{"id":1352,"date":"2024-07-01T13:24:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T13:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/?p=1352"},"modified":"2024-07-04T21:22:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T21:22:42","slug":"are-you-scouting-for-this-falls-buck-yet-you-should-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/01\/are-you-scouting-for-this-falls-buck-yet-you-should-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Scouting for This Fall\u2019s Buck Yet? You Should Be"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Two<\/div>
Antler growth is far enough along by July 4th to get a sense of which bucks will be your best. John Hafner Photography<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more \u203a<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For most of us, July is a month reserved for fishing, grilling, and maybe the beach. Not Minnesota whitetail expert Bob Borowiak, who starts scouting around July 4th and continues until the season opener.\u00a0While most successful deer hunters recognize the need for thorough scouting, many wait until just before the season opener to begin. Borowiak insists that his midsummer observation sessions are responsible for most of the big deer he tags during the archery season.<\/p>\n

Most of us would do well to listen to Borowiak, a retired 76-year old hunter from Houston, Minnesota. Though he didn\u2019t start bowhunting whitetails until he was in his mid-30s, the expert has more than 30 P&Y bucks to his credit. At least 10 of those bucks were taken in the first weeks of the archery season<\/a> and were the direct result of scouting that Borowiak did on summer evenings. Here\u2019s a look at the preseason prep work of one of the most successful bowhunters I know.<\/p>\n

Why Midsummer Observation Is So Important<\/h2>\n
\"Bob
Borowiak with just one of his many P&Y early-season trophies. Bob Borowiak<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a whitetail world obsessed with trail cameras, Borowiak\u2019s scouting regimen relies on good old-fashioned personal observation; his favorite tactic is to glass fields and food plots from distant vantage points. \u201cI\u2019m lucky in that I\u2019m retired and have more free time than most,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I am out there almost every night starting around July 4th. The one farm I hunt I can actually set my spotting scope<\/a> up in my truck and park 500-600 yards away and glass fields. That\u2019s plenty close enough to judge antlers, and the nice thing is, I\u2019m parked right on a road edge and deer are used to the sounds of traffic, so the truck doesn\u2019t bother them.\u201d<\/p>\n

On other properties that don\u2019t have such convenient glassing setups, Borowiak hikes in and sets up in discreet locations that allow him to observe fields and food plots, but not be seen, heard, or smelled by deer. \u201cIt\u2019s also important to consider how you\u2019re going to get out of there at dusk without spooking deer, so I make sure I\u2019m not set up too close to any food source where deer are going to be when it gets dark,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While most hunters are content to let trail cameras do their summer intel for them, Borowiak insists nothing beats personal observation. \u201cCameras are definitely a good tool and part of my scouting, but they are limited in their ability,\u201d he says. \u201cThey only give a small glimpse of what\u2019s happening out in a field, while I can get a big picture view with my spotting scope. For example, I\u2019ve had years where I might have three or more mature bucks using the same field for their evening feeding. If all I had was a camera, I might get one or two of those bucks, and just for a narrow window of time, a snapshot. Glassing allows me to take a good long look and monitor the entire herd, not just the buck that steps in front of a camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

That extended observation allows Borowiak not only a long time to evaluate antlers, but also to assess personality. \u201cWhen those bucks start shedding velvet, some of them are going to disperse, but some will stick around. The more dominant bucks\u2013which you can tell easily from observing them, even in velvet, have a better chance of sticking around. At this point I\u2019m not trying to nail down specific patterns of individual bucks; I\u2019m just getting an idea of what\u2019s out there and the general areas used by bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Best Spotting Scopes of 2024<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rethinking Early-Season Buck Patterns<\/h2>\n
\"A
Big bucks rarely repeat the same pattern day after day. It can take a little patience to dupe them. John Hafner Photography<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While much has been said and written about patterning bucks\u2014especially in the early season\u2014Borowiak uses the term cautiously, even though he\u2019s deadly at bagging early-season trophies. \u201cI\u2019ve killed a couple bucks that made repeat visits to the same area on a regular basis, but I\u2019m convinced those cases are rare, especially with bucks 4 or 5 years old,\u201d he said. \u201cWith older deer, it\u2019s more realistic to expect that, if you see a buck in one spot one night, he might be back a week later. I shot a 160-class buck two years ago that we got a pic of, walking through a food plot in the morning, as he headed back to bed. I was convinced that he\u2019d repeat that behavior, but I\u2019d just have to wait him out. I finally shot him on the sixth morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than use the term \u201cpattern\u201d, Borowiak feels bucks have preferred areas within their home range that they use consistently, but not daily. \u201cYou hear people talk about finding a buck\u2019s bed, and the picture they try to paint is there\u2019s this one small area that a buck returns to for bedding each day,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that\u2019s what happens. I think bucks have a general bedding area that contains several places where he feels safe and comfortable, and he uses whatever bed within that area appeals to him on a certain day. And the same goes for food; I may glass a buck feeding in soybeans one evening, and the next he\u2019s on alfalfa and after two nights there he switches to some acorns that have fallen. That\u2019s one advantage of glassing; because I can cover more ground, I can get a better big-picture view of how bucks are using an area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typically, by the season opener, Borowiak has identified 2 to 4 bucks that he\u2019d be happy to shoot and has started formulating a game plan for the area. \u201cSince the territories of these bucks overlap, I\u2019m rarely holding out for one deer,\u201d he says. \u201cInstead, I\u2019m hunting an area that I know has several bucks and I\u2019m happy to take the first one to show up. And because I know that these bucks are not on a daily \u2019pattern\u2019 that brings them to the same spot each evening, I don\u2019t worry if I don\u2019t see a target buck on a given night. All I\u2019m concerned with is getting out of the stand without spooking other deer. When conditions are right, I\u2019ll return.\u201d Borowiak is constantly monitoring wind direction to help him choose stand sites, and he\u2019s a religious user of Ozonics units for scent control in his stands and box blinds.<\/p>\n

