Whitetail: Picking Un-scouted Spots From a Map

[CaneBrake]

Need some help from some whitetail gurus. I have the chance to take someone on their first REAL hunt for whitetail and this is somewhat of a last minute thing. I'm trying to guess some good spots based on satellite and topo maps. It's public land so it's hunted hard but most people don't stray from the road. Had I known earlier I would've been scouting this area all summer because I would like for it to be successful for them. Obviously, a buck would great for them but they would be happy with a doe. It'll be the week of Thanksgiving, so later rut. I'm hoping you guys might have some input. I have some other spots picked out too if you guys would like to see them

I have four points marked that I think my be of interest based on my experience from whitetail movement but I'm not a guru by any means. They are based off a main dirt road. I still think they are far enough away from the road and hard enough walks that no one will attempt to go there.
Points from top to bottom of both pictures:

#1 is an area near a stream that was timbered or burned off a while back. It's about 700 yds off the road and about a 200ft drop in elevation.

#2 is the main dirt road. I'm hoping it will be closed because most people here are lazy. They will walk 200yds off the road and call it quits.

#3 is settled on the low end of converging saddles that create a depression of sorts. This entire depression was also timbered or burned off a while back. This point and #4 are higher elevation which I thinking might be where the deer go once the pressure hits

#4 is on the high end of the depression.

Just behind #3, and #4 you will see a smaller access road that I'm hoping will be closed to the public but I don't know for sure. #4 is basically right on the road. I'm thinking these burned or timbered areas are going to be full of briars and brush and the deer are going to favor them with the pressure.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[jjmp]

Prevailing winds must be considered,deer rotate on their home land here today gone tomorrow. They also like thickets,fine their bedding areas but don't disturb them , scout as much as you can ,if that don't pan out look for runways but don't walk on them ,scout after a rain ,usually deer get mixed up by the pressure of the first two days , but no pressure they'll stay calm, bucks move the does seeing if their ready , colder weather excite their activity levels , play the wind they do . I like #1because of the elevation change ,always take the hi ground,seeing is everything,take advantage all you can . 2 is good check that road for deer track's crossing,note best direction of their travels. All your spots are good but don't forget the high land bending areas , they need and go to water , if there's lots of rain they'll bed where it's dryer. Happy your taking somone hunting that's great ,cheers.

 

[CaneBrake]

Prevailing winds must be considered,deer rotate on their home land here today gone tomorrow. They also like thickets,fine their bedding areas but don't disturb them , scout as much as you can ,if that don't pan out look for runways but don't walk on them ,scout after a rain ,usually deer get mixed up by the pressure of the first two days , but no pressure they'll stay calm, bucks move the does seeing if their ready , colder weather excite their activity levels , play the wind they do . I like #1because of the elevation change ,always take the hi ground,seeing is everything,take advantage all you can . 2 is good check that road for deer track's crossing,note best direction of their travels. All your spots are good but don't forget the high land bending areas , they need and go to water , if there's lots of rain they'll bed where it's dryer. Happy your taking somone hunting that's great ,cheers.

Appreciate your input. Just to clarify, #1 is lower elevation than all the rest of the points. I do like it too because of the possibility of the water source being there if it's not dried up from this dry summer. However, I think pressure might push them high. Thanks!

 

[jjmp]

No problem ,come on guys help this fellow hunter out ,bump up

 

[Gregg C]

Haven't hunted in forever, but I think I'd be looking at the SE face of that Sandy Ridge. Steep as heck, water down below, probably lots of brush, escape routes up and over those saddles, or down and out. My .02, worth way less, but Im interested!

 

[CaneBrake]

Haven't hunted in forever, but I think I'd be looking at the SE face of that Sandy Ridge. Steep as heck, water down below, probably lots of brush, escape routes up and over those saddles, or down and out. My .02, worth way less, but Im interested

I thought it would be the decent spot as well. I did think that if there was a buck up there he would sit on that north eastern point of sandy ridge so I didn't want to push all the way up. Either way it's going to be an interesting couple days and a good hike. Lol

 

[OG10]

Get on google earth look for food sources, does will always be eating bucks should be moving by November to search for does.Oak trees acorns etc once the pressure starts bucks will be more likely to be nocturnal on public land with pressure.The big exception is during the rut when bucks make mistakes.

 

[300 Driver]

CB,
its been many years since I hunted the GW national forest near you, but I took the liberty to check out your suggested area on OnX. I like a couple things about the spot in my screen shot. It's near a subtle funnel, it's near 2 vastly different undergrowth types looking at the imagery, it's near a water source, and it's 400yds off the road. That doesn't seem like much to the western crowd, but my experience with eastern NF hunting is that 90% of the people are within 200yds of the road. Also worth less than my $.02, but it's where I would scout first.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Eastern whitetail isn't something I hunt. However, I fair pretty well on MT whitetail.

