It is important to do some early spring scouting when hunting on both private or state lands.. this helps you to find the most frequently used paths by the deer. As you find these heavily used deer runs you can begin to learn and better understand the deer in your areas habits and patterns.. this will help you when choosing on private land where to plant the proper crops for the best food source for deer in your area or on state land locating where their most frequently visited food sources are and where water sources and bedding sources are in both stand and private lands.. it's also important to find or create natural mineral licks in the area you are hunting depending if it's state or private land.. knowing what minerals the deer in your area are deficient in will also help you to create the best licks for them so that they might frequent them more often and also helps with the overall health of the heard in the area.
Once these areas have been established and properly maintained it is time to start looking for your communal scrapes old and new in order to start using your favorite scents like bucks bait deer urine and buck urine to keep them interested in the area careful not to over use. Placing trail cameras at all these locations will help give you an idea of their pattern of behavior and in turn then help you to decide where you want to have your areas set up for hunting.. always remember where there is a good herd of doe that are of breeding age that are happy and healthy there will be dominant bucks wanting to have them all to himself.
~Jennifer Drake Pro Staff