Related: Best Binoculars for 2024<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Camera Support Does Help With Summer Scouting<\/h2>\n
\"whitetail
A big summer buck visits a freshened scrape in a staging area just off a food source. Browning Trail Cameras<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While long-range glassing is at the core of his scouting program, Borowiak does use cameras to provide additional information. \u201cI do like wireless cameras<\/a> because they simply require less intrusion into a buck\u2019s area once you have them set up,\u201d he said. Some of his favorite camera setups are water sources in the timber (he installs water tubs on hardwood ridges, which become magnets for deer and all sorts of wildlife, including bears and bobcats). \u201cWater is a huge draw in this country, and while I do get pics of good bucks in the summer on water, I don\u2019t worry if I don\u2019t. Doe family groups find these water holes in a hurry and return to them throughout the year. When the rut comes, the bucks won\u2019t be far behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other preferred setups are early-season food sources like soybeans, alfalfa, apples and white oak acorns. \u201cI look for good food where there\u2019s good fresh deer sign,\u201d Borowiak says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of food out there for deer this time of year, so I\u2019m not expecting daily visits. Just that pic or two that confirms there\u2019s a good buck in the area.\u201d Such was the case with a buck he named \u201cBig Louie\u201d, a heavy-racked deer that showed up and posed for a single picture by an apple tree. \u201cI hung a stand in a tree 30 yards away and hunted it several times when he never showed up,\u201d Borowiak recalled. \u201cThen one evening a pair of 2-\u00bd year old bucks showed up at that apple. One didn\u2019t stick around long and the other started acting nervous and looking behind him. When I looked that way I could see Big Louie\u2019s rack heading my way and though he was walking cautiously he came right to that apple tree and I made the shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borowiak\u2019s final favorite camera setup is near an early-season scrape. While many hunters associate scrapes only with rutting activity, savvy hunters like Borowiak know that deer visit scrapes year round and early fall is a peak activity time. \u201cI don\u2019t do a lot of mock scrapes because I\u2019m really careful about spending too much time, and laying down human scent, in a spot that I know a big buck already likes,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if I find a natural scrape, I\u2019ll freshen it with some \u2018Scrape Fix\u2019 by TactaCam, which I apply to the overhanging branch and also on the ground. Then I hang my camera and get out of there.\u201d<\/p>\n

As noted, Borowiak took up bowhunting relatively late in life. Though he\u2019d been a successful gun hunter for mature bucks, he definitely struggled after becoming a bowhunter. \u201cI spent the first 8 years hunting deer that didn\u2019t exist,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI was basically hunting the landscape or setting up on some fresh sign and hoping that a big buck would appear. But I had zero evidence that they were even in the neighborhood. That all changed when I started putting in my time, doing the long-range glassing and really trying to get a handle on what deer are out there and what they\u2019re doing, long before the season even started. It\u2019s made a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while Borowiak\u2019s summer observations have led him to some dandy bucks taken in the first weeks of the season, he\u2019s convinced that his summer scouting efforts pay off as the fall progresses. \u201cNot all the bucks I spot in the summer will be in spots I can hunt at the opener,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I know they\u2019re in the immediate area and might be huntable later. Just knowing what\u2019s out there gives me so much confidence and enthusiasm. Almost every Minnesota buck I\u2019ve killed, regardless of the time frame, is a deer I knew from my scouting and observations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Next: Best Cellular Trail Cameras for 2024<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Are You Scouting for This Fall’s Buck Yet? You Should Be<\/a> appeared first on Field & Stream<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Antler growth is far enough along by July 4th to get a sense of which bucks will be your best. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1352"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1359,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352\/revisions\/1359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/agonyway.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}