Early Season Scouting Reports

[knurren]

I wanted to start a thread where everyone could share information on their scouting trips.  My scouting season is still a few weeks out but I'm sure there are a few of you already out in the woods, especially with the opening of archery season tomorrow.  Feel free to post up reports and/or pictures here listing everything from beech nut crops, acorn crops, behavior... whatever you find the deer, bear, moose (or whatever) doing.

Just from hiking a few times in Pawtuckaway, I have noticed a decent amount of acorns this year.  Hopefully giving the deer more to eat than last year.  One of the members on myfishfinder.com from the Maine board noted an abundance of beech nuts.  Those are my observations thus far; I look forward to hearing others' thoughts and experiences this season.

[knurren]

Depending on the weather, I will be scouting next weekend (Oct 4 or 5).  The plan is to just check out some areas for deer but I'll bring the 16 guage along in case for rabbits or grouse.  I'll have the camera too, hopefully I'll get some snapshots next weekend.

[BoneHead]

Its been hard to find the time with the kids having soccer practice and I'm still in fishing mode right now.  I haven't even punched any holes yet. After this weekend its time to change hats.  I have been doing some drive bys and have been seeing deer where I hunt (7 the other night all does). I think the deer here in S. ME have fared well from last winter and the mast crop is good. I have a new area that I want to hunt this year and will be scouting it soon.
My dad has 300 acres in E. Andover, Roxbury, and Rumford (3 lots) that I will hunt up there for a good part of the season. I have some trail cameras set up there cause I don't have time to go all the way up there just to scout. At least my firewood is all done.

[huntr-]

Lots and lots of early drop acorns ,havent seen to many beachnuts . The best thing is the apples !!! I have some great shots on the two trail cams.I have to get the other two stands hung before bird season on wed.

[bassranger]

Have they started eating the apples yet

[knurren]

I was going to the area I like to hunt in to pick up a muzzleloader.  There were a ton of acorns in the Franklin/Salisbury area... not a whole lot of sign.  The deer are likely bedded down with this rain.  I took a quick 1 hour hike around since fishing was terrible this morning.

Last year I hunted that area after the first snowfall and it was LOADED with deer looking for food.  Now I wonder if the deer aren't so scattered because they have plenty of stuff to eat. 

Next weekend I'm hoping to take the muzzleloader out; it will be my first time shooting one.  I'm looking forward to it... I have quite a bit of information... at least enough to get me started.  I will also scout a spot or two in the Pittsburg area and see if I can't get a rabbit at the same time.

[huntr-]

I've only seen a few apples touched , they usually do not get into them until the first good cold snap.Lots of bear sign in the apples though. A friend of mine found a nice six pointer dead in a field this week . Looks like a bow kill that someone lost. I'm looking for some more frost to kill off the mosquitos |!!!

[knurren]

It isn't so early in the season anymore, but I spent the past two days scouting... NADA!!!  My spot in Salisbury is burned with someones stand already set up and there don't seem to be many deer to share there anyway.

I did find something interesting in the Henniker area today... a moose gut pile.  I was talking a path through a field with my shotgun hoping for some grouse when I saw some drag marks.  I followed them up the atv trail to where they went off the trail, and there were markers tied to the tree... I followed those a ways in and found the remnants of a gut pile.  It's already been pretty picked over.  I followed the drag marks back to my truck and found a lot of coagulated blood. 

I went back in and started poking around... I found bedding sites, moose scat, and a lot of trails in waist high grass.  It seems they get funneled through this field by  swamps.  I guess I have another WMU to add to my moose permit next year.  I want to deer hunt it in the valley, but it looks like an area with high activity.

I saw acorns everywhere.  And in the place I found the gut pile, I found a few apple trees with plenty of untouched apples on the ground.  I also found apples at my place in Salisbury... also untouched.  Those apples may come in handy later this season as the snow falls.  We will see.

[jibbs]

in the last 2  weekends we have jumped 3 deer while grouse hunting..........this weekend for the grouse was slow........took one shot in 2 days.......hunting is too much work.........i think next weekend i am getting back out in the boat.........the walk in is no problem, but after a day of hunting the walk out stinks........

[knurren]

Bird hunting is probably one of the harder kinds of hunting in our area, especially if you don't have a dog.  At least with deer you can get a stand set up, same with moose unless you're hell bent on still hunting. 

Are you done bird hunting for the season or are you just giving it a break?  At least you spooked some, the only grouse I saw was crossing 28-by pass near Wildlife Taxidermy and it almost got hit by a car.  No joke, I see them in the city but not in the woods unless I'm in Pittsburg.

[jibbs]

no way.......we are taking this weekend off, but i have a trip planned in two weeks to go up to kilkenny and dummer pond in coos......i have a buddy that just bought a place in thirteen mile woods on the androscoggin........we have seen birds, but just can't get clear shots.......the first weekend we flushed 8 and last weekend just the two.......same parcel of land, which gets you to think......are they in the soft woods, hard woods, or just laying low......i wonder if weather pressure plays a factor like in fishing........curious??