How often do you scout a potenial hunting area
- Thread starter JFrank
- Start date
Humm yeah a bit of game, white tail, mule deer, coyote, moose and black bear so far. The farther I go in the more game of course. Lion and Wolf ( elk) live back in there too I especially haven't wanted to spook any wolf out of the area. Season starts 15th
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
You can never be over cautious in the wild, there might be a bear doing the same looking for you.
MikeT49
Gold $$ Contributor
Use full scent control and rubber boots when placing the cameras and retrieving/changing cards. Minimize trips in and out. Cell cams are another option depending on your situation. On public ground you might have a theft issue.
I'm a coyote hunter, I have my GPS with a public lands chip in on all the time and try and take the back roads when I'm going somewhere. As soon as it cools I'll be out with my pruners and range finder setting up stands for coyote hunting with my bow. I'll set up the stand range features and map the stand so when I sneak into it for a bow hunt I'll know exactly what range the coyote is and hope fully I can get him stopped in a shooting zone.
I do scout regular coyote stands on On-X mapping. I have a 100x150mile area that I call my home area for coyote hunting and take trips through it all the time exploring ghost towns, old mines, old homesteads and sight seeing the desert flowers during the summer with my wife. She doesn't realize they are a scouting trips also. I like to hunt new stands most of the time and enjoy cold calling new areas and log good ones on my computer in case I need to take someone out on a hunt and need to have good producing stands.
I do scout regular coyote stands on On-X mapping. I have a 100x150mile area that I call my home area for coyote hunting and take trips through it all the time exploring ghost towns, old mines, old homesteads and sight seeing the desert flowers during the summer with my wife. She doesn't realize they are a scouting trips also. I like to hunt new stands most of the time and enjoy cold calling new areas and log good ones on my computer in case I need to take someone out on a hunt and need to have good producing stands.
It does not take much to screw up a good spot by either over scouting it and spooking the game out or stinking it up with your scent.
Certain areas and geographical locations hold decent bucks year after year after year. If you find a spot like that just plan on hunting it.
I have 2 spots like this so I do zero pre season scouting there. I also do not get fixated on killing a certain buck either. If my go to spots are dry I’ll go to some other places I scouted previously. My favorite spot is 2.5 miles and 500 plus feet in elevation from the closet spot I can park my truck at, so I hunt my way to that spot.
Certain areas and geographical locations hold decent bucks year after year after year. If you find a spot like that just plan on hunting it.
I have 2 spots like this so I do zero pre season scouting there. I also do not get fixated on killing a certain buck either. If my go to spots are dry I’ll go to some other places I scouted previously. My favorite spot is 2.5 miles and 500 plus feet in elevation from the closet spot I can park my truck at, so I hunt my way to that spot.
This time of year I'm out weekly on the ranches I'll be taking deer, goat from.
Ill get there 5am early in the morning 1 day and watch till 7am or till they start to go back into the hills or willows, then 530 to 730 pm in the eve on other days to watch their movements from the hills above pastures to see where they are coming out if to the pastures.
Make notes what's where at what time, where they are feeding and moving to.
I have 3 trail cameras in the pastures as well
Ill get there 5am early in the morning 1 day and watch till 7am or till they start to go back into the hills or willows, then 530 to 730 pm in the eve on other days to watch their movements from the hills above pastures to see where they are coming out if to the pastures.
Make notes what's where at what time, where they are feeding and moving to.
I have 3 trail cameras in the pastures as well
Kurz
Silver $$ Contributor
I enjoy reading through all the topics in these forums, sometimes I just read and other times I post a little bit.
The aspect of scouting caught my eye this morning but I passed it by then gave it another thought.
I grew up in the Midwest on farms. There was no need to scout because we all had as many deer as we could legally harvest given depredation permits. In many cases, our stands were left out and up all year. These weren't store bought fancy camo designs but scrap wood affairs pieced together as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Sometimes it was just a 2x6 nailed in between a couple of branches up in a tree.
Anyway, scouting as a process was unheard of because we were always out in one field or another and we got a fine view of all the wildlife using this land without worrying about human stench or signs left by us. Diesel has it's very own distinctive aroma...
