Steve Bartylla will bring you along as he hunts Missouri, Wisconsin and on a late season doe hunt at the end of the year.

BUCKS & BEARDS DEERHUNT 2000
 Day #1: Matt Parker Gets The First Buck | Day #2: Re-Scouting  | Day #3: Looking For Bucks | Day #4: I Get A Buck  | Day #5: Brent's Turn At The Plate | Day #6: Rain, Wind & A Massive Buck  | Day #7: More Hunting | Day #8: Final Day |
  
Day 2 - Re-Scouting

I headed out before dawn to hunt a pinch point between two pastured meadows. The woods narrowed to approximately 100 yards wide and a deep dry wash that snaked through pushed it down to the point that most deer would pass within bow range. 

I had hung a stand here and put in a mock scrape in October, knowing that the cattle would be gone 3 weeks before now. The 3 hour morning sit resulted in seeing 2 does and a dandy 2 1/2 yr old buck, two more years and he will be a beautiful trophy. Crawling down, I went over to check the mock scrape. The result was disappointing. In October, the area had held around 20 fresh rubs. Although fresh tracks were sprinkled on all the old cow paths, a quick scout turned up only 1 weak scrape and 2 fresh rubs…and no fresh sign in the mock scrape. I pulled my stand.

There was good sign around the meadows though. The one good thing that cows do is keep the grass trimmed. The fall rains had resulted in a lush, green mat of tender cool season grasses and forbs. The deer had found it and the sign indicated they were feeding on it. The other stand I had hung in October overlooking the meadow would be worth a sit.

I spent the rest of the midday hours scouting. It had been a month since I had been here and a lot can change in that time. One thing I was able to pickup years ago is that a whitetail’s patterns change throughout season. Changing food sources, cover and rutting behavior are the biggest factors. Brent and I had done our best to anticipate these changes, but one must always be certain. The only way to do that is through low impact scouting.

As late afternoon approached I grabbed two Rivers Edge Big Foot XLs and headed to the river bottom. I needed a big stand because I may have a shot in any direction. I was heading for a funnel on the edge of a large bedding area we had found during the last visit. This was an ideal setup. 

The bedding area was a thick tangle that was approximately 15 acres in size.  It bordered the river to the east, a large field of native grasses to the west and woods to the north and south. The main trails entering and exiting the bedding area were going through the woods on both the north and south side. On the south side the woods was too wide to cover all movement, but that was not the case on the north end. There, the woods was merely 60 yards wide. I hung my stand, and a stand for Brent to film me from, in the middle, right up against the bedding area.

After clearing a few shooting lanes, I settled in for the evening hunt. About an hour before dark a doe emerged and browsed around my stand till right before dark. Watching deer always makes the time fly by.

Brent arrived at 10:30 that night. After unpacking and talking over our options for the next morning, we hit the sack.

Tomorrow, more hunting...
  For those looking for every advantage in understanding whitetail deer, Steve Bartylla's column Becoming A Student Of Whitetail Deer is a must read.