Advantages To Scouting for Deer in the Summer

There is pretty much two worlds of thought about scouting for deer in the Summer. Some believe that it does no good, believing any bucks you might see will be long gone come October or November.

Others believe scouting for deer in the Summer is helpful because it will show you what quality of bucks you’ll have come fall.

In my opinion, both trains of thought are right and wrong. Allow me to voice my opinion.

In years past when I scouted heavily for Deer in the Summer, I knew that most of the Bucks I saw would be gone by early Fall.

Bucks just will not hang out in bachelor groups all year long. Especially the younger ones. They seem to wear out their welcome among the other Deer pretty quick!

So they disband and go their separate ways. Many will not see each other again unless it’s in one hunters freezer.

I’ve found this to be especially true if there are a lot of Does around. It seems the Does know that these little Bucks will be pestering them relentlessly in a few months and they try and run them off.

In areas with few does, I’ve found that the little Bucks will hang around longer, sometimes right up to the gun Deer season.

Big Bucks are a whole ‘nother story.

Simply put, they’re unpredictable year round. If you see a large buck in your back yard all Summer long, chances are he’ll be gone in Sept. or October.

Other times, I’ve watched big Bucks in fields and pipeline and power line right-of-ways and those bucks were still hanging around the general area come the rut.

Many hunters who hang out scouting cameras wonder where the big Bucks they see in the Summer have gone when it comes hunting season.

Truth is, they’re out partying with the girls! Or trying to find girls to party with.

It seems that the more remote the areas I scout and find big Bucks, the more likely it is they’ll be hanging around when Gun season rolls around. But when you’re talking big Bucks, nothing is written in stone.

They may get hit by a car or die of natural causes. They may get whipped by a stronger buck and be forced to leave their core area. They may wake up one morning and feel pressured to leave by who knows what and they beeline out of the country. Big Deer have a mind of their own.

I’m always amazed at how cautious the big Bucks are even in the dead of Summer. They’re generally the last ones to exit cover and the first ones back in. It’s like they never relax entirely. The bigger they are, the more cautious they are. They didn’t get those big ole racks by being smart only during hunting season!

Where to Start Looking For Summertime Bucks

You have to remember one thing when looking for Summertime Bucks. They’re carrying around antlers on their heads that are covered with velvet that has millions of nerve endings and blood vessels in them. They know they have to protect their velvet from bugs and things that might scuff up their head gear.

They prefer to stay in semi-open terrain where there are breezes to keep the bugs and branches to a minimum.

I find many bucks in the same general area as Does during the Summer. Fields are a great place to glass in the mornings and evenings.

My favorite places to search for Summer Bucks are pipeline and power line right of ways. This is true especially if I’m scouting a new area or want to see what quality of Bucks the current area holds.

In some states, you can actually spotlight Deer at night. Just be sure to check your local regulations before doing this!

Summertime scouting for deer also gives you the chance to pattern the Does. Chances are they’ll stick around the entire year. It helps to try and learn their patterns as well.

Of course, as the food sources change, so will the patterns. In agriculture areas, those patterns don’t seem to change as much as they do in Deep Woods. Keep that in mind when you’re scouting your hunting area.

Don’t overlook watering holes. Although Whitetail Deer don’t water like Cattle, in arid regions, especially as the Summer temps rise, they’ll visit watering holes a lot more often than people think.

I’ve actually watched Does playing in an old Slough one year while Squirrel hunting. So expect the unexpected.

Is Summer Time Scouting Worthless For Hunting Season?

I’ve heard some people say that you’re wasting your time scouting in the Summer. This isn’t exactly true. If you only hunt the Gun Season or Late Season, then there might be some truth to this.

In States that have early hunting Seasons, Summer scouting can allow you to pattern and kill a Buck before some Hunters even start thinking about putting stands out.

The bachelor groups will still be around in August and even early September in most places. This gives early Season Hunters a chance to pattern and take the Buck of their choice before he goes bonkers and heads out to parts unknown.

The more you get out and learn what the Deer are doing in your hunting area do under certain times and conditions, the more you’re likely be in the right place at the right time. Don’t ignore scouting for Deer in the Summer, it can be a great time to get out before the Season and see what your hunting area has to offer.

I like both Survivorman and Man vs Wild.

