Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
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Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
This upcoming year will be my first year of trying to hunt "beast" style. I will be beginning my scouting in january rather than august and be focusing my efforts on what swamps we do have searching for buck beds. Although, i'm sure the terrain here (northwestern pa) is different than what most of the beast members are use to i'm going to make a full effort to harvest a mature buck in his staging area. in the marsh bucks dvd dan mentions that he only hunts a bedding area once maybe twice a season so u have to have enough scouted out to fill your whole season. My question is what is the preferred method of keeping track of these beds if alot of times it is new area and you stay out until your hunt, also the change in foliage from winter to fall. If you need such a large number of beds to choose from how are you keeping track or even remembering so many and exactly where they are? Are you marking them with gps and noting it in a journal as to know which wind to hunt which bed and which swamp or what area it is in, or by some other means as to make your first and only hunt as stealthy and effective as possible, especially if going in in the dark. Basically, what have you fellow beasts found to be the best way of logging your predicted hunt sites. Also, any newbie quicktips for hunting tamarack swamps would be greatly appreciated as that will be my main focus. thanks in advance
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
maps and gps while scouting. keep a log or journal. write on the map as you go and label things. most the time beast hunts are in the afternoon, so you won't have to worry about going in the dark.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
GPS is probably the best way... With that said, I am more old school and have never learned how to use one. In the old days I marked up maps and had a folder of them along with notes. Now, I mainly store it all in my head.
- headgear
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
I keep computer files full of aerial photos, topos, and regular photos along with a few notes.
Sometimes when you find a killer spot it will be pretty much impossible to forget.
Sometimes when you find a killer spot it will be pretty much impossible to forget.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
headgear wrote:I keep computer files full of aerial photos, topos, and regular photos along with a few notes.
This is what I do too. When I scout I take along my GPS and transfer the hot spots to Google Earth with topo overlays to try and understand how the deer are accessing it and why it is a preferred spot.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
I signed up for a google account (free) and this allows you to make your own maps that you can draw property lines and drop pinpoints on aerial photos on. I love it because i can glance over all the areas i hunt on one map. I would recommend signing up for a google account
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
I have topos and aerials on my Garmin Oregon 450t so when I am scouting every bed, rub, scrape, trail and stand tree gets logged. Once everything is entered it is amazing how you can put the whole picture together and figure everything out. I think this has been my most valuable scouting tool. Sure beats the old days of marking up maps and going from my memory, which isn't nearly as good anymore!
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
On google earth you can make placemarks. If you right click your placemark, you will see an option of "get info". There you can enter how many sticks you need, preferred wind direction, etc.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
This could be an idea for a whole different seminar. I'd pay to spend the day learning how to properly use the different online maps and other resources . I always see posts with Topo overlays and other markings. I often wonder how people are doing it when I see them on here.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
Chris Conroy wrote:This could be an idea for a whole different seminar. I'd pay to spend the day learning how to properly use the different online maps and other resources . I always see posts with Topo overlays and other markings. I often wonder how people are doing it when I see them on here.
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I actually just started diving into this myself. I searched the site for anything to do with aerial and topo, wrote down the info and started visiting all the sites that were recommended. Very time consuming, but I know I will get faster at it. Just something I have to do to be more successful
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- headgear
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
Chris Conroy wrote:This could be an idea for a whole different seminar. I'd pay to spend the day learning how to properly use the different online maps and other resources . I always see posts with Topo overlays and other markings. I often wonder how people are doing it when I see them on here.
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I usually use mytopo for those, they are trying to sell you a map but if you follow the step and choose the hybrid map you get a nice preview map with a topo overlay. I never bought a map from them before so I can't speak to quality but they look pretty good.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
http://www.bobsheppard.com/BobSheppard. ... loads.html
There is a free downloadable Hunting site database software in that link. It's a very basic program, easy to learn. You can attach notes, maps, pictures etc to any stand site. Follow the directions, it's pretty cool. If you get it on a laptop you can bring it with you anywhere you go if you travel and hunt...
I have turned more towards google maps lately. You can create your own maps, accessible from anywhere you have internet...
Both have their pros and cons.
There is a free downloadable Hunting site database software in that link. It's a very basic program, easy to learn. You can attach notes, maps, pictures etc to any stand site. Follow the directions, it's pretty cool. If you get it on a laptop you can bring it with you anywhere you go if you travel and hunt...
I have turned more towards google maps lately. You can create your own maps, accessible from anywhere you have internet...
Both have their pros and cons.
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Re: Keeping track of buck beds and tamarack swamps
dan wrote:GPS is probably the best way... With that said, I am more old school and have never learned how to use one. In the old days I marked up maps and had a folder of them along with notes. Now, I mainly store it all in my head.
That will start to fail you in the not to distant future (trust me). I have forgotten far more about hunting and my spots than I ever would have thought possible. I never though I would forget anything when it came to hunting, but I was wrong. You might want to get a little more involved in modern technology before you realize one day that you have been forgetting things.
Fortunately the Beast helps to remind me of things I have forgot, not to mention I never know what I might learn and the friends that are made.
Dewey wrote:I have topos and aerials on my Garmin Oregon 450t so when I am scouting every bed, rub, scrape, trail and stand tree gets logged. Once everything is entered it is amazing how you can put the whole picture together and figure everything out. I think this has been my most valuable scouting tool. Sure beats the old days of marking up maps and going from my memory, which isn't nearly as good anymore!
Can you just download and save it to your computer when you get home so you can see it full screen?
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