August is the perfect time to start taking inventory of the deer on your property, but don’t let the heat of the summer deter you. When it comes to scouting, there’s just no substitute for boots on the ground to determine where the deer are and what size bucks are on your hunting property.

We’re not talking about hitting the swamps and thickets while trying to find sign and steering clear of poisonous snakes during hot weather. There’s an easier form of preseason scouting that allows hunters to locate and find quality bucks and to keep up with them throughout the summer and fall on your hunting property.

How might you do that? Simple: Obtain one of the new cell phone game cameras that sends every picture to your phone or app, whichever you may prefer. These days there is no worry about spreading your scent in the area and spooking deer off of the property or making them relocate. If you have the right game cameras and put a few in strategically located places like trails and crossings, you can keep up with them throughout the summer and fall.

Allen Shortridge, of Meridian, uses deer cameras and attractants to see what’s on his property during the late summer on through the fall. He learned this technique from Ivan Hawthorne, from Winnsboro, Louisiana, who was one of the first people to produce and use attractants.

“It’s amazing the results that Hawthorne got with the C’Mere deer, Deer Candy and other attractants he used on his hunting properties,” Shortridge said. “He’d put out the attractant at his camera survey sites, and within 24 hours he had several trophy bucks utilizing the site.”

More than 15 years ago, Ivan Hawthorne began developing deer attractants that worked. Through careful research and study of what deer liked, he created a whole variety of products, followed by several all-natural attractants that field studies showed deer to prefer even more. Hawthorne partnered with Hank Parker on his C’Mere Deer product, which was the first of its kind, and it took the deer hunting world by storm.

These days Hawthorne produces a variety of products for several companies who sell them under their own name brands. Shortridge has also used his game cameras and attractants with great success at locating, tracking and discovering quality bucks and then harvesting some of those very same deer.

No matter what attractant you use, it’s best to apply enough at the site so that you only have to visit the survey station every couple of months to keep it fresh and to keep human scent and activity to a minimum.

Start your scouting right now, and you just might harvest a trophy buck during the upcoming fall and winter hunting season. One thing’s for sure, if you do it right you can keep human intervention to a minimum while surveying which bucks are using your property throughout the summer, fall and winter hunting seasons and know exactly when and where they’re living or coming through. Carpe Diem!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.