Bear Grylls and Man vs Wild

Any way you cut it, Bear Grylls is one tough hombre. Ex British Special Forces and climbed Mount Everest when he was 23. One of the youngest Brits to do so. That’s after he broke his back in a training exercise with the British Special Forces.

The main reason I watch Bear Grylls and Man vs Wild is for entertainment. Just watching his facial expressions when eating something disgusting sends me over the edge laughing my butt off. Or some of the stuff he tries that doesn’t work, like building a bamboo ladder to get across that Ecuadoran river. He pushes it over and when it hits the other side it busted to pieces. That was too funny.

I do pick up some survival tips from his show although they are few and far between.

Bear has been criticized for staging some of the scenes in his show. Personally, I don’t know a “reality” type show out there that doesn’t have staged scenes and that includes “Deadliest Catch”.

So what if he slept in a motel or at camp. It’s obvious if you watch the show the dude doesn’t get into all those situations on a 7 day outing.

I do think he’s a bit dramatic. I mean, I don’t think there was a real reason to strip off all his clothes and swim that Siberian river in the dead of Winter. I also don’t think it’s necessary to show him eating everything he comes across raw. But I do understand that this creates buzz which creates viewers who tune in to see what he’s going to eat next.

Here are some Bear Grylls truisms I just love. All done with that British accent while making a grimace.

• “God that’s horrible”
• “I have no idea what this is going to taste like”
• “It’s like an explosion of puss in my mouth”
• “It taste like a Sausage casing filled with baby poop”

I also laugh at the way he says “Vitamins”. It’s more like “Vetimens”.

Les Stroud Survivorman

To me, Les Stroud is more like the average Joe. There’s no doubt he could not win an endurance or physical test against Bear Grylls. The dude just doesn’t have enough lead in his pants! But I bet both could get out alive if they got lost in Montana hunting Elk. And at the end of the day when you’re lost in the woods, that’s what counts.

Survivorman is a lot more dramatic than Man vs Wild if you ask me. Take for example the episode I watched today with Les on the African Plains. If he said “Black Mamba” once, he must have said it a hundred or more times! Black Mamba this, Black Mamba that…

Geez, okay Les, we get it, there are snakes in the grass!

I also like the fact that Les pretty much cooks most of his food. That’s a plus for me. I’m not sure how many of us would eat a Yak’s eye raw or a giant grub worm raw.

I also like the fact that Les Stroud tapes his episodes himself. Not that I have anything against taking a camera crew along like Bear Grylls does. We get to see a lot more stunts out of Bear because of the Camera crew. Makes you wonder what you’re missing on Survivorman.

Les also takes along things that a normal person would and employs them in his week long survival outing. Some of the stuff he makes is pretty crude and I wonder if it would work, but none the less, he does go about trying to show us how to use what we have. After watching him smash up an old VCR camera, I knew then what I needed to do with my old RCA Video camera!

It’s TV, Don’t Take It Serious Dude!

As I said earlier, both these shows are over the top in one way or another. I think most of us who spend any amount of time in the woods put more in our “Survival kit” than these two guys do. I’ve never seen either one whip out fishing line, hook or sinker. Or even aluminum foil!

The people I know carry enough things in their Survival kits to get them through if they get lost, plus most know how to use the kit. Even if I’m hunting or fishing close by, I always carry a little pouch with waterproof matches and some line and other goodies to help me if I have to spend a night in the woods. You just never know!

As for the two shows above, remember, at the end of the day it’s still TV and they can edit a lot for a show. Don’t take either one very serious, they’re meant for entertainment and selling commercials.

If you want to learn real Survival skills, join one of those Survival Schools. If you want to sit back and be entertained, watch Survivorman and Man vs Wild!

The Alaska Experiment is a Discovery Channel show about a group of volunteers who are dropped off at various places in the Southern part of Alaska. I guess the whole synopsis of the show is to see if they can survive 3 months in the Alaskan wilderness.

Okay, let’s get real on this reality show. Most of the contestants are some type of outdoor adventure seekers. It’s not like they snatched Bob up from next door and plopped his big behind on the banks of the Yukon.

The show also goes out of its way to tell you that there are Wilderness experts off camera in case something goes wrong. So these people really do have a safety net, even though they like to pretend there isn’t one.

