The thread on not seeing many deer on a scouting trip got me thinking. How do you go about defining a successful scouting trip? Is it the number of deer seen? Is it the sheer number of bucks?
And go!
And go!
Yes, the truck not burning down is a good thing!If my truck doesn't burn to the ground, and I don't die, its a success! Lol
In all seriousness my friend came out deer hunting in Wyoming last year, I prescouted the area 4 different days in the summer. Purely to identify quality glassing spots for different wind directions, and sunrise, sunset to have the sun at our backs. Seen a few deer while doing that, but cared less about if we saw any shooters.
He was able to shoot a 5 1/2 year old buck, aged by a biologist on the second morning.
The farther from your hunt date you are the less I'd be concerned about numbers or size of bucks and just figuring out the lay of the land.
Agree, that is a great plan for a migration hunt!Scouting trips isn't all about the animals but finding new country and learning about it.
My brother in law has a hunt this year in Colorado where scouting for animal is a waste of time until they move into the area any time from the middle of September to the hunt in October. It is a migratory hunt and there are very few animals in the area before then. So when we go out there we will learn the lay of the land, where the roads go along with where the vantage points are for glassing along with a good camping spot.
This will be a very successful scouting trip.
This. Scouting isn't just about actually seeing animals. If you scout on a hot summer day for a late-season deer hunt they may just not be where you are... yet. Half my scouting trips are about making sure I have access, parking, good places to camp, good hiking routes to features where I want to hunt with alternative approaches if the wind changes, places to glass from, water, etc. Seeing actual animals is just a bonus.Scouting trips isn't all about the animals but finding new country and learning about it.
Yep. Exactly what I’ll be doing. When you travel 1800 miles 1-way and find your roads to be inaccessible, even with a plan B, C & D its a bummer.This. Scouting isn't just about actually seeing animals. If you scout on a hot summer day for a late-season deer hunt they may just not be where you are... yet. Half my scouting trips are about making sure I have access, parking, good places to camp, good hiking routes to features where I want to hunt with alternative approaches if the wind changes, places to glass from, water, etc. Seeing actual animals is just a bonus.
To be honest I almost prefer not to. The less pressure on them the better. I don't want to do anything that might push them off their patterns, especially with deer...
Works best to put a patch over the eye that you look through the spotter with...that way after all those emptying all those cans you don't smash your eye on the lens.Truck bed full of Beer can's Multiple Bucks sited.(Maybe just
one ).Try covering one eye....Don't Forget The Ice!!Dang It!
Works best to put a patch over the eye that you look through the spotter with...that way after all those emptying all those cans you don't smash your eye on the lens.
Gotta be careful when scouting after too may silver sodas, remember to always fall away from the spotting scope.ScottR
I had "scope eye" one time,but never with a spotting scope!
Thats a new one ,even for me!
Hunting season falls somewhere between weaning calves and bringing cows home from pasture for us depending on the year or species. I can get away for a few days now much easier than I can add days to my hunting trip scouting before the season. I agree on learning the unit and not having to stop for the map all the time, that is a definite plus. I'm not the best at scouting from maps or online yet though. I do it but the country always seems different when I get there. I sure like seeing the country this time of year and then the maps make more sense to me, I can start really narrowing down areas and eliminating others. It's all about making the best use of the time and resources you have available I guess.A successful scouting trip to me is figuring out how to navigate a unit without having to break out a map. If your breaking out your map when you are hunting you are burning precious hunting time. Let the other guys do that while your out hunting.
I hardly ever break out a map if I am hunting from my truck. I drive park to where I already know I am going to hunt from park (Unless someone else is there already, which rarely happens) and get after it. Nothing worse that wasting time driving because you didn't knwo where you were going and made a wrong turn.
I do almost all of my scouting online and I rarely set foot in a unit before I hunt it. I already have a plan devised before I hit the ground. Unless there is an extreme amount of pressure, I normally get into the game pretty quickly.
I simply cannot afford scouting trips out west both financially and as far as having enough vacation time. Sometimes I go a day or two early but I try to stay in the truck and get the "navigation to the parking spot" part out of the way during that timeframe.