Scouting the ND Badlands

[sgdevries]

Socks are usually fine, but there are cactus everywhere so don't just charge ahead. Its ND, so its always blowing, right up until you are stalking a buck. The small rises that make up the badlands also help keep the sound from getting to deer, so keep them in mind. more often than not there will be does bedded in your path as well and those can be more of a worry than the noise of your feet.

 

[BrentLaBere]

Ive learned to drop the boots, bino harness and anything that will make noise. If its dry out there, plenty of things that will make noise. But as others have pointed out, the wind will be blowing. You can count on that.
I havent had any issues with cactus but know plenty of people that have. I sat on an ant hill last season and that was annoying!

 

[Fishforfun]

Did I miss another freaking draw deadline???

 

[Boxerboxer]

Did I miss another freaking draw deadline???

If you're not an ND resident and wanted the any deer tag you're almost a month late.

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[stank.243]

Spotting deer in the thick Russian Olive bushes and thick treed draws can be tough and in my experience that is where they head to bed. Best advice I can give you is to pick apart thickets on hillsides and in the bottoms as best you can. It is pretty "tight" country so be sure not to skyline yourself. Just because you have a hard time spotting them in brush doesn't mean they can't see out. It took a lot of deer busting out before that lesson was pounded into my thick head.

 

[NDGuy]

C'mon man delete that stuff, nobody wants someone posting specific areas.

 

[stank.243]

C'mon man delete that stuff, nobody wants someone posting specific areas.

Should have tried Pming him. Sorry I offended you

 

[NDGuy]

Should have tried Pming him. Sorry I offended you

No biggy, we all can help eachother out but the internet is forever. Enough people look at this site as is haha

 

[Boxerboxer]

Should have tried Pming him. Sorry I offended you

Definitely appreciate the thought but would rather not see the info than have spots ruined for guys by the power of the internet Thanks for the general tips!

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[Jim Carr]

Scout as early as possible like late June .This is the best time to locate the area with the most bucks.You will have to cover a lot of country as the bucks seem to be in small pockets and this time of the year they are the most visible and out the longest so it will be easier to find the best pockets.I have spent a lot of time scouting this country and found awesome mule deer pockets almost always in June and early July and the bucks stay very close all the way till Early Nov.Once you locate the bucks you can go back in August already knowing where they are and you will notice they are a lot harder to find.

 

[Boxerboxer]

Scout as early as possible like late June .This is the best time to locate the area with the most bucks.You will have to cover a lot of country as the bucks seem to be in small pockets and this time of the year they are the most visible and out the longest so it will be easier to find the best pockets.I have spent a lot of time scouting this country and found awesome mule deer pockets almost always in June and early July and the bucks stay very close all the way till Early Nov.Once you locate the bucks you can go back in August already knowing where they are and you will notice they are a lot harder to find.

Thanks Jim, appreciate the insight!

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[T1mberNinja]

I went for my first time last year and was humbled. It is gorgeous country but very steep. Finding deer is not the problem I ran into, finding stalkable deer is the problem. Early season can be tough because the leaves are still on the trees and bushes making glassing difficult into the thick bedding. I hunted 5 days in the early season and did not see any snakes but, that doesn't mean they're not there. Be prepared for 8-10 miles a day.

 

[equinox]

Thanks Jim, appreciate the insight!

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First off, I just drew the ND non-res any deer tag and I'm extremely excited! This will be my first multi-day trip, first non-whitetail big game hunt, and first out of state hunt.

We plan to camp just off the road somewhere in the Little Missouri National Grassland either the last week of September or first week of October. I plan to get out beforehand to do some scouting, but I'm wondering if anyone who has hunted the area before can offer advice on what to look for on Google Earth before I go. I have an OnX subscription, so I have that covered, but when I look at that country it all kinda looks the same. I do have Robby's book and am reading and re-reading, but he doesn't talk much about badlands-type habitat.

Here's what I think I should probably be doing, but let me know your thoughts:
1. There's nowhere super far from the roads, and with OnX, the spots that ARE far from the roads are probably not going to be totally pressure free, especially after the weather cools off a bit.
2. It's still going to be plenty warm, so I imagine I'll be trying to get a good view of North facing slopes, and nearby water is probably a good thing (this would probably be more of an on-the-ground discovery, I imagine, I hear it's pretty dry).
3. It's probably a good idea to get away from large (for western ND) cities to escape pressure to a degree
4. I'll want to be somewhere high I can glass said north slopes and brushy areas that might have deer in 'em.
5. Watch out for rattlesnakes?

Some questions beyond just "does the above strategy sound more or less ok"?
1. Any tips I haven't covered at all?
2. Are there any particular types of badlands-specific habitat that seem to hold mature deer? I don't need to shoot a giant buck, and will probably put a stalk on most any legal buck, but I wouldn't hate it if I DID find a big one.
3. Is there a Robby of the badlands type terrain in ND/SD or somebody of that caliber that's written about that specific terrain?
4. Do you have a favorite time of year to hunt?
5. How far in advance does it make sense to do my scouting?

I'm open to any relevant info from guys that have done this hunt before

did you ever have any luck? Im looking at going out there again in 2022.

 

[silewski11]

Hunt the badlands every year with a bow. Started out there 6 years ago and have been hooked ever since. Pm me and I can give you some info that I have learned. Beautiful scenery keeps me coming back.

 

[Boxerboxer]

did you ever have any luck? Im looking at going out there again in 2022.

We saw several nice bucks and had a great time but the only stalk that was close to panning out ended when we realized the buck was bedded 100yds onto private.


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[Turkey165]

Good info! I drew this year.

 

[dkell]

We saw several nice bucks and had a great time but the only stalk that was close to panning out ended when we realized the buck was bedded 100yds onto private.


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A slider from Moorhead?

 

[Scoot]

Lots of good info in here. I hunted almost a decade out there without ever seeing a snake. I almost stepped on the first one I saw and it struck at my foot as I dove away and screamed like a little girl. In my experience about 99% of the country has no/virtually no snakes in it. A few little pockets have quite a few snakes though. There's was one piece of unposted private ground where it was virtually a guarantee that you'd see a snake if it was relatively warm out. I had one about 10 inches from my face when I was belly crawling up a little hill- that got interesting fast! That land always had lots of deer on it too. Unfortunately/fortunately it was bought by someone and now is posted each year.

Get high while it's still dark in the AM- you'll find deer as it gets light and for the next couple hours. If you don't find deer in the first 3 hours of the day, move and find a new spot to locate them that evening. For the most part, don't get impatient- wait and let the deer reveal themselves. If you're in a good spot the deer will show up. If they don't, then you know you need to try a different spot.

I didn't draw this year and I was bummed! I love it out there. Sure was nice being a resident...
Scott

 

[Boxerboxer]

A slider from Moorhead?

Hawley, but close enough.


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[dkell]

Grew up by Rollag. Graduated from Hawley.