From what I understand, the crew and wilderness guides stayed in tents about 100 yards from the volunteers. “Screaming” distance they said!

I guess I’ve been spoiled by the show “Deadliest Catch” on Discovery. But I really don’t feel like this show “The Alaska Experiment” is really all that good considering help is just a shout away.

It also seems the “drama” is really being played up by Discovery. Hardly 5 minutes will go by without the Narrarator saying something about being careful because they could be attacked by Bears or Wolves any minute. Doesn’t matter what the Volunteers are doing or where they’re at, you’d think there’s a Bear behind every bush just waiting to smack down on an unsuspecting Volunteer and turn them into Bear turds.

Yeah, I get it that there’s Bears in Alaska that can attack you. Not sure about the Wolves, but hey, it sounds dramatic. The thing is, I don’t need to be reminded every 5 minutes.

One of my favorite scenes, and I honestly don’t know why, is when they had that poor Tim guy shoot the 338 Win. Mag. When I saw how he was sitting, I knew what was going to happen. I told my Wife, “Hey, watch this”. Sure enough, a good case of scope eye.

They also showed the same bunch hunting rabbits with the Guide and using a Ruger 10/22.

Apparently when they left, the left these people with a single shot .22 that looked like one of those Chipmunk rifles. Man, take away the 10/22 and leave a Chipmunk .22. That’s wrong man!

One of the most disturbing scenes also included this bunch of people. It showed them out hunting with their .22 rifle when they came upon a Buffalo. I could have sworn they took a shot at that Buffalo with the .22. Where was the Wilderness experts then? The Narrator did say that the .22 wouldn’t bring down the Buffalo.

Later on, the group found a partially eaten Buffalo carcass. Hmmm…was this the one the guy took a pot shot at? I mean, what’s the chances of finding a Buffalo carcass in the same area you took a pot shot at one?

I’ve always liked the Discovery Channel shows, but they seem to have missed the mark with this one.

On another note, the older Man with the 2 daughters…is it just me or does his Daughters seem a little disrespectful? I’d have a real problem if my Daughter talked to me like his does to him. He seems like a nice enough guy but get those Daughters in check!

So if you haven’t watched The Alaska Experiment, tune into Discovery Channel on Tuesday nights. If you have, leave a comment and let me know what you think about the show.

There are several ways to apply for a controlled hunt in Oregon. You can go to a license agent, by fax or apply by mail.

If you’re applying by fax or mail, you’ll need this form.

You can download this form to see the proposed tag numbers and the season dates for the upcoming 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Another opportunity that Oregon Deer Hunters may want to consider is the State’s Landowner Preference Program (or LOP).

If you fail to draw one of the permits, you’ll still be eligible for a general season tag or any leftover tag. These are on a first come, first served basis so be on the watchout!

Here’s hoping your 2008 Oregon deer season is a successful one. It’s just about time to be getting out and finding those Oregon deer hunting hotspots!

Starting this year, applications will only be taken online. So don’t be looking for the booklets at Wal-Mart or your favorite Sporting Goods stores because they won’t be there.

Is it me, or does it seem there are fewer and fewer hunts each year? Especially in the Deer Category.

One hunt that I did not find on the Application is the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge Deer hunt. What gives?

I only put in for that hunt the first year it was offered. If you’ve been through Sequoyah NWR, then you know they still have quite a few deer out there.

Don’t confuse the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge for the Sequoyah Park Resort. These are two different hunts and I’ve already heard people saying “Hey, they opened Sequoyah NWR up to Buck hunting.”

Wrong!

Sequoyah Resort Park is on Fort Gibson Lakejust East of Wagoner. Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge is in Sequoyah County on the McClellan Kerr Navigation Channel (Arkansas River).

My Picks For the 2008 Oklahoma Controlled Deer Hunts

If I were only looking to kill a big buck in the Oklahoma Controlled Hunts, my choices would be as follows, in this order.

1. The last two weekends at McAlester AAP
2. Cookson,the last weekend - The last weekend because it is prime Pre-Rut/Rut. I know the area well and there are some brutes walking around those mountain sides and valleys.
3. Wichita Mountains- A big buck haven and very hard to get drawn for. I believe last year there were over 7000 applications for 35 tags. Cookson is also hard to get drawn into. Last year they had nearly 1800 applicants trying for 25 either sex tags.
4. Salt Plains, the last weekend - Another hard to draw hunt. Last year, the last weekend had something like 800 hunters trying for 10 either sex tags.

