Whitetail Scouting in the Snow

Whitetail Scouting in the Snow
By Freddie McKnight

Now that Ohio’s deer seasons have, or are, coming to a close and most hunters have washed and packed their deer-hunting clothes away, and cleaned, oiled, and stored their equipment in a safe place, it’s time to prepare for next year’s hunts.

Although it’s true that many undedicated deer hunters lose interest in heading out to the woods where they hunt deer, grouse and perhaps squirrels, dedicated deer hunters realize that planning ahead and scouting in preparation for the 2007-08 seasons have just begun.
With cold, snowy weather here, winds blowing strong and deep snow in the woods, for the deer hunter, walking through deer habitat where they hunt at this time of the year may no longer be considered an adventure. It’s more akin to a bone-chilling chore.

Dedicated deer hunting enthusiasts feeling a serious need to learn more about deer in the area where they hunt are offered a helping hand by the wood’s snow covered ground. In snow, scouting and learning more about the local deer herd is like reading an open book filled with pictures.

Deer tracks that were obscured by the hardened forest floor and fall’s fallen leaves may now be seen without stooping over, as mud and fresh snow make them stand out to even the most novice deer hunter. What may have appeared in the fall to be rain-matted grasses, fresh snow may prove them to be a favorite trail for deer since drag marks made by a buck’s feet may be clearly seen in deep snow. Backtracking deer trails in the snow leading to a grass field may terminate in a well-used bedding area, disclosing where the herd’s big bucks that appeared to vanish sought refuge last November when the woods were full of noisy hunters.

If the buck doesn’t reveal his presence next year, quietly seek out these hidden bedding areas. Well-worn deer trails in the snow may expose food sources deer frequented during those rainy or blustery windy days when hunters spent all day in their tree stands without seeing anything move. Last season, I watched a brush-filled valley for 4 ? hours without noticing movement of any kind, only to have 5 deer pushed out by hunters coming up the valley. These deer were bedded down all day in a protected spot that was basically undiscovered.

Deer trails exposed by the snow can also expose escape routes that were not known by hunters. Once the bucks’ general routes are known, it’s much easier to pattern them next fall. Although ground scrapes are obscured under snow, the bareness of the rubs should be quite evident on the bark of trees. In snow, following a trail, rub to rub, should be quite simple and a dropped tine may also be spotted if it sticks out above the snow.
One of the easiest methods used to locate bucks that hunters knew were around, but couldn’t find during the hunting season, and also to locate the whereabouts of turkeys for the upcoming season, is to glass exposed timbered woods, known feeding areas, and open fields from a high vantage point. Follow up on this by scouting for field signs a few days after a good snowfall.

If nothing really needs to be done at home, spend time watching a relaxed deer herd to gain more knowledge about their travel routes and the time they use them. Do this by selecting a stand overlooking an open-grass area, planted source of food, open areas in the woods or bottlenecks in the terrain that may force deer to use them as safe passage from one woods to another.

Time spent winter scouting saves time when scouting next fall. The more time and effort spent scouting, observing and patterning deer when the woods is snow covered, the less time will be needed scouting before next fall.

In the meanwhile, remember turkey time in the great outdoors of Ohio is slowly, but surely approaching. Using binoculars, a flock of turkeys can be followed at a non-disturbing distance, as their black bodies stand out in snow-covered woods.