Going into the deer's bedding areas without maximum scent control can cause the deer to change their patterns so wear rubber boots, secent control clothing, and rubber gloves. Dont be lazy about scent control while summer scouting.

I identify core bedding areas, food sources, and travel corridors by using aerial photos, topo maps, and Google Earth/Bing etc. Once I've identified these, a quick scent free walk through the areas helps identify possible stand locations and visible sign. Once I feel like I have an area that looks good, I like to scout from a distance, either by glassing or using trail cameras along runs. I also spend a lot of summer weekends driving roads at dawn and dusk. When you catch a nice buck moving at first/last light in July or August, I feel like I have the upper hand and it's only a matter of time before him and I cross paths

Use a trail cam(s) to do low impact scouting of the travel routes in your area. They will also help you better pinpoint the time deer will be traveling to and from feeding areas.

If you have a trimming to do for your tree stands, now is the time to do this. The vegetation is full now and you will be able to tell what needs to be trimmed. And for all those bow hunters out there if your not practicing yet, get to it!

It's a great time to recharge your mineral licks, get deer coming to them and do an inventory of your herd. I know a fellow who swears by the Trophy Rock brand mineral and says it's how he inventories his bucks in mid to late summer.

Here in the deep South, especially later in the summer, don't overlook poke salat as a deer food. A buddy and I have hunting tracts several miles apart and separated by a wide river. We both found heavy browsing of poke salat leaves on our separate tracts the same weekend a couple years ago. It was hot and dry and those leaves proved a palatable food source.

I also like to glass cutovers late in the summer.

My scouting tip is pay attention to the weather during the summer and compare it to previous years to predict forage output. If it's really dry during the summer, the crop output is going to be relatively low. If the weather is nice and rain pours in and everything is going well, then forage is going to shoot up. When the summers are near drought like, I look for which trees are doing better than the rest in acorn production and pin it on a map as a possible food source during the fall and set up cameras to confirm or deny my predictions. When I check the cameras, I also check the trees.

CSI any fences in the area. You'll find tracks on the ground and patches of fur and/or blood on the tips or barbs of the fences. This could give you an idea of the traffic in the area and maybe clues to any changes in movement paths. You can also look at the area around the fences but I generally stick near fences when I'm doing some summer scouting.

2 tips. One, check all the points where a ridge ends for bedding areas. Bucks will always use the wind when picking a bedding area. Look for ridges where the wind blows toward the end of the ridge. They use the wind to smell danger from behind and their eyes to watch down the hills. They may move to a thicket on lower ground if pressured later in the season so get out there early. 2nd bucks usually stay in bachelor groups during the summer. When they shed the velvet they will split up shorlty afterward. So your summer scouting for a bruiser may only be good for so long. The key is to get out there early and hunt them while most people are waiting for cooler weather. Good luck this season!

I like to keep a log/journal of all the deer, sheds, and deer sign I see throughout the year. Then you can go back and compare year to year. Also if I am experiencing a lull in action I can go back and determine an area that had the most bucks in summer. I also make a check list of projects and other managment objectives I want to get accomplished and when I want to accomplish them by.

Brown thread tied across less-than-noticeable deer trails will break and be pulled the direction the animal was moving. In doing this, it gives you a great idea of where to place your trail cams or stands in areas that are out of the way or unfamiliar.

when i go scouting during spring i always look for persimmons because were persimmons are is were a few deer will be and thats were i watch during winter for sighs of feeding

Also if there is a place i am scouting i like to pour some plain inexpensive flour on the ground it will show tracks of all the animals that walk and it shows them clear.

go to water.

I scout trails, water holes, dges of bedding areas, check or move game cameras just before a rain. The rain helps wash away any scent I may have left behind.

When I scout during the summer, I like to take my dogs out for walks in the areas I scout. It gives the dogs exercise, and gives me the opportunity to get out and find deer sign in the area. From time to time, my dogs will even find sign that I've missed!

Between now and august is a great time to hang stands. On the public land I hunt I wait for a good rain, throw my rain gear on, grag a couple stands and lock them up in my best pre scouted spots. The trick now is to not return to them until conditions are perfect in the fall!

Start to get in shape now so you are ready for the walking, scouting and (hopefully) dragging in the fall. The work you do now could make all the difference in the fall when you need to go the extra mile to kill that big swamp buck. You can't kill him if you can't make it to where he hangs out!

