Summer / Preseason Whitetail Scouting: Part 2
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors

Walking a Buck's Rub Route

If you are scouting for deer, or your are trying to pattern a buck, and haven't found it's rub route yet, but you have found it's core area, it is a good place to look for the buck's rub route/trail. With the use of a topographical map or aerial photo to show you where the food sources, roads and bottlenecks are, you can make a good guess which way the buck travels and where he will end up. A buck's rub route/trail usually leads from a wooded area (that it uses during the day) to an open food source (where it feeds and looks for does at night). You can usually find the buck's trail out of the bedroom and follow it by the rubs the buck makes as it walks along the trail. If it's possible, and you have access to all the property the buck uses, follow the entire route, from the core area to the food sources and back to the core area again. Once you know the buck's rub route you know where to find him. But, unless you have seen him regularly, not when to see him. When you have found the trails, doe use areas, buck core areas and rub routes, record their location on a map. If you see deer record the time, place, weather conditions, food sources, activity and other factors in a journal, so you know where to find the deer later on. With the information gathered in late summer it takes less time and effort to locate, observe, record and pattern the deer when it comes time to hunt.

Know Where The Bucks Travel and When They Travel
If you have time to observe the rub route trails you can learn where and what time the buck uses them. Finding the rub route and knowing when the buck uses it helps you choose the right time and place to hunt. If you don't have time to watch the trail you can use a Trail Timer or other timing device to let you know what time the buck comes through the area. But, this won't tell you the size of the buck's rack. If you want to know the size of the rack without being there you can use a PhotoHhunter or one of several other cameras to take the animal's picture as it passes by.
If you use a timing device be sure to get one with multiple timing functions, so that you can tell you how many deer came through the area. If you get one of the knew cameras that are connected to a timing device, the camera can tell you the sex of the deer, and the size of its rack. If you don't use a timer to find out the buck's travel time, the best strategy is to find its core area and setup as near to it as you possibly can, using different stand sites for morning and evening hunts, and for varying wind conditions. By getting close enough to the buck's core area to watch it, but far enough away from the core area that you don't alert the buck to your presence, you increase the chances of seeing the buck during daylight hours.

Stand Sites

Once you've found the buck's core area and travel routes you can choose the spots to hang your stand. Don't rely on just one stand site when you're after a big buck; choose several different sites, so that you can hunt both morning and evening, and so that you have an alternate site when the wind isn't right. If you have several stands, and you have the chance, hang them up at least a week before you plant to hunt. If you don't have enough stands for all your hunting sites you can still prepare the sites. Choose the trees you want to use, hang a stand in them to see if everything is right, and cut your shooting lanes so you are ready when it's time to hunt. Don't wait until the day of the hunt to prepare the sight, because there is a good chance the deer may figure out something is wrong, especially if you are there when they come through.

The Dispersal Phase

I often hear hunters say that (during the hunting season) they can't find the big bucks they saw while they were scouting from late August to mid-September. That's because the bucks probably weren't in the same area. Once the bucks (that you may have seen in bachelor groups in late summer/early fall) shed their velvet, they start to become more aggressive, and eventually they won't put up with each other. While some of the bucks may stay in the same area, m any of them move to new core areas, where they don't come in contact with other bucks.
Some of the bucks may move out of their summer home range to go to their fall home range, which may be as little as a half mile to as far as several miles away. This breakup (dispersal), and fall home range shift, usually occurs within two to three weeks of when the older bucks begin to shed velvet. In the upper Midwest it generally occurs sometime between the first and last week of September. By mid-October the bucks have usually moved to their fall home ranges. If you plan on hunting after October 15 you have to start scouting all over again, because the bucks you saw and hunted from late August to mid-October may have moved to their fall home ranges.
Since bucks usually start making new rubs and scrapes in the areas they use in the fall, the best way to locate them is to look for fresh rubs and scrapes. When you find fresh rubs and scrapes, in areas where they may not have previously occurred that year, you can setup where you can watch that area, to see which bucks are there. Once you find the buck you want you can backtrack its rub route to locate its core area, where you can setup to take the buck.

If you are interested in more whitetail hunting tips, or more whitetail biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the whitetail rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.

This article is an excerpt from the Deer Addict's Manual: Volume 2, Hunting Techniques ($9.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone: 507-824-3296, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com,
Web Site: www.TRMichels.com

T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983
507-824-3296 trmichels@yahoo.com