Scouting for a Hunting Spot

During Episode 54 of Shooting The Breeze, I spent a little time talking about how I wanted to give hunting a try. I’ve been investing a considerable amount of time as of late to selecting a good spot to harvest a deer during Archery Season. The process has been slow going over the past few weeks but I think I may have finally selected a location with some potential.

Leading up to this scouting trip I was going at it pretty much blind. Everything I knew was based on what I read online and watched on television (the latter, in this case, is a terrible way to learn). Not feeling like I was getting anywhere on my own, I decided to take my findings to the HuntingPA Forum and ask for advice.

I was as specific as possible, despite knowing that I could potentially be scouting for anyone reading the forum, and the feedback came immediately. Members looked over my topographical maps, photos, and notes. Before long I packed up and moved completely across the lake I was scouting and felt like I was making immediate progress.

After a few more maps and photos were posted, my location was refined a bit more. Even though things were much better at this point, I was still missing the all important deer sign. I didn’t find a single dropping, scrape, track, or rub. I pressed on, dedicated to finding a good spot.

After I posted the video you see above, I received a couple of messages on the HuntingPA Forum offering to meet up with me and show me around. I took one member up on their offer and came away with feeling as though I learned a lot in our short scouting session.

Having game trails and chewed up crops pointed out to me, I hit the woods again to scout out an area that I overlooked prior. During that trip I came away confident in my chosen spot. As soon as my Antlerless Tags arrive (I applied for 2), I plan on hitting the woods and seeing how I make out.

Wish me luck, this new hobby has been a long time coming.