scouting as soon as I find out where I have a tag for if I haven't hunted there before.

[J.Williams]

All year round.Seems there's always something to learn out there.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I start when I get to the woods. LOL, but seriously, It usually continues well after I leave the woods too.

I often play equations and maps in my head trying to find solutions to the giant puzzle.

[jonsimoneau]

February and March are best here in the Midwest with March being my favorite. I scout a lot in the summer but it's more just messing around looking at public areas that I may hunt someday. If I find an area that seems interesting then I'll go back and scout it again during March.  I used to scout relentlessly in the summer but I've curtailed the practice quite a bit because it's very difficult to learn much of use during this time.

[Todd Cook]

I never stop, but most of my off season scouting is looking for funnels and crossings, ect. My "real" scouting is right when I'm hunting. I hunt very much like Warren Wommack, in that I want to hunt what the deer are feeding on NOW, not last week or next week. I usually start after lunch looking for a hot feed tree( white oak, persimmon, crabapple, ect.) and climb next to it when I find it. If it's pretty hot, there's a very good chance of having deer under you before dark. If not, I'll hunt it again the next morning and then find a new tree.