Summer Scouting

What do you do to scout in the summer, what are you looking for? Is it too late to scout a property for the first time this summer and hunt in this fall? I have always done the bulk of my scouting during the winter and early spring months. This year has been no different. I moved to a new state last winter. Last winter and spring I put tons of miles on my boots covering new ground. I've also been studying aerial and topo maps as part of my scouting as well.

No one is scouting this summer?

I'm doing a little, but the heat is getting bad here so the scouting trips are waning...
I'm looking for food sources, such as feed trees that are easily identifiable in the summer.

Not right now, no. I'll wait until mid July, early August. That way you get a better idea of what crops, or lack there of, are growing as food sources, beans, corn, fallow fields etc. Dealing with the heat and bugs is tough, but I do my terrain scouting immediately post season, then go turkey hunting and fishing. The deer patterns tend to change radically from fawning and spring patterns to late summer feed patterns it's almost a waste of time to scout early summer. You could do terrain and possibly find thick bedding areas, look stands of oak and mast right now to check later and see if they drop this fall, and try and spot really big track to clue you to a bruiser but later in the summer you get a better idea of travel patterns and activity that will hold through the beggining of the season based on fresh sign.

Yeah but just being in the woods for me is fun even if there patterns do change.  I can't wait for the season and scouting helps me make it until September 7th.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't scout. Just trying to offer some insight on what to look for right now. Most of the spots I hunt, I know so well  there is no need for me to learn the lay of the land anymore. Your right though, being in the woods is fun, I usually tag along with my sons on their "herping" expeditions as cameraman this time of year, public hunting areas are great places for that too. Right now is a good time to get that bow string changed, tune your bow and get down to some serious archery practice and 3-D shoots as well.

That's what I've been doing lately. I've gotten a new string on my bow, tinkered with my release, bought new arrows with 125 grain tips and have been going to shoots. I really haven't scouted since turkey season ended. I got boots on the ground last winter/spring in most place I want to hunt this fall, but there are a couple more I'd like to check out before the season. I think I will try to get to these places at first light and try to get through them before it gets too hot.

I just started scouting on some national forest land in Northern Michigan. I've been finding travel routes, some food sources like oaks and possible stand locations. It's been tough to narrow down where to hunt. I just put out a trail cam also. I can't afford a fancy trail cam but I found some at walmart for 49 dollars. The picture quality is great, I just don't like dropping 10 dollars for new batteries every other couple of weeks. If nothing else its good to get out just to learn the lay of the land and possible areas that other hunters wont trek back to

I've been finding travel routes