I have written numerous times about the scouting process and what you should be doing throughout the year to improve your hunting success. Well deer season is just around the corner, and if you have been taking the proper steps this past year you will have a successful season.

If you are a bow hunter, you should already have your bow tuned up and ready to go. While you are out on your stand, watch carefully for the direction deer are coming from. Later in the day when the weather gets hotter and the deer are bedding down, study your maps to determine where they may be travelling from. Look for deep cover, especially on public hunting grounds. However, under no circumstance should you enter a suspected bedding area during this time of year. If they get spooked, you may not see them in that area again until next season.


Even if you aren’t a bow hunter, you need to be out in the woods right now watching the patterns and checking out the trails. Avoid walking on any deer trails at all cost. Study your maps before you venture out and make a solid plan of what area looks best to scout.


Here in North Eastern Oklahoma the acorns are already falling. The extra rain we have had this year may have contributed to that. My apple trees look they already need picking a month ahead of normal. Because of this, the deer will be following some patterns that you normally don’t see until a month later. Follow your normal fall scouting proceedures now and you will have success.


Since the normal fall food sources are available a little earlier this year, it is much easier locating bedding areas. I read a post somewhere a while back where people have had success using GoogleEarth to find bedding areas. Although it’s not perfect, it can help you out with a place to start looking. Start with a good food source. then look for trails leading to that area. Then once again, study your maps. If you find a good bedding area, set up your stand between it and the food source. Use this stand for your evening hunts. It’s the best guarranteed method of filling your tags.


Happy hunting!