Now, if you’re just after any ole deer, your chances are much better by putting in for Anterless only hunts.

My top picks for a skin head would be:

1. Fort Gibson WRP. Lots of deer there, lots of Does!
2. Cherokee GMA. Consistent producer of fat Does year after year
3. Salt Plains. Yeah, there’s a lot of Deer there!

What ever hunt you choose, I wish you the best luck. I’ve been fortunate to have been drawn on many hunts over the years and these are some of the best that Oklahoma has to offer.

I enjoy putting in for a new area each year until drawn. For the last several years, I’ve been putting in for Beaver River simply because I figure anything that close to the Kansas line has to have a few big bucks running around!

By the way, save on of those Elk Tags for me! I haven’t been drawn yet in my lifetime and I’m due one!

Now that most deer season’s are over and the deer hunting is done for another year, many of you are wondering how to score a deer.

It seems that scoring carries a mystical nature to it. It’s like some secret code passed down by the Templar Knights or something.

Scoring a buck’s rack is easy. There’s really nothing to it. Now non-typical bucks can be a real challenge, depending on how nasty their racks are. Typical racked bucks are pretty easy. The more you score, the easier it becomes.

I thought about going into details of how to score your deer here on this blog. Then I found The Buck Manager blog that has excellent articles about how to score a deer and decided to give you the link to their site.

I also found this short video on YouTube that quickly explains the basics of scoring a buck. It’s a little vague, but it will give you an idea of how to score your deer.

As you can see, scoring a whitetail deer, or even a typical mule deer, is pretty easy. Don’t let it intimidate you.

Now if you’ve killed yourself a giant of a deer and you think it may make the Boone & Crockett record book or the Pope & Young record book (if taken with archery equipment), then you’ll need to find an official scorer for one of those organizations.

You should also know that many States have their own awards for the big deer killed in their states. Check with your States game department to see if there are awards offered in your state, who knows, maybe you just put the State record buck on the ground!

Finally, if you did kill a buck, big or small, and would like to show it off, just send me the photo and I’ll get it into the photo gallery here. I’ve been meaning to redo it but I’ve been putting it off. What a better motivator to reorganize my Photo Album here on the Buck Hunters Blog than to show off some of your kills. Even if you don’t know how to score a deer, I’ll gladly put your pictures up!

How To Score A Deer

I received an email from a buddy the other day. Seems him and his group are losing their deer hunting lease that they’ve had for the last 12 years. This is a large deer hunting lease that has quite a few members. My buddy doesn’t know where he’ll find another deer lease to get on for the upcoming season. They’ve taken some nice deer off of that lease over the years. I know they’ll miss the deer hunting that it provided.

Over the years he’s told me some of the things that have went on at the deer lease. Not all have been nice things. Like the time someone left a gate open and the Ranchers cows got into a pasture where they shouldn’t have been. Or the time someone mistook a calf for a deer. I could go on with the examples, but you get the picture.

According to my buddy, the Rancher said that he the hunting group had wore out their welcome and that he’d be leasing his Ranch to a commercial hunting operator next year.

Here are “7 Reasons You’ll Lose Your Hunting Lease This Year”

