We often wonder... "What happened to that trophy buck we hunted all season?"

Scott Adams, AWA PRO
Jonathan Creek Outfitters

Published 2/08/2011

Many hunters apparently do not realize the importance of post-season scouting. Over the last few years, I have found the time span between the end of hunting season and spring greenup to be the single most critical scouting period of all.

Not only does post-season scouting help you learn how deer travel in your hunting area, it can show you how they skirted you in your hunting efforts the previous season. As a Kentucky outfitter, I see what hunting pressure does to whitetails throughout the season. For instance, in reading sign this winter I’ve found that the deer did not leave our properties last season; in most cases, they simply adjusted their travel routes just enough to avoid detection. I have found the routes often were adjusted 100 yards or so, putting traveling deer just out of sight of a given tree stand location. Often, these new routes took deer through the thickest areas of our farms.

If you want to put your stands in the best possible locations for pressured whitetails, get out in late January and early February to look for trails with multiple rubs and scrapes, as well as significant safe passage opportunity. Look for a stand setup in a spot that provides deer with the most cover after the foliage dies back. My guess is that if you hop into that stand during pressured times for deer next fall, good results will follow.