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What to Do When You See Signs but No Deer
You are out in the field and you see signs all around you, but not one trace of a deer. What should you do?
This is a common challenge. You pre-scout your deer hunting area. You find fresh signs and decide to hang a tree stand or place a ground blind. Days go by and you don’t see deer.
It could be the signs you have found were created at night. Especially as hunters enter the field, deer may switch from day activity to night. They may change from morning and evening to midday when hunters go in for lunch and there may be less pressure.
Here is the question you need to answer. What were the deer doing when they left these fresh signs?
Look for paths out of the area containing the fresh signs. Where are they headed?
Could the sign have been made in the pre-dawn hours and a fresh path leads to a bedding area for the day to avoid hunters? This would likely be a thicket or area with heavy brush.
Could deer be coming through on their way to water or a feeding area?
Study an aerial photograph or map to identify bedding areas and food sources. Bedding areas can be rougher, elevated areas with thick cover or swampy areas with dry patches where the deer can bed. You can look for isolated areas or spots with thick cover and blow-down trees.
As deer hunting season progresses, bucks can leave seclusion in late afternoon and return minutes into shooting daylight. So make sure you are ready in your tree stand or ground blind early in the morning and stay until shooting light is over.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
Posted by Marty Prokop