I've already started scouting for the deer, both does and bucks, mostly at a distance. Find the food, find the water. Summer patterns hold well here in Kentucky, usually until the first week of October, even though last year, bucks started chasing does the last week of September.

I started by making the does comfortable in thick bedding areas near fields and power lines with a year round water source available. By helping the does in many different areas on the property I hunt, I can wait on The Monster, as the does are comfortable most of the summer, tending to their young and feeding.

Many years ago I bought three hundred outdoor temperature guages at a flea market, that are light weight and easy to hang. I have hung these guages in many locations, such as different areas in hollows, on points, fields, creek beds, ridges and in all directions.

Over the years after checking the temperature guages, I've realized why certain particular areas hold deer, while other areas are void. I have noticed some hollows and ridges will have an eight to twelve degeree difference especially on very hot days. Most of these areas that are cooler will have the ground holding moisture, water and condensation, much longer, allowing a bunking deer to be much more comfortable than one bunking in a much similar, warmer area, marked by a higher reading on the temperature guage.

If these cool areas are some distance from a water source, I make my own. I find a creek that runs down hill and locate a deep depression within the creek bed itself. I dig the depression until it becomes a deeper pool, that will hold water when the creek runs dry. I use rubber, the type roofers use on a flat roof, and spread it out in the newly dug depression, as it seems to hold the water even longer than a rocky clay bottom.

Through the years of deer hunting I've discovered that if you have any doe urine left, it is still useful. I dig a small hole in the ground, in the above mentioned thick bedding areas for does, while placing Saran Wrap or a baggie,with pin-pricked holes, in the bottom of the hole anchored with heavy rocks.I place several more rocks on top, allowing the scent to escape through the holes. I mix my daughters urine with the doe urine and sprinkle it in the Saran Wrap or baggie. The does that are about to give birth, earlier in the spring, find this concoction comforting for some reason. They become used to the smell as well as their off-spring, and tend to stay in this "holding area" until the rut.

Same thing with buck urine, except I mix my urine with the bucks and place it in a drop bottle near a salt lick. This always works, as I have my buddies trail cam to catch the curious bucks. They become familar with my scent and they don't associate it with danger.

If you have an active salt lick, place several flat rocks, depending on the size and elavate the rocks slightly, so condensation collects on the bottom daily. Deer seem to frequent salt licks during or just after a rain, so if one can keep it moist, even with condensation, it will be much more of an attractant.

C'mon Out Monster!

Be as non-invasive as possible and if you must walk around do it during or right after a rain. Rely on your trail cams to do your work. You can get a good inventory of the deer on your property using 1 camera for every 50-100 acres. By September you can formulate your "hit list" of bucks without ever disturbing the deer. I also use utilization cages in my food plots to see which crops/plots are preferred most at different times.

Just wanted to add to my earlier comment about a water source in the summer. Where i had my camera was a cpl miles from the Missouri river...well it is now part of the river & so is my camera. Oh well maybe ill get some good carp pitcures.

Hey Hank111 im in western Iowa too...Monona county, where you at ? Yeah i think the hills are gonna be my only option this year & thanks for wantin me to win.

Hey I'm from monona county too did u have ur cameras on deer island or were u on private ground?

Well i am not very experienced with anything outdoors because im 14 but i trap and hunt. i really believe a trail camera is not needed if you know what you are looking for. First of all water water water everything goes there to live so you might want to start out at water if you cant find to many tracks anywhere else and usually you get a good path from water and if the path splits and one goes into thick and the other goes to a little more open usually the bedding area is the thick and feeding is towards more open and it was true for me a good couple of times. So what i learned from this is follow till it splits or the den will be in the thick and eventually the path will go to an open area. So another thing is that this would be a good time to look to the more open areas for heavily fed on areas and i like to learn the patterns and check back to see about every couple days for new tracks to new food and such. I like to learn the pattern of the deer because of course im a trapper and i have to learn the patterns or i wont get anything. So i hope this helps!

Small world i guess...@ njschneider, not deer island i hunt some private land out by casino omaha

In the spring, as the snow is melting, I look for the deer trails. This gives me an idea of where the dear are traveling and good spots to put trail cameras up. I use the pictures to help scout out the best spots for stands.