Fast forward to the high desert and mountain regions of the Southwest. I was not born with a silver spoon so I have worked all of my adult life. Responsibilities precluded taking long periods of time to scout and hunt. But I got the hang of hunting out here after a couple of years and pestering a few friends with much more experience than I will ever have.
Generally, we scout once a season. It can be a longish two days of driving and hiking from the flats all the way up into some of the higher elevations. It serves to let us see any changes from the previous year rather than helping to determine any specific spots to hunt. I make a few notes on particular geographic features which like, as others have mentioned, might act like attractors or funnels for the game. The areas we hunt or rather can get drawn to hunt, can cover huge amounts of land with varying degrees of details from desert to alpine mountains and forests interspersed with meadows where the elk can be found grazing when you're lucky. The variety of landscapes also will be affected by rapidly changing weather, especially up in the higher elevations. You can set up camp in beautiful warm Fall sunshine only to wake up to 2 feet of snow the next morning... talk about throwing a wrench in the works! Out come the maps and we powwow over coffee trying to make the best of the given situation. But that as they say is why it's called hunting!
The aspect of scouting caught my eye this morning but I passed it by then gave it another thought.
I grew up in the Midwest on farms. There was no need to scout because we all had as many deer as we could legally harvest given depredation permits. In many cases, our stands were left out and up all year. These weren't store bought fancy camo designs but scrap wood affairs pieced together as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Sometimes it was just a 2x6 nailed in between a couple of branches up in a tree.
Anyway, scouting as a process was unheard of because we were always out in one field or another and we got a fine view of all the wildlife using this land without worrying about human stench or signs left by us. Diesel has it's very own distinctive aroma...
Fast forward to the high desert and mountain regions of the Southwest. I was not born with a silver spoon so I have worked all of my adult life. Responsibilities precluded taking long periods of time to scout and hunt. But I got the hang of hunting out here after a couple of years and pestering a few friends with much more experience than I will ever have.
Generally, we scout once a season. It can be a longish two days of driving and hiking from the flats all the way up into some of the higher elevations. It serves to let us see any changes from the previous year rather than helping to determine any specific spots to hunt. I make a few notes on particular geographic features which like, as others have mentioned, might act like attractors or funnels for the game. The areas we hunt or rather can get drawn to hunt, can cover huge amounts of land with varying degrees of details from desert to alpine mountains and forests interspersed with meadows where the elk can be found grazing when you're lucky. The variety of landscapes also will be affected by rapidly changing weather, especially up in the higher elevations. You can set up camp in beautiful warm Fall sunshine only to wake up to 2 feet of snow the next morning... talk about throwing a wrench in the works! Out come the maps and we powwow over coffee trying to make the best of the given situation. But that as they say is why it's called hunting!
I just made it back to the jeep after a modest and calculated scouting trek where the only animal was my Black Bear about a hundred yards rooting a bit while I watched until the wind changed giving me away, after a stare down he decided to move off looking back at me couple times. As I continue to glass the area I had the distinct feeling he was flanking me.
And then my phone rang......
And then my phone rang......
hogpatrol
Silver $$ Contributor
We use multiple cellular trail cameras here in southeast PA. It's mostly horse farms, crop farms and country estates. Put the cameras in about a month before deer season opens, check the stands, clear out shooting lanes and then stay away until we hunt. A few good rains and any scent gets knocked down. Sometimes it may be a couple months before we actually get back to hunt.
Coyotefurharvester
Silver $$ Contributor
SPJ, that's a 6x6 in your speak that he circled for you. You can scout as much as you want as long as you don't run off game.
truth
unless it is arable land and animals are used to farm, logging, or orv activities i would say little can be gained from taking a chance bumping them. best advice i got, if the goal is to kill and not simply 'see' game, was from an oldtimer that said: 1. it's always better to let the animal come to you. 2. in the mountains never trust the wind.
but you already know that. it's fighting the boredom of sitting that is a big part of the battle.
but you already know that. it's fighting the boredom of sitting that is a big part of the battle.
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