Post season scouting?

[iccyman001]

Does anyone here do post season scouting?

If so, what are you looking for?
If not, why?

 

[Swede]

I did some post hunt reviewing of the areas I hunted this year. I used to do a lot more than I can do now. It is the best time to see where elk were, and where they wallowed. I looked for the same things I would in the preseason, but all of the evidence is still in place. In the Spring and Summer things have had time to recover. The hunting season tracks have all been washed out, feces is old or gone, and springs and wallows have grown over to a great extent. Right after the hunt the evidence is all there, including some sign of hunter activity.

 

[iccyman001]

I do the same post season search as you, Swede and I have found it to be very helpful.

There are a few areas that I tend to stay out of pre-season, so post season is the best time for me to get in there and explore.

 

[Swede]

That is right Dan. I might only slip in briefly to a bedding area, and that would only be during the early morning or late evening, before season. After the hunting is over, it is midday, and I don\'t care if I showered or anything else. I could go in singing \"Dixie\". lol

 

[cohunter14]

I have been doing a bunch, but not in person unfortunately. Still, I have new ideas on places to check out next year, new ideas on game cam locations, and a full list of items to discuss with the wildlife officer once he is back in his office after the hunting seasons.

 

[iccyman001]

Derek,

Was this your first year running cameras?
Did you like it?

 

[Ol' Arky]

I used too but now have to rely on game cameras to do it for me... We only hunt a small area which is easy to cover with the cameras we have and they do prove useful but most of the buck deer I kill are ones we never get any pictures of... I call my area a \"cruising\" area since most of the bucks I kill are just passing through and I only see them once or twice at the most...

 

[cnelk]

Some of the best post scouting I have done is having a late season rifle tag in the same area I archery hunt.
Especially if there is snow

 

[Deertick]

The nice thing about Wyoming is that the tags are good for rifle hunting if you don\'t score with an arrow, so I took my rifle out this year to scout.

I did end up shooting a bull, but that was only one of the reasons I really want to look at this new area more closely. Wallows, and lots of rubs around. Also, like Cnelk said, the light snow really outlined the trails.

I\'ll be back in that area to scout next summer.

 

[cohunter14]

Derek,

Was this your first year running cameras?
Did you like it?

It was and I loved it! Not only does it give you an idea of what kind of elk are around, but it really helped me understand the area more...what time the elk would hit areas, how frequently, etc. If some of the areas got very few pictures or no pictures, I was able to scratch it off the list as well. Better to do that with a camera than to sit there during hunting season!

 

[Guest]

This year I had a drop in coverage in my cameras from mid August thru my hunt which went till the 14th of Sep , but I hunted till the 7th. I kept the cameras out there past my hunt to see when the elk would return. Funny thing is that they returned the day after the 1st archery season, but in time for the second.

 

[Ol' Arky]

One thing I\'ve found to be true after I started using trail camera, the big bucks show up during the day time when your not there to see them... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: