Last minute scouting trip.

I found some places locally, about 8 of them that are county parks with small pieces open to archery hunting. Best part is they only allow bucks with 3 points or more on one side and spreads outside their ears to be taken. Even better, all of them are within an hour from my apartment, the closest one being 12 minutes. So I decided to check out the two closest ones to see what kind of traffic they get and what kind of deer sign they held. I had to buy a parking permit for $32.50 just to get into the parks which sucked. I thought that was what I paid extra for with my license plate but I guess not. The first place was pretty decent. No buck sign that I could find. Lots of water.

All these places have multiple lakes and creeks running everywhere. I did not see any obvious hunter sign which was good. But, I did not find any kind of honey hole. The second place I went is much smaller than the first and I figured it would not be that great. Within the first mile I found a monster rub!

I also found tree stands. One blind stand which was confusing since it didn't look as though a bow or crossbow could be shot from it. I found many ancient stands and one newer one. The second place also had apple trees and oaks kicking out acorns everywhere. The newer stand I found had some corn thrown out for bait. I also saw a deer cane sack hung from a tree.

I did not see any deer which was strange since I covered a lot of ground and it was raining and windy. I did see two turkeys and a massasauga rattle snake. I looked all over North Dakota for a rattler and low and behold I spotted one in a rock pile pretty much in my own back yard. I still want to try to hit a few of the other areas before the opener but I am running out of time. Some awesome places though for sure.