With firearms seasons either upon us or fast approaching, the eternal question for many who focus on public land often becomes, do you have enough spots in your quiver? In my favorite hunt areas based in the upper Midwest, gun season pressure can be highly variable, fluctuating widely from year to year. But most years the competition is fierce, and to ensure a quality hunt, you’d better have not only a solid Plan A, but also a workable Plan B, C and D.
For me, one of the most enjoyable ways to scout for quality spots kicks into high gear in early October, when I log several dozen miles with shotgun in hand, chasing woodcock and grouse. Both prefer relatively heavy cover to avoid predation from hawks and other predators, which typically leads me to areas in and around relatively recent clearcuts that also congregate deer.
This fall I was on a four-day small-game hunt the second week in October with my eager daughter when we hit a deer sign jackpot. This, after three long days of running into little or no deer sign. The turnaround came in a clearcut area we hadn’t hunted since well before it was cut, and we stumbled into a large grassy opening within that clearcut that was littered with smoking hot sign.
Fresh scrapes were scattered around the perimeter of that opening, and it also held a few very large rubs indicative of 3- to 5-year-old bucks. The hackles on my neck were standing up as we investigated further, eventually finding a large primary scrape complete with large licking branch that was battered, broken and abused. Several bucks seemed to be involved. Better yet, that sign did not lie.
I returned to the area about week later packing my bow and set a trail camera on that primary scrape. After 2 1/2 days, I found that at least six different bucks and a handful of does had worked that large scrape, including a massive-beamed monarch I tabbed at no less than 5.5 years. Good stuff for this area of hard-hunted public land.
Over the years I’ve noticed many of the grassy openings scattered randomly through clearcuts can be deer magnets. One giveaway is the network of beaten trails radiating out from them into the sea-of-sameness clearcut, like spokes on a wheel. You can find these openings through boots-on-the-ground scouting as we did, and another great option is studying digital maps with help from a good hunting app such as HuntStand or OnX.
Hunting these clearcut areas can, of course, be a challenge, because even though the surrounding poplar, aspen and scrub oak trees can be 8-12 feet high, none are remotely large enough to hang a stand. The answer is often the perimeter of the clearcut, where major trails extend into surrounding areas hold larger, more-mature trees.
It’s in classic edge-habitat areas like these where both ultra-compact hang-on stands and saddle systems can be worth their weight in gold, allowing you to hang in smaller trees where standard-size hang-ons and climbers won’t work.
Take your time scouting the perimeters of these clearcuts. Concentrate on areas holding the most-promising trails, downwind of the prevailing winds you’ll expect to encounter during your hunt. Then it’s all about putting in your time on stand to ambush bucks other hunters might never see.