Successful hunters know that the more preparation and studying that go into hunting, the better and easier hunting will be for that season. Scouting and tracking are some of the best ways to prepare for the upcoming season, which is why hunting outfitters are some of the best and most prepared hunters out there. If hunters scout and track every year and keep records of their findings, they’ll be able to pick up on patterns of activities, routes, eating habits and other trends.
Scouting and tracking prior to hunting provide many great benefits for hunters. Whether it’s getting a feel for the land, the animals, the way animals interact and use the land, or all the above, scouting and tracking gives hunters a sense of preparation and understanding of what they need to do for the upcoming deer season.
Find the Best Routes
If hunters prepare accordingly, they’ll know what routes their prey will take. Once they know this, they’ll be able to determine where their nesting and feeding areas are located. Hunters can set up trail cams, study topography and overhead maps, and analyze droppings and scrapes to get a better idea of where their prey come from.
The best way for a hunter to catch his prey is to know their traveling routes. A route is where an animal travels from their nesting ground to a watering hole or a food plot. This is very important information for hunters because it gives them a better idea of where to set up their hunting spots. Once a hunter understands the best routes their prey travels, then they can move on to the next step in the pre-hunting season.
Find the Best Hunting Spots
Some of the best hunting spots are next to a prey’s traveling route or near food plots. Hunting spots near a prey’s nesting ground are not a good idea because a hunter has a higher chance of disturbing their prey upon climbing in or out of their hunting spot. Plus, if you take down a deer while it’s still in or near its nesting ground, then you’ll startle the whole pack and cause them to relocate to a different nesting ground; maybe one that’s not on your land.
The idea behind the best hunting spots is to catch prey in the middle of transit to food plots or watering holes, or in the process of eating or drinking, so setting them up next to or near these spots is ideal.
Improve the Land’s Habitat
After a hunter knows the routes deer are taking, what their feeding schedules are and the difficultiesthey have while traversing across the land, then the hunter can make adjustments to the land to improve a deer’s habitat.
Attracting some of the best deer to your land and keeping them there is all about having a healthy habitat for them to live. From your scouting and tracking, if you notice ways deer could be more comfortable, you’ll want to make these improvements before the hunting season begins. Once their habitat is improved, whether that’s from cleared trails for them to travel or healthier food plots for them to eat, they’ll be more inclined to stay. By creating convenience for them and an appropriate habitat, deer will want to stay and continue to prosper on your land.
Makes Hunting Easier
Scouting and tracking makes hunting overall a heck of a lot easier. It gives hunters the proper preparation they need in order to find favorite routes deer take, find the best spots to set up stands and improve the land to make a more comfortable and pleasant habitat for deer to live. The main thing is to create a comfortable environment, once this is established, hunting becomes much easier.
Joseph Otto writes for KT’s Trophy Hunts, the professional hunting outfitters of Missouri. With expert guides and over 7500 acres of private hunting land, find out why they’re Missouri’s go-to hunting outfitters.
