A lot of hunters think they don’t have time to scout but the fact of the matter is that you’re going to scout. You either scout preseason or you waste the first two to three days of your hunt scouting.
I understand the dilemma that you’re in. Most hunters are lucky to have two weeks of vacation. You can’t justify hunting for a week and using the other week scouting thereby leaving no time for family vacations. So, what do you do?
What if you use family camping trips for scouting? Wake up before daylight Saturday morning and go scout until 10 a.m.. Then run back to camp and wake up everyone and cook them breakfast and spend the rest of the day with them.
Or run out a few Saturdays and scout. Use summer fly-fishing trips to scout. You get my drift. Do the most you can with what precious little free time you have. It may not be perfect but do the best you can with what you have.
I’m convinced, the hunters that year after year get big bucks/bulls scout. A lot. If you scout real early before season realize, a lot can change by the time hunting season rolls around. Fires can totally change things. If a pack of wolves move in, they can scatter everything. If you scout early, it’s smart to rescout one last time right before season.
Due to all of the factors that can change things it’s smart to have two or three areas scouted out. What if on opening day a pile of hunters are camped in your spot. Decades ago, we black-powder hunted over in Colorado.
Unbeknownst to us the Rainbow People were having some kind of convention in our hotspot. I guess I can’t exactly say they were walking around naked since the one my buddy saw did have on socks and boots. Needless to say, we had to move. Moral of the story: Have two or three spots scouted out. I remember on my first elk we moved camp three times.
I discovered long ago it’s smart to buy the best glass you can afford. Everyone’s on a budget but buy the best you can afford and you’ll never regret it. Thirty years ago, to get the best glass you had to buy from one of the big three European optic companies. Now? There are a lot of American companies that have jumped up for a lot less of the cost. For the last five to seven years I’ve been using Vortex optics and can’t tell a nickel’s worth of difference in them and some of the European optics.
I don’t want to say that scouting is easy but it’s easier than hunting. You can set on a high ridge and glass. If you see a big buck/bull 1 mile away you don’t have to hike over and get up close and personal. Just mark the canyon where he’s feeding/bedding and then come back and hunt it.
To really glass, you’ve got to have a spotting scope. If not, then you’re going to miss a lot of game. I’m in the process of getting onX Hunt. With it you can mark your spots and find them in the dark or coming in from a new direction. onX Hunt is a cool tool.
Glassing works best early and late when animals are moving but I’ve spotted plenty of animals that were bedded down. This is especially true when mule deer are bedded down under sagebrush. Look for horns sticking up above the brush or grass.
Even though you may be glassing far distances, don’t set on top where they can skyline you. Set up down off the ridge a bit. The ground is rocky. Carry a pad or else you just won’t glass as much as you should. Better yet, carry a small backpacking chair. That way you’ll be slightly elevated above the brush or grass and able to see over the top.
It goes without saying, use a tripod with a spotting scope. Otherwise, you won’t be able to hold steady enough to see. Buy a spotting scope with an angled eyepiece or you’ll have to be a contortionist to be able to use it.
I was coming down from backpacking a few days ago. Near sundown, an OK buck nonchalantly crossed the road. I’ll probably go back up there archery hunting and try to get him. Always be scouting.
Scouting is fresh on my mind. I drew a bull tag down in the Owyhees. By the time you read this article I’ll already be scouting. I’m going to scout for a month before season and hopefully get the bull of a lifetime. Get to scouting and get a big one!
I was about to submit this article and just thought of another angle. Scouting is best early and late in the day. I’m going to camp out and scout a good bit but I’m also going to do some day runs. I think I’ll take an awning and a chair and set it up from noon to 5 p.m. and read some books and relax.
I just received two books by Graham Mott titled “Hooked by Fly Fishing” and “More Big Game Hunting Tales”. The hunting book is a compilation of articles his granddad wrote decades ago. I love old stories like these. He also offers them in audio versions. I also have a book by Mia Sheppard titled “The Outfitters Camp Cookbook.”
Tom Claycomb is an outdoor enthusiast that writes a bimonthly column for Range Media.
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