If you're not familiar with the area, go for a hike or two to ground truth your hypothesis. Making the time to do this early may save you time during the hunt. E-scouting is awesome, but only gets you so far. And remember there are others doing the same exact thing you are doing.

Looking at some of the images you shared, I'd consider what the animals would do for a watering schedule and where. They all have to come down for water sometime. Usually, that will be early in the morning or late in the evening. The rest of the time they will be up the hill browsing or bedding down. My guess is the folks who don't like to hike will park close to the bottom where the water/roads are.

Weather, moon cycle, prevailing winds will play a role in what the animals do on a particular day. Keep an eye on these to help you plan your hike in and approaches to potential good spots. I like to get to high elevation early in the morning to beat the change in thermal winds. Being above the animals in elevation usually gets me more opportunities at a shot without them knowing I'm there.

Since you'll be moving around in a wooded area, move slow and use your binos often to "clear" an area you'll be moving into next.

I have a lot of success with a simple Primos grunt tube during the rut. For some reason, I never have success rattling MT whitetail though. I've had great success with rattling in deer in other states…

Are you rifle or bow hunting? Do you plan to install tree stands? Are you allowed to install game cams on public land in your state/where you plan to hunt? Will there be snow on the ground in that area at that time of the year?

 

[CaneBrake]

CB,
its been many years since I hunted the GW national forest near you, but I took the liberty to check out your suggested area on OnX. I like a couple things about the spot in my screen shot. It's near a subtle funnel, it's near 2 vastly different undergrowth types looking at the imagery, it's near a water source, and it's 400yds off the road. That doesn't seem like much to the western crowd, but my experience with eastern NF hunting is that 90% of the people are within 200yds of the road. Also worth less than my $.02, but it's where I would scout first.

View attachment 507451

Yep, guys are usually right off the road. People are lazy. I'll see if I can find that exact spot on my app. I use HuntWise.

 

[CaneBrake]

Eastern whitetail isn't something I hunt. However, I fair pretty well on MT whitetail.

If you're not familiar with the area, go for a hike or two to ground truth your hypothesis. Making the time to do this early may save you time during the hunt. E-scouting is awesome, but only gets you so far. And remember there are others doing the same exact thing you are doing.

Looking at some of the images you shared, I'd consider what the animals would do for a watering schedule and where. They all have to come down for water sometime. Usually, that will be early in the morning or late in the evening. The rest of the time they will be up the hill browsing or bedding down. My guess is the folks who don't like to hike will park close to the bottom where the water/roads are.

Weather, moon cycle, prevailing winds will play a role in what the animals do on a particular day. Keep an eye on these to help you plan your hike in and approaches to potential good spots. I like to get to high elevation early in the morning to beat the change in thermal winds. Being above the animals in elevation usually gets me more opportunities at a shot without them knowing I'm there.

Since you'll be moving around in a wooded area, move slow and use your binos often to "clear" an area you'll be moving into next.

I have a lot of success with a simple Primos grunt tube during the rut. For some reason, I never have success rattling MT whitetail though. I've had great success with rattling in deer in other states…

Are you rifle or bow hunting? Do you plan to install tree stands? Are you allowed to install game cams on public land in your state/where you plan to hunt? Will there be snow on the ground in that area at that time of the year?

This is a last minute thing. I would've been scouting all year had I known. Rifle season, no tree stands or cameras. Snow is very possible but it's hard to tell. Next year I'll be scouting it ahead of time. As we have mentioned before, it's public land but most guys don't stray very far from the road so there is a bunch of land that is not hunted.

 

[Gregg C]

This is a last minute thing. I would've been scouting all year had I known. Rifle season, no tree stands or cameras. Snow is very possible but it's hard to tell. Next year I'll be scouting it ahead of time. As we have mentioned before, it's public land but most guys don't stray very far from the road so there is a bunch of land that is not hunted.

Got an update? Curiousity killed the cat...

 

[CaneBrake]

Got an update? Curiousity killed the cat...

Rifle season starts Monday

 

[BillLarson]

I like large tracts of woods...... My proven success rate is dictated by other hunters.... in a heavily hunted area,on opening morn. I am at my stand 1 hr.before daylite.... a stand determined by the way the deer will flow as other hunters push them father back into the woods.... as the go to their spot..... this stand is only good till around 11:00 am..... then I move to my real stand 2 miles back in..... there I seldom see other hunters and animals are in a natural relaxed state.....