1. Your group disrespected the land. Over the years I’ve heard all the reasons why people lost their deer hunting lease or their permission to hunt private land. The #1 reason I keep hearing from landowners is that the Hunters are trashing up their land or failing to take care of what’s there. Open gates, litter, wildfires, downed fences, cutting trees for firewood without permission, etc, etc. How can you blame landowners for not wanting you back? These same people who disrespect the landowners land are the same ones who would throw a fit if you did the same thing to their land. You should treat any land you have permission to hunt as if it was your own…because in some ways it is.
2. The Landowner received a better offer. This is probably the 2nd most popular reason people lose their deer hunting lease. Someone else wants it worse than you do! Times are tough and I see big corporations and commercial hunting operators coming in and literally paying more for a lease than the going rate. This can be due to several reasons, either the commercial operator needs more land for their Clients or the Corporation can overpay for the lease and still save money they were paying other places. In some rare cases, I’ve read where non-hunters were buying the leases in order to prevent hunting on the land. I think we’ll see more and more of that in the future.
3. The price of a lease increases so much that you can not fill all the spots. In many cases the group buying the lease depends on having X number of hunters so they can afford the lease. When the price gets astronomical, many hunters simply cannot afford the lease and the group fails to raise enough money to secure the lease.
4. Your members lose interest. This is something I’ve been seeing lately. It seems there are fewer and fewer hunters these days. As our numbers decrease, I often found myself wondering “why”. The simple fact is that we aren’t showing our younger generations how to hunt and fish. Now instead of hunting, Families are going to major sporting events or taking up other outdoor interest like Golf. Adding to this is the fact that in most areas, traveling to the hunting area includes a several hour drive. I see this a lot in the Houston area. Instead of traveling halfway across the state a few times during the season, would-be hunters are spending their time on the Golf range, fishing or some other type of sport that keeps them near home and with the entire family.
5. The land is sold and the hunting rights are not transferable. This is happening more and more. As our landowners age or die off, the land comes up for sale and many times the new owners do not want the hassle of dealing with a deer hunting lease. I read on account where the sale would only go through if the hunting lease was terminated at the closing date. Just so happened the closing date was in the middle of deer season! The members were contacted at the last minute and told if they had anything on the lease to get it off and that the land would be off limits the upcoming weekend. Talk about ruining your hunting season!
6. You fail to help take on some of the cost of liability insurance. We live in a time where everyone wants to sue for something. I talked to a landowner several years ago that said he ended the lease on his land after one of the members, an attorney, threatened to sue him because he’d walked into an old fence before daylight one morning and cut his self up pretty good. The landowner then went to the group and asked them to help buy liability insurance and they refused. The attorney never did sue, but it scared the landowner to where he refused to let anyone hunt on the land after that. I know most lease operate without liability insurance, but it seems it’s been a growing trend in the last several years for either the landowner or the group leasing the land to carry liability insurance, or for both to share the cost. From what I understand, this can be pretty pricey depending on how large the lease and the group leasing it is. Many members feel they are paying enough as it is and the landowner should pay the premium…especially since it benefits him!
7. The economy takes a downturn. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. Should there be another event that causes our economy to take a nose dive, many Hunters will be spending their lease money on car payments, mortgages and gas for their cars. After 911, I know many Hunters that held onto their lease money for fear it would be needed at a later date. And who could blame them?

While there are many reasons you may be losing your hunting lease this year, by far and away the most common reason is neglect of the land or someone else coming in and buying it out from under you.

This is where building long lasting relationships with Landowners will benefit you in more ways than one. Treat the Landowners land as if it were your own, because in many ways it is. Then, when an outsider comes along and tries to buy the lease from under you, you just may have the advantage of having a “friend” as a Landowner instead of a Landlord. As the old saying goes, “No one likes to screw their friends.” Make a friend out of that Landowner!

7 Reasons You’ll Lose Your Deer Lease This Year 

The outfitter, Mike Arnold is a past president of the Texas Trophy Hunters Association.

His outfit, called the Cross Trail Outfitters, has a simple Mission Statement.

“Building men, preserving our heritage and sharing our faith”

I have to tell you, I think Hunting as a sport, and society in general, would be in much better shape if more and more of us became involved with the youth. Especially in the way Mr. Arnold has.

From reading the article, not only do the boys (many who are at risk boys) get to go deer hunting, they also learn about being men.

The story said that the boys pray before each meal and before going hunting. After the hunts, they sit around a campfire and discuss the days activities along with discussions about life. The boys are asked “What kind of man do you want to be?”

The story is also a great testament to Mr. Arnold, who went from a 6 figure salary to zilch overnight, and his faith.

After you read the article, I invite you back here to share your thoughts.

But you could be missing out on the best time to take a good buck.

The truth is most hunters give up deer hunting after the second weekend.

When I hunted in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, they had something like a 21 day gun season the best I recall. After the second weekend, the woods were empty! It’s like I had them all to myself. If you saw anyone during the late bow season, they were probably lost!

When I lived in Oklahoma, ‘back in the day’, there was a 9 day rifle season at the end of November. December was a late archery season.

It wasn’t until I started hunting in the late season that I found the deer easier to pattern and easier to kill.

