Deer can be difficult to find during late September and early October. But a savvy hunter can still find them, even when populations are low like they are right now. Hunting now, during the pre-rut, requires different tactics than those used later in the season, when the white-tailed deer's mating urges make them more vulnerable.

Food is the number one thing on a deer's mind this time of the year. So scouting for productive stand sites should begin at the food source. Favorite foods in farming areas include corn, sunflowers, clover, alfalfa and especially soybeans. Acorns and a wide variety of new-growth plants are consumed by deer living in forested areas.

Use binoculars to scout fields and logged areas from a distance, so as not to disturb the deer. A good time to spy deer is in the evening, following the passage of a cold front. Warm, humid conditions cause most whitetails to lie low until the cool of darkness arrives. Pay close attention to the direction from which the deer approach their feeding areas. This not only points to possible bedding locations, it also helps determine where to place your stand, should you decide to hunt the feeding area.

The next step is scouting the location on foot. If possible, visit the feeding area at midday, when deer are less likely to be around. Your goal here is identifying the trails deer use to travel to and from their bedding sites. Consider placing your stand near a trail entering the feeding area. The closer your stand is to the bedding site, the better shot you have at a mature buck — since they're usually the last to arrive at feeding areas, generally after dark.

The thing is, bedding sites are more difficult to locate. It seems deer will bed almost anywhere. However, deer seem to prefer bedding in low, grassy areas of willow and alder when they're inhabiting flat terrain. Kidney-shaped depressions in the grass indicate where deer have bedded. In hilly areas, check the south-facing slopes for deer beds, especially if there is a shelf just below the ridgeline. Once found, don't disturb these bedding sites. Hunt the trails entering and leaving these locations.

Here's another tip for archers: While scouting, look for feeding areas far removed from others. These isolated locations make for excellent hunting spots. Examples include a secluded farm field in an otherwise forested location. Or a ridge of oaks (full of falling acorns) winding its way through a swamp.

I've often bow hunted from a single oak that stands in a forest of jack pine. One year this massive tree produced huge acorns like I'd never seen. For a week the deer would come directly to "my tree" to feed until the acorns were gone. One evening four deer crunched acorns directly below me.

Where you place the stand is extremely important. Always consider the direction of prevailing winds. Northwesterly winds dominate in Minnesota, with south-westerlies coming in second. It's a good idea to prepare several stand sites to accommodate a variety of wind conditions. Never hunt a particular stand if the wind is wrong. A whitetail's best defense is its nose.

Bill Marchel, an outdoors writer and photographer, lives near Brainerd.