What conditions are best for in-season scouting missions? The author prefers to wait for super windy or rainy days to penetrate his best spots. Wind covers up most of the noise made by foot traffic, and rain washes away human scent. (Photo by Alex Comstock)
October 18, 2024
By Alex Comstock
I was just sitting down for dinner and saw my phone ringing. It was my hunting buddy Luke Eilefson giving me a ring, and I knew it had to mean one thing. It was just getting to “primetime” for whitetail movement that evening, and I knew Luke was in a tree stand in an area we had just scouted a couple days prior. This had to mean one thing.
As I answered the phone, I heard heavy breathing and Luke exclaiming on the other end, Big Buck Down! I couldn’t have been more excited for Luke, and that buck wouldn’t have had an arrow sent through him had it not been for some in-season scouting.
In-season scouting seems to be a lost art. I hear it time and time again that it’s taboo to be walking around the same timber you’re going to hunt just to scout while it’s hunting season. And though I believe there are certain things you should not do while scouting during the season, it definitely can be done.
In-season scouting is the focus of this article, and some of the following tactics could possibly change the way you look at whitetail hunting. Before we get into the nitty gritty, do’s and don’ts, and how I like to conduct in-season scouting, I’ll illustrate the power of it by diving deeper into the hunt from the opening paragraph.
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September 2022 It was opening week of archery season in Minnesota. Here in Minnesota, myself and my buddies Luke and Garrett do all our hunting together. Opening weekend was a little slow with some bad weather, but as we got into the first full week of hunting, Luke and I decided one of our stands wasn’t in the perfect spot.
We’d catch glimpses of deer out beyond bow range, but for whatever reason, deer weren’t coming through where we figured they would be. We were hunting in a completely new area to us, so after a few days of hunting, we decided to do a quick scout.
We went in to hunt with our mobile saddles on and stand platforms on our backpacks, and instead of going to that same tree, we pushed up to where we had been catching glimpses of deer. Our objective was to see if there was anything obvious there, which was a hundred or so yards from our lock-on stand setup. As we tip-toed through the timber, it became obvious fast.
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The author’s hunting buddy connected on this fine Minnesota buck after discovering a small group of oak trees dropping acorns. Though the two men had a lock-on stand setup 100 yards away, deer simply weren’t coming into bow range of their setup. An in-season scouting mission with mobile hunting gear put these hunters right where the “X” marked the spot. Two hunts later, the mature buck was down. (Photos by Alex Comstock) There was a small cluster of oak trees, and they were absolutely dumping acorns. The ground was torn up with deer sign, and we knew this was the spot we had to be. We picked the best tree, climbed up and waited. That first sit we were covered in deer. Does, fawns, small bucks and a couple decent bucks all walked by us within 20 yards.
We knew this was the spot to be. Fast forward a couple days to the next available hunting day, and even though I couldn’t get out, Luke went back to that tree. He again was covered in deer, and that evening he was able to arrow a beautiful 11-point buck.
As I start to dive deeper into in-season scouting, think back to this example. Had we not done any scouting right away in the first week of season and waited until spring to do so, we would have missed out on a great opportunity. In a situation like this, this small pocket of trees really was only productive in the short amount of time that the oaks were dropping acorns.
Once the acorns were all gone, the small area was pretty quiet the rest of the fall. Doing the in-season scouting helped us to fill a tag and learn for future seasons. When you in-season scout though, there are a few things you want to keep at the top of your mind that will no doubt help you.
Mobile Hunting This past fall was my first utilizing a saddle setup, and what it did was help me become an extremely mobile hunter. Additionally, it allowed me to scout and hunt at the same time. The biggest reason I love in-season scouting is that you’re able to read the freshest sign available and make moves based on what you find. Pair that with mobile hunting, and you can head to the woods, scout, and (when you find what you’re looking for) setup right then and there.
When you are hunting mobile, whether it be with a lightweight tree stand or saddle, it can open up many possibilities through in-season scouting. A lot of times, I’ll pick areas on the map that I’ve maybe never been to, and “scout my way in” until I find hot sign, such as a fresh rub line or a beat-up oak flat. Every person’s situation is different, but if you have the ability to hunt mobile, it can be a great gateway into in-season scouting.
Weather Conditions If you’re going to strictly in-season scout without mobile hunting, there are a couple other things to consider. The most important to me is weather conditions. There are two main weather conditions that I prefer to do my in-season scouting in: rain and wind.
If it’s super windy out, you’re probably not hunting. I’m not saying you can’t kill a buck in high winds, but sometimes I’ve found that forgoing a hunt to scout in the season can be more beneficial than hunting in bad weather conditions, especially if it’s been slow in the deer woods for you. When you’ve got high winds, the wind can help conceal the sound you make walking around, allowing you to scoot around undetected.
What conditions are best for in-season scouting missions? The author prefers to wait for super windy or rainy days to penetrate his best spots. Wind covers up most of the noise made by foot traffic, and rain washes away human scent. (Photo by Alex Comstock) The other weather condition that I absolutely love to do my in-season scouting in is rain. When it’s raining at a decent clip, most of your ground scent is going to be washed away. This allows you to push the limits and scout on-foot in areas you’d otherwise not want to penetrate.
When it’s raining, I’ll typically do my “bigger” in-season scouts. Maybe it’s a chunk of public land I’ve been wanting to check out, or maybe I’ve got a buck coming from a certain area on trail cam, but he’s always showing up after dark. During a good rain, I’ll really comb over an area, opposed to scouting the fringes or tip-toeing through areas as I normally would. During a rain event, I’ll scout thoroughly, making waypoints and mental checks.
Rain is also great for getting trail cameras up in areas you don’t really want to disturb. We utilize a lot of cell cams, and if there’s a particular spot I’d love to have a cell cam, but don’t want to intrude upon, I’ll use the rain to my advantage and get the camera up on those days. It’s a great way to in-season scout.
No Go Zones When it comes to in-season scouting, there are a couple types of areas I stay away from entirely. The first is anything I would consider a “major” bedding area. If I’ve identified a sanctuary or major bedding area, I find no point to go walking through them during the season. I believe that is only going to hurt you. If you need to confirm something or have a theory about an edge or a part of the bedding area, I’d suggest mobile scouting/hunting.
When in-season scouting, avoid disturbing large bedding areas, i.e. “sanctuaries.” The same holds true for mature buck core areas. Often, when you go too deep into a buck’s home turf, you’re looking for sign that you already know exists. So, proceed with caution on all in-season scouting efforts. (Photo by Alex Comstock) Remember, it’s always risky to invade a bedding area. However, under perfect conditions, the closer you get to major bedding, the more likely it is you’ll have an opportunity on the first sit.
The other type of area I don’t like to in-season scout is what I would call a buck’s core home range. When I’m in-season scouting, I’m trying to figure out where a buck’s home range is or if there’s a mature buck in the area at all. If you believe you have a buck’s core area already pinned down, you may do more harm than good walking all over the area.
By going too deep into a buck’s lair, most of the time, you’re looking for things you probably already know are there. All I’m saying here is to be careful, and if you do scout an area like this, I’d suggest doing it slowly and preferably during a rainy day.