help with scouting

[moto]

So this is my second year of bow hunting. I am going to do some early scouting seeing I didn't get to do much last year. What kind of signs should I be looking for? The area is old woods with some swampy areas. I would image it is too early for scraps and rubs. Thanks for any help!

[DouglasSpear]

Right now your best bet is scout after a rain so you can see deer tracks in the mud or setup field cameras at the pinch points. Pinch points are where different terrains (creek, woods, field) all meet together or where dense woods funnel down to an area where there is easy access to another kind of terrain or into another dense section of woods. I mentioned in another post to someone else, think of a pinch point as an hour glass. The thin mid-section part is a good place for scouting and setting up a stand. Mind the wind, you always want the wind to be hitting you in the face when in your stand and looking in the direction of where the deer come from. So make sure to put up a few stands, maybe 50 yards from eachother. Then when you wake up in the morning before a hunt, go to the stand that favors your wind. Wind blowing in your face means your scent is carried away from where the deer are coming from.

Once October comes you will start to see more rubs. If you find one rub, look for another one, and if you find another one then you are likely on a rub line. This is a good place to be for October hunting because the bucks will follow that line up until the rut in November. By the end of October and early November, you can look for scrapes in the open woods or along field edges. I don't recommend hunting right over a scrape though, it's best to stay about 50 yards from it as to not spook anything that might be hitting it because if you find an active scrape, they typically go there at least once, if not twice, a day so you don't want to spook a deer away from a place it goes often.

[mabowhunter]

Doug pretty much hammered it. We call them funnels are a good point to set up trail cams. This is a pretty good start. Look around for trails thru you area. Try to stay out of bedding areas. If you bump deer immdeiatly get out of the bedding area. In the rut look for scrapes. Like Doug said don't set up over them. Set up several stand that play the wind direction and don't be afarid to change them, even mid day, just be quite.

After the rut hunt food source.
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