Spring is a little over a month away now. Now is a great time to be out looking for sheds, scouting, preparing for food plots etc. For me deer season is never really over. One season end and another begins.

  Most of the bucks should have lost the antlers by now and with the lack of snow cover in a lot of areas this year shed hunting should be easier. Not that it is easy but unlike last year when we had 2+ feet of snow. I will walk all of the trails, check fence lines and feeding/bedding areas. I'll be honest and say I'm not the best shed hunter or my eyes just don't pick out the antlers as well as some do. But none the less I go out and do it to get some exercise and fresh air. When I do find one it is like winning the lottery.

   Now is also a great time to scout. I like to find bedding areas and confirm that I was in the right place last season. Finding large buck sign in and around buck bedding areas is what I like to look for. Once you know where the bucks live you can adjust the way you hunt. It's also a good time to find a low impact areas for you trail cameras. An area that bucks will likely use but you won't get to close that they change there pattern. Hanging trail cameras on your food plots early to mid summer is also a great way to take inventory of what bucks live near by.

   It is a great time to take a look at you property and make notes for improvements. If my scouting tells me to hunt a different area or make stand location adjustments I will go and trim lanes for those. I also like to walk around my food plots and clear/trim overhanging limbs that have grown over the plot to allow more sunlight. If the cover is real thick entering the food plot I will also clear a trail where I want the deer to travel through.

Thanks and be safe out there!