Scouting from the Skinning Shack

To be successful hunting deer you really need to know what the deer are eating and when they are eating. Sure, watching a deer feed is one way to know the preferred food source at the time, but what did the deer eat 3 hours ago or 6 hours ago? If you could just figure out what the deer is eating or going to eat when you are sitting in your stand you could choose the stand that is closest to that food source the following day. So how do you figure this out?

If you are hunting solo then I can't help you with this tip, unless you have multiple tags. But if you are hunting with partners and one of them is successful it's time to get messy. Grab your rubber gloves, if you must, and start playing CSI on the deers digestive tract. Start closest to the exit point and work your way up to the esophagus. Observing the different food stuff in the digestive tract will give you an idea of the order the deer ate in the past 12-18 hours. If the esophagus has acorns in it, you can bet that the other deer in the area will be eating acorns the following day within a few hours that this deer was shot.

Deer, like other animals, are creatures of habit. Getting messy is just another way to help you break their habit, hopefully with a well placed shot.