Successful Summer Scouting

We’ve covered a lot of information pertaining to scouting during the summer months. From trail cams to entry and exit strategies, we’ve touched on a lot of topics. However, I’m often asked what specific types of tactics I use to help us zero in on a buck and to learn his tendencies in any particular area during the summer. Here are a few things I find to be particularly helpful:

Narrow Things Down

Before jumping into picking apart your target buck’s daily schedule, take the time to understand his area on a higher level. First, pull out a map and determine where deer won’t be traveling. Remember, key in on food, bed and water first - these are the major stopping points deer will be hitting on a daily basis. Also identify major pinch points (peninsulas, saddles, etc.) 

Next, if you’re hunting public land, start crossing out areas on a map that are easy to access. For the most part (though there can be amazing hunting right next to the road), the harder it is to get to a spot, the less hunting pressure deer will see and, likely, the better the hunting. 

Finally, get some boots on the ground and start building some first-hand knowledge of the area - I regularly find that things look very different in person than on a map. 

Be the Buck

Once you’ve got your spots narrowed down on your map, it’s time to get some boots on the ground. As you work through an area, work hard at getting your mindset right. If you were a buck, where would you go? Why? When you see deer sign (rubs, buck beds, etc.), ask yourself why a deer would choose to do that in that spot. Make note of how deer react to terrain changes and different types of available food. 

Often, I’ll get down into a buck’s bed to see what he would see and to understand why he laid down in that spot. The intel you’ll gain here won’t just help you hunt this particular buck, it’ll help you understand deer more generally. 

Scout from Afar

You’ve narrowed down a few key areas and spent some time getting up close and personal with your target buck’s core area. At this point, I like to grab my binoculars and start glassing.

Often, in the evening, I’ll find an adjacent ag field, park my car and get comfortable. As deer pour into the field, I’ll be able to get a sense of what the local deer herd is like and where my target bucks spend their evenings.

Depending on the type of crop he’s feeding on, this food source may not carry on through to the fall. However, glassing is still really valuable. Trail cams only provide brief glimpses into a deer’s life; glassing allows you to observe specific deer’s behavior for an extended period of time. It has a low impact and is a lot of fun.