DEER CRAP and Scouting

[at1010]

When scouting I love do be in the woods in March. Very easy to get around, might find a shed, etc.

However, what are some of the keys you look for? How important do you think deer crap is to knowing if a location is a high traffic area?


example:

I found a wore down trail, lots of tracks, and few piles of scat.

I found another trail/area that is just covered in piles of deer shit. Obviously these have to be high traffic areas. However do you think that is even a factor for hanging a set or would it be better to focus on rubline areas?

I know these sets can/will change depending on the time of the year.


so what do you look for?

 

[Bigslam51]

I found a great pinch point while shed hunting last weekend. It had 2 wore down trails, one had deer shit all over it. After they got through the pinch point the trails then branched off into 3-4 others. I plan on hanging a stand in the pinch point.

 

[at1010]

thanks big slam! I have found several areas that are good pinch points. I have also found several general areas that are just loaded with deer shit. The one area is between a small orchard I planted a few years ago. IT has probably 25+ piles of deer shit all around.

 

[MK111]

The deer may have yarded there during the heavy snow. I'd check later in the summer closer to hunting season.

 

[Bigslam51]

There are always deer at the property I scouted. Can't never go wrong hanging a stand in a pinch point though. Bucks will be forced into it during the rut.

 

[hickslawns]

I'm with Chad. Pinch point wins over piles of poop. Any trails necked down into one trail from several and then spreading back out into multiple trails is where to be. Poop from the last month might not tell you much about next Oct or Nov. Then again, it might. I don't know your area.

 

[at1010]

I'm with Chad. Pinch point wins over piles of poop. Any trails necked down into one trail from several and then spreading back out into multiple trails is where to be. Poop from the last month might not tell you much about next Oct or Nov. Then again, it might. I don't know your area.

Well phil this is at my specific place. I have sets on sets! hahaha. I try to cover a lot of pinch points, and found a few more today that cross a creek that I need to cover.

I just have never seen as much deer shit in areas as I have this year. I am hoping it just means more deer are around hahaha! One thing about SE Ohio I have found is that many times there are not specific pinch points. Deer just move how/where they want. So pinch points are deff key to success I agree!

 

[antiqucycle]

Its obvious you found an area where the found some plentiful food source during the worst winter weather(soybeans). and remember two months of snow almost every day preserves a ton of deer poop. Keep your eyes open for lots of turkey drops in the same places.

 

[at1010]

Its obvious you found an area where the found some plentiful food source during the worst winter weather(soybeans). and remember two months of snow almost every day preserves a ton of deer poop. Keep your eyes open for lots of turkey drops in the same places.

that was the interesting thing. I wasn't in my food plots.

The one area was in my yard. The other areas are naturally good areas but just loaded with deer shit. Now the trails are not as pronounced as other trail but clearly the deer are traveling through the area frequently. Now will they be there in Fall? Who knows hahaha

 

[PA Bandit]

Just as a general note a Doe and (2) offspring in the area can lay a considerable amount of feces alone. I would be open to saying that it would have to almost be walking on mounds of shit to use it as any kind of indicator of stand placement. I will offer though that I guess when initial scoping a property it may offer some insight into natural deer patterns but I don't think it would be anymore valuable then "trails" in that deer wear in pretty common paths of travel.

I would be apt to agree with others in that deer are not very intelligent animals and understanding the lay of the land and common traits that deer exhibit in their movement is going to lead you to the right locations from there finding actual deer movement (i.e. trails) is going to pretty much hone you in on where you should be.

 

[at1010]

Just as a general note a Doe and (2) offspring in the area can lay a considerable amount of feces alone. I would be open to saying that it would have to almost be walking on mounds of shit to use it as any kind of indicator of stand placement. I will offer though that I guess when initial scoping a property it may offer some insight into natural deer patterns but I don't think it would be anymore valuable then "trails" in that deer wear in pretty common paths of travel.

I would be apt to agree with others in that deer are not very intelligent animals and understanding the lay of the land and common traits that deer exhibit in their movement is going to lead you to the right locations from there finding actual deer movement (i.e. trails) is going to pretty much hone you in on where you should be.

great write up. Thank you!

 

[giles]

From what I've noticed about shit, is that it's generally close to the bedding area. Just like us, they get up and get moving then they gotta take that morning shit. Even if it's one deer doing this everyday on it's routine route, it wouldn't take long to have a bunch of piles in one area on one trail. Make it a family group and just imagine. Add the cold winter to preserve it all, now your talking about a lot of piles of shit. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't put much thought into shit, especially this time of year as it could be months old or hours, too hard to tell the difference for me.

 

[Big_Holla]

A lot of great answers above! I agree that a doe and a couple fawns could dump a ton of poop and with snow rather than rain it would stay for a long long time/winter. Keep in mind that not long after bedding is when a lot of the poop in woods will be dumped, unless there is an actual food source there like acorns or browse. Biggest thing for me is finding trails and following them like what others have said. That's how most of our pinch point stand locations have been found.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Right now, I don't put much faith in the piles of crap I've been finding, and I don't remember ever seeing more in the woods than I currently am. However, all of the mountains of crap are in or very close to stands of oaks. I have never seen deer utilizing acorns so late in the year either. When we had snow on, the deer had cleared entire hillsides of snow digging for acorns... I have never seen this before. They were not even going to cut corn fields, they were staying in the oaks...and pooping a lot while there!

 

[at1010]

Right now, I don't put much faith in the piles of crap I've been finding, and I don't remember ever seeing more in the woods than I currently am. However, all of the mountains of crap are in or very close to stands of oaks. I have never seen deer utilizing acorns so late in the year either. When we had snow on, the deer had cleared entire hillsides of snow digging for acorns... I have never seen this before. They were not even going to cut corn fields, they were staying in the oaks...and pooping a lot while there!

Ive noticed this as well. TONS of acorns still around too. Deer seem to be hammering these as well as turkeys.