Here are some late season deer hunting tips I learned along the way.

1. Sleep in. I spent many a frozen morning in my stand waiting on deer. Most of the time, this was wasted time and there were times I was so cold I had to call it quits. I once read an article by the late Ben Lee where he said deer bed up until mid morning because they don’t like to feed on frozen vegetation. I think that’s true! Also, they the mornings are cold and deer know if they wait, it will warm up. They know they can reserve body heat by waiting to feed later in the day. Besides, these are the best excuses I can come up with for sleeping in!
2. Practice shooting in your winter clothes. Whether you’re shooting a bow, muzzleloader or modern rifle (or shotgun), practice in the clothes you’ll be wearing. Bulky clothes can make you shoot differently than the same clothes you had on when you sighted your weapon in. Bowstrings are notorious for catching on bulky clothes and guns seem to get snagged on the extra clothes as your raising them to shoot. You may also want to think about reducing the poundage on your bow. It’s hard to pull a heavy poundage bow when your muscles are cold!
3. Don’t forget your rutting techniques. During the late season there is a “secondary” rut. Not as noticeable as the first, but enough to make the bucks go bonkers. The secondary rut is for the Does who did not get bred the first time around. From what I can tell, the secondary rut is also drawn out. So you may see Bucks chasing Does anytime during the late season. Give your rattling antlers and deer calls a try this time of year.
4. It’s all about the food. In late season, Deer need food and lots of it to maintain their body heat and survive the Winter. Bucks will be trying to put on some fat before the hardest part of Winter hits as will the Does. This is why it’s the easiest season to hunt in my opinion. Find a good food source, find the trails leading into these food sources and sit back and wait for the right Deer!
5. The South will rise again. If you’re into still hunting or stand hunting bedding areas, look on the South slopes or areas facing South. These areas warm quicker and sooner than other areas. You’ll find your Deer here working on their tans and staying warm.
6. Hunt the fronts. Cold fronts seem to affect Deer movement more in the late season than at any other time in my experience. Deer will really be up and feeding heavy a few days prior to the arrival of a cold front and the days following a cold front. Also in my experience, it seems the amount they’re up and moving is also dictated by how severe the front is. Weird, but that’s been my experience. They seem to “sense” whether or not the approaching front is a “weather maker.”
7. Dress for success. When the temperature plummets, it’s time to break out the cold weather clothes. I still prefer wool clothing on those days with the exception of my Windbreaker coat. I have a friend who swears by the Arctic Shield line of clothes. Whatever you wear, remember to dress in layers. One December I was hunting before the arrival of a major front. The day was really, really cold. It was one of those days when the Sun was out, but you’d thought that it had lost all the heat. It was like the Sun was just making an appearance for the heck of it. No warmth was coming out of that big orange ball on this day! I had taken my camo sleeping bag and put it on while in my treestand. It was one of the warmest late season hunts I’d ever had! (I don’t recommend this however, if you do use it, make sure you use a safety belt if you’re hunting from a treestand)
8. Fuel the fire. On late season hunts, I bring along some water, sometimes Coffee and high energy snacks. Keeping your tummy full will help you stay warm during the day.
9. Think safety. Before climbing into your stand, make sure there is no ice. Ditto for treesteps if you’re using them. I take a piece of carpet and lay over the seat and platform to keep the snow and ice off of these areas.
10. Use lighter colored camo. Remember, there are few leaves on the tree now and you’ll most likely be outlined against the sky when a Deer looks up. I switch to either a Winter camo pattern or an Urban type camo as both are not as dark and stark.
11. Muzzleloaders only. If you plan on using a muzzleloader, keep it outside. Taking a muzzleloader from a nice warm home or vehicle into frigid air will cause condensation to form in the barrel. Even if you snap a few caps the moisture is likely to come back. This affects those who are still using traditional blackpowder more than those who are using modern primers and blackpowder substitutes.

There you go. You State’s Deer season may still be underway. Get out there after them! It’s my favorite time to hunt deer!

Here is the link.

I know most of you think like I do, that this is a bunch of B.S. But it does give you an idea of the type of people who we are dealing with. The sad thing is, the media is giving these kooks more and more air time, to the point of legitimizing them.

I’d also recommend reading the comments that were made.