Late winter seasons are still open in many states. At this time of year, combine your hunting with scouting. The winter months are the best time to do your post season scouting. Bedding and feeding areas are easier to locate, and the well used trails that connect them stand out like an interstate highway. Trails dotted with rubs and scrapes betray the preferred travel routes of bucks in the area, and will likely be used again in the coming fall. Even if the buck that made them didn’t make it through the fall seasons or winter, another will take up residence in that core area.

Snow cover gives you an opportunity to learn volumes about the habits of the deer in your area, don’t miss the chance to get out for an entire day after a snowfall. Carry a compass and a small notepad, and mark the location of all beds you find. Distinguish between single beds that are likely that of a buck, and groups of beds that may indicate doe/fawn family units. As you find and mark these bedding area’s, take a minute to determine the feeding area’s and the most likely routes that connect them. Use the compass to determine the direction of the prevailing wind for the fall in your area, and then plan your stand sites accordingly. Be sure to scout for stand locations that will allow you to hunt for more than one wind direction, and ones that you will be able to hunt with the most common wind direction. Note the locations of oak stands, crop fields, and any special foods such as persimmons, beech trees, apple trees, honeysuckle, and other favorite deer browse. Log as much information on food sources as you can because deer change food sources often through the course of a season. Make a distinction between the different types of oaks in your area. Deer prefer white oaks and chestnut oaks over all other types of acorns, however, they will eat the other acorns when their favorites are not available.

This is also a good time of year to scout for other hunters. Locating where other hunters in your area are spending their time is just as important as learning the habits of the deer you pursue. Even though it may be tempting to move into an area loaded with deer sign, if another hunter has already set up camp there, be sure to give him/her some space. Not only is that the ethical and courteous thing to do, it is also the smart course of action, due to the fact that you don’t know how often they use the area, or how careful the hunter is when using that spot. The main objective of learning where others are hunting in your area is to avoid them, not crowd them.

As you make your winter forays into the Whitetail’s world, mark the location of those beds, rubs, scraps trails and food sources you found on your enlarged topographical map. Include the stands of the other hunters, as well as their entrance/exit routes on the map too. After several winter scouting trips, the pieces of the puzzle will come together, and your map should begin to paint a good picture of the travel patterns of the deer in your area.

Daylight hours are generally shortest at this time of year, and many hours are spent indoors as a result of lack of daylight or severe weather. So one final task for the Year ‘Round Deer Hunter during this time is to spend those hours indoors going over topographical and tax maps to locate potential new hunting areas. Go out and knock on doors to gain permission to these new areas and be prepared to put your scouting shoes on and hit the woods hard. Spring is just around the corner, and much important work needs to be done before the annual green-up closes the open book that tells the story of how the whitetail evaded you last year.

By: Doug Vicari

NJ-Hunter.com Pro-Staff