Some of the rut sign from last season is still visible, especially rubs. Getting out in the field and walking properties you plan to hunt will reveal rub lines and isolated rubs. Marking these on your aerial map will show you how deer move about the lands you hunt, too.
Source Credit: RealTree.com
By: Josh Honycut
Photo credit: John Hafner
I had the pleasure of giving one of the educational seminars at NDA’s Whitetail Weekend this spring, right before all heck broke loose with COVID-19. My talk led day one and was entitled the 20 Biggest Deer Research Discoveries of the Last Decade. I poured my heart into it, diving deep into the deer research…
Learn The Land It’s also very important to not only improve the land but to learn it, too. During the post-season, I always get out and walk the properties I plan to hunt the following season. You wouldn’t believe the things I learn — both how the land lays and how deer use it —…
I like to run trail cameras until all of the bucks have shed their antlers. This helps me monitor the herd health and also see what deer made it through the season. Sometimes I really get my hopes up because big deer show their faces during the post-season. Other times, I’m disappointed because I…
Take Down & Rehang Tree Stands Deer hunting is a year-round endeavor now. There are countless things to do even after deer seasons close for the year — little tasks here and there that need to be done in order to ensure success for next season. Not only that, but they’re fun too. The great thing…
Another thing that has changed the way I hunt is studying past trail camera photos. I look at the direction of travel (the deer), dates, temperatures, wind direction, barometric pressure, etc. and see how those things match up to the food sources and bedding areas around that camera location. For daylight photos, I really…
One of the more enjoyable late-winter activities for me is getting out with friends and family hiking in search of shed antlers. I wish I was fortunate enough to scour every square inch of the properties I hunt in search of them, but time just doesn’t allow that, and sometimes those pesky rodents beat me…