Nick from Kansas asks,
Evening Bill hope all is well in your neck of the woods and the family is good. My question or should i say questions are about topo and scrapes.... Im curious when you scout a new property what are some things that get you fired up and really interested in it, ridges, isolated blocks of timber in ag(my favorite) or do you really just pay attention to security and everything else comes second..... 2nd. If you had to pick a terrain that you love to hunt more then others and cant wait to crack what would it be? My 3rd question is july is coming fast and im curious if you ever make mock scrapes and put cams on them in the late summer if so I'd love to hear your process on doing that(maybe a youtube video) do you do rope scrapes brand of scent etc your process etc.... or do of you fell like corn piles are a better option where legal for inventory in late summer....?
Bill responds,
Topic: Hunting Ridges for Whitetails:
When I am scouting, the first and most important thing I look for are the best entry and exit routes that allow me to get in and out of the hunting area without any deer knowing.
Nick,
When I scout, the number one thing I am looking for are the best entry and exit routes. I want to know how I can get in and out of the area without any deer knowing it. It really doesn’t matter how good the sign is if I can’t hunt it without the deer knowing I am there (or have been there).
These routes might be creeks or ditches or even a line of thick cover that I can sneak behind. Sometimes it is even standing cornfields – they work really well. Once I figure out which areas I can hunt without being detected, I start to look for possible stand sites near those routes.
The terrain features I like the most when scouting or even looking for a new area to hunt are wooded ridges. I love hunting ridges just because they are fun places to hunt, but also because the wind will be steadier in these places than anywhere down in the valleys or ravines. Also, deer bed predictably on these ridges making them great areas to hunt during the rut when bucks are cruising around looking for bedded does.
To answer your third question, I have not made many mock scrapes in my life, but I know guys that do it and have success. Jared Mills did that a lot and he used the thick hemp rope hanging from the branch to absorb and hold the scent and even hung a bell on the rope so he could tell when a buck was working the scrape even if he couldn’t see it. That is pretty cool idea.
I can’t remember which scent he used but I think it was Smokey’s Pre-Orbital scent. Not sure how you get it, but I assume you can search for it online. Good luck and thanks for the support. (5/24/21)
