Scouting Question

[ARbowhtr]

I have a quick scouting question for any of you that live in northern states that recieve a lot of snow. I knew i had a good chance to get an Iowa tag this year, and also my wife had our 2nd baby in march which ment no turkey hunting trips to scout, so the only scouting i was able to do was in late feb. I found a lot of great trails and saw a ton of deer, some still with antlers.. My question is, are these trails that i found going to be the ones deer are useing this fall? The snow was about 10in. this was in SW Iowa. Thanks in advance for any scouting help.

 

[NWBuck]

The quick answer is maybe.

At that time of year deer are yarded up, so you can find large concentrations of them in relatively small areas. My experience is that some of these places are also spots where you see deer frequently during the fall, and some are not...it just varies from one location to the other.

 

[DannyBoy]

It all depends. Some of the trails you found were undoubtedly leading to great late-season food sources with all the snow on the ground, which may or may not be planted in the same crop this year. Sometimes they will be on/around those food sources all year, and other times it seems like they head there only when the going gets tough (dead of winter). I'd say if you're coming up in the fall hunt the same trails but try and get a little closer to where you think the deer may be bedding rather than closer to the food source.

Good luck.

 

[ARbowhtr]

thanks for the advice, I hope to get to come up a few times in early Oct. to hunt and scout a little before the rut really kicks in.