Steve Bartylla will bring you along as he bowhunts Wisconsin's Bluff Country Outfitters

Scouting at Bluff Country Outfitters

Brent and I arrived at Tom and Laurie Indrebo’s the last weekend in October. Together, they run Bluff Country Outfitters (on the web at www.bluffcountryoutfitters.com), one of the top outfitting operations in the nation. I originally met Tom Indrebo when I first began making videos. Tom has produced 3 of the very best trophy buck videos on the market. If there are videos available that contain more footage of free ranging trophy bucks than his I have never seen them. We had gotten together to discuss various video production options. Since that day we have done several things to help each other out and I consider myself lucky to have become friends with them.

Bluff Country Outfitters is located in the heart of Buffalo county, Wisconsin. Almost everyone that follows trophy bucks realizes that this is one of the truly magnificent areas for trophy deer. To put things in perspective, as of 10/27/00, Tom knew of 5 different bucks that had already been harvested this season, either by his hunters or friends in the area, that would gross B & C. Along with that staggering number, he also knew of 10 separate other bucks still roaming the area that he had personally seen which would qualify for B & C. Numbers like that cause me to wonder just how many B & C bucks this area truly holds. The vast majority of hunters spend their entire life without ever seeing a magnificent creature that would reach those standards.

Tom had set aside a farm for Brent and I to scout. I would be returning on November 12th, for a 5 day hunt. Although Tom typically hand selects the stand sites for each hunter, I have always enjoyed playing the game myself. Because of his in-depth knowledge of trophy buck habits and his knowledge of the land we would be hunting, he could undoubtedly select the best possible locations for me. However, I enjoy scouting and hanging stands every bit as much, if not even more, then actually hunting. To me, that is where the true challenge lies: looking at a piece of ground, studying it, figuring out the movement patterns and selecting the ambush points.

Studying the contour map revealed two locations that looked very promising. In fact, they turned out to be stand number 2 and 3 (see photo of the contour map). Both were obvious funnel points. Closer investigation revealed both to be even better than I had hoped.

The period I would be hunting would be the peak of the rut. At that point I want to be hunting funnels and doe concentrations. Both stand sites 2 and 3 had heavy doe bedding areas directly up the ridge from the funnels. Anything circling around below them would have to pass directly by my stands. Stand site 1 was a bit different. The ridge on the opposite side of the low field I was near had an incredible amount of bedding activity. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t setup well for a stand. Along the top of the ridge a heavy concentration of bedding was occurring between stand 1 and 2. Scouting showed that just about any buck moving between those bedding area would pass by stand 1’s location.

As I head to hang stand #3 you can see the funnel formed by the bean field and steep opening on the face of the bluff.

With 3 stands hung, I felt I was fairly well setup for my 5 day hunt. I generally do not like hunting a stand more than once every 5 days, but the rut can be an exception. The bucks are moving so much during that period that they are seldom in one place long enough to pattern a hunter.

Tom Indrebo and I study a contour map of the farm before Brent and I head out to foot scout it.

The dots, labeled 1-3, indicate the 3 stands Brent and I hung during our late October scouting trip to Bluff Country Outfitters.

Tomorrow: Day #1

| Scouting | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
  For those looking for every advantage in understanding whitetail deer, Steve Bartylla's column Becoming A Student Of Whitetail Deer is a must read.