Early Season Archery - Northern Midwest - Worth It?

[Warlock]

Hey guys. Just got back from my first bow hunt on public in eastern North Dakota. The place I hunt is a pretty large plot of public grassland surrounded by agricultural fields. The public itself is pretty good land from what I can tell, rife with oak trees/acorns, etc. with a river flowing through portions of it. I went on Labor Day weekend with the intention to primarily scout and check things out to prep as the season heats up. On the drive in before sun-up I saw deer around, and as I hiked all day found plenty of sign (mostly older scat and year-old rubs, and bedding areas, but no deer. I didn't even bump any as I still-hunted which was disheartening. I guess the point of my question, is it even worth it to hunt right now with all of the crops still in the fields? Should I continue to scout these areas, or would I be better off not pressuring the deer until they get more active? I got the feeling when I was scouting that the deer were hanging out in the fields and bedding there primarily during the day and were moving into the grasslands in the evening/night time. Any tips for me to use when scouting? Am I wasting rubber on my boots scouting on foot and I just be truck scouting for the time being so as not to ruin any bedding areas with scent? Honestly I feel like my scouting/hunting trip left me with more questions than answers. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[ProphecyBreaker]

Check out the Jeff Sturgis on YouTube at Whitetail Habitat Solution. Here is one video on scouting:

He has a ton of no-nonsense tips and strategies you could use to think through your predicament.