Scouting for deer

We are not doing it this year. Scouting deer is something we do when the deer are writing the rules. The deer are dictating how and where the game is being played, and we have a very passive role. It makes the game very hard to win. If we could call the shots and write the rules, the game would be much easier to win.

Time for new rules

Deer typically take up residence in areas where they are safe. Sometimes it’s an area we can’t hunt such as a state park. More often we are dealing with deer on public or private land who learn to make it another year by living where it is very difficult to kill them. These areas are tough to hunt, as they use the wind, along with their eyes and ears to avoid man. When the pressure comes, they go nocturnal and the game is almost impossible. The odds are in their favor. The challenge is part of the game, but sometimes we may wish to make it easier to play and win. It’s time to change the rules.

Habitat manipulation

Habitat manipulation is the catch all term we will use to describe any actions we take to change the way deer move through our property. We will dictate where the deer bed and sleep. We will create their lanes of travel to food plots we plant for them. We will set up ambush points that capitalize on these new patterns. We will create entrance and exit trails for our hunters so we are not detected, and the deer feel zero hunting pressure. We will give them areas we will never enter so they feel safe and move during the day. We will keep them on our land during daylight hours so they can avoid our trigger happy neighbor (or neighbors). We will be changing the forest and fields to make the deer move with the wind in our favor, and we will see and kill more deer. It will be a labor love, and and the deer will thank you for it.

It is estimated that 95% of all private landowners hunt strictly by the deers rules. That is quickly changing. Odds are that ‘lucky’ guy down the road is one of the few who have changed the rules of deer movement on his piece. You can too, and we are here to help. Our experts have helped revamp and tweek hundreds of properties in the past 20 years, and we can help you as well. Sign up for our free enews letters to get started, and when you are ready to start planning, we can help. Good luck!