Going to do a little thread on scouting areas for deer hunting, will include
-signs of presence in the area
-food sources
-likely areas they are living/movement patterns

While taking pictures for this I actually kicked up a few deer; so the methods do generally work

So, starting with food sources. Deer enjoy acorns a tremendous amount, if you can locate an oak stand there will most likely be deer (and other game)

Keep in mind deer also need water/secondary food sources (farmland and prairie being favorites)

Without even looking particularly hard I found a load of foot traffic, this area has a nearby creek as well.

Deer like people will use the path of least resistance, and if crossing difficult terrain like a creek will use th same exact crossing multiple times

Keep that in mind while setting up a stand or trail camera, they are creatures of habit.

As far as what exactly constitutes activity in an area, trails and footprints are by far the easiest method. Trails however can be deceiving if they are fairly old.

Once you’ve found a trail you can find a bedding area as well, these are just matted down areas in places with a lot of concealment. Think of thickets or dense grass. Somewhere you could sit and not be seen.
Deer will utilize tree lines and cover around fields as much as they can

They will GENERALLY not go out into said fields or move around much unless it is early morning or dusk, that’s when they feel the most safe and adventurous. When hunting those are going to be your prime hours.

Real rough thread, try to minimize your presence when scouting

As I said this is a rough thread using Twitter’s formatting, it should get you started fairly well as a beginner. Any questions just ask, I’m sure I missed a fair amount of things