Yesterday I was posed with the question, “Should I hunt or go on a scouting mission?” The cool front and breezy conditions created an eagerness to climb into a stand and hunt. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve hunted my home state of Missouri, and it would feel great to sit in the stand. I almost talked myself into hunting too, but had deep conviction that I needed to go scout. Why was this a question? It’s deer season and there’s a cold front; making a hunt is the only obvious answer, right? Not always.
After some short deliberation, I decided to forgo the hunt and go scout a new area. Going hunting wouldn’t have necessarily been the wrong answer. There are no wrong answers if you get enjoyment from just being outdoors, but if you are trying to be as efficient as possible and find more opportunities to fill buck tags, oftentimes scouting is the right answer.
As it would turn out, I was satisfied with my decision. My common early-season spots would have been compromised by the prevailing wind, and I was able to actually find a lead on a new setup for a little later in the season. I didn’t fill a tag that day, but if I am fortunate to do so later in this new area, I will look back at this first scouting trip as a key to success.
I feel like we often default to hunting once the season arrives. Scouting often goes out the window unless it’s scrolling through some trail camera pictures. This isn’t exactly a good habit to have. Scouting is a necessity for staying fresh and educating yourself. Don’t get me wrong, more often than not, you should hunt, but there is a good chance that by trading in a few hunts for a few scouting trips, you will find more hunting success.
So how do I decide whether I should hunt or scout? I ask myself three simple questions and let my answers make my decision.
What is the date?
Not all calendar dates are created equal when it comes to deer hunting. Early season and late season dates don’t carry a lot of weight on their own, but once you start moving into the pre-rut and rut, the date makes all the difference. When the bucks have extra motivation to move, it is often best to be in the stand with a weapon in hand.
How are the weather conditions?
Weather plays a huge role in whether I decide to hunt or scout. Like calendar dates, some weather conditions call for you to be in the stand. Major cold fronts come to mind here. If the weather is average, then there is a good chance that the hunting will be too. Subpar weather conditions mean that scouting may be the better choice.
Do I know what the deer are doing?
Lastly, I ask myself what the deer are doing. If I can’t confidently answer this question, I need to scout. Looking for sign, hanging cameras, and glassing for deer will remedy my ignorance. There is little to no substitute for having your finger on the pulse of the properties that you hunt. Once you feel that you know what is going on, by all means, go hunt!
I asked myself these questions yesterday, and once I got over the internal eagerness to hunt, I found objectivity. Scouting was the obvious answer. Now, when I hunt in the future, I will hunt with more confidence.