Summer scouting

Its hot here in South Carolina. I mean its hot! Not a particularly pleasant time to be in the woods scouting for deer. The woods are full of mosquitoes, ticks, snakes, spider webs.....you name it, there is little pleasant about being in the woods this time of year. Which is exactly why you should be there.

Deer this time of year are easier to pattern than at any other time of the year, which makes summer scouting important for that early season. Our bow season opens in early September so we are getting close to the opening day. Now is the time to be hanging stands, cutting shooting lanes, and checking cameras. Walking the areas and moving stands, or placing new ones. We are far enough away from opening season that trespassing into bedding areas wont do that much harm.

My area doesn't have places for food plots, we have woods, pines and hardwood ridges and drainages. There are very few places to place food plots, so that part of the equation is not relevant for us. We have to scout for natural food sources and enhance those.

Persimmons, muscadines, honey suckle, white oaks, red oaks, honey locust, and of course browse. Are all what we focus on. Instead of planting food plots, we fertilize the persimmons and the muscadines. we locate these succulent sources of food and place stands along travel routes to these foods. We know that in September, deer will beat a trail to the persimmons and in early October, just before the acorns fall, muscadines will be falling, and the deer move from the persimmons to the muscadines, and then to the white oaks which begin their decent in mid - late October.

Locating these trees and vines is critical right now, find them, place stands near them and cut the shooting lanes will prove to be an invaluable effort come September. Knowing when the deer are visiting these trees and vines will make your effort worthwhile when that deer shows on opening morning.