gut instinct is for sure something to take into account but in order to learn to trust that instinct scouting/reading sign plays a major role in developing that instinct.

i use to hunt with a guy, a lot, that if we entered a block of woods from different start points we would end up in the same spot just from reading sign and knowing deer habits. you can call it instinct or a gut feeling but i think of it as second nature. processing the info, adding up all the sign, and adding in knowledge of habits, with out consciously doing so.