Spysar ???

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Spysar ???

Unread postby dan » Mon Jun 27, 2011 10:23 am

Spysar,
I am really impressed with your ability to travel across the country killing big bucks in new areas so successfully. Its very impressive.
I would like to hear more about how you pick your hunting spots that you travel to, and why you choose the locations you do..

Anybody else who travels is welcome to respond also...


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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Spysar » Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:10 pm

Wow, thanks Dan, that's quite a compliment. I'll respond to this tomorrow when I have more time to type.

I'll tell you one thing, internet forums like this one are one of the traveling hunters best friends....
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:14 pm

That would be awesome!!! This is something I would like to read also. Never had the opportunity to hunt out of state...I intend to start this year, get a 3rd week of vacation next year and its on for sure!!!!
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby jonsimoneau » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:17 pm

I would also be interested in hearing your strategies Spysar!
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby headgear » Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:20 am

Same here Spy! Do you hunt some of the same out of state areas year after year and learn an area or do you tend to move around a to new areas every year? Guessing a little bit of both but I am interested in how you scout for these long distance hunts.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Beason » Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:56 am

I'd be interested in hearing from Tad and Bucky too.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby kenn1320 » Tue Jun 28, 2011 5:00 am

Being an out of state hunter myself, but one that is not successful 98% of the time, I am also very interested in your strategy. Please remember what might seem obvious and not worth mentioning, may not be so obvious to the rest of us.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Bucky » Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:38 am

I myself want to hear some of Spy's tips...

Mine are pretty simple - 1. scour the internet to find a good area/county - I try to focus on accessible land plus keep tag costs lower (I attempt this almost every day of the year, I'm constantly looking & listening :geek: 2. I tend to look for large chunks of land or special access (draw hunts, restricted access = only open for a short time frame per year)- I like to be able to roam (gives you better opportunity to get away from people + increases # of potential for older age class bucks - they roam to those hard to get to places as well 3. I look for water - rivers/creeks + marsh or hills = hard to access + physically demanding, increased odds of older class bucks 4. I map out access points that are usually well defined via park maps 5. I determine if access is available in others areas (roads, right of way etc) that are not pre determined parking areas 6. I get both aerial and topo maps 7. Then I look at areas that are the hardest to get to... I usually start there 8. On even a 4 day hunt I will burn the 1st day observing from a distance if open terrain or stomp around a little ( I prefer to go once in spring if I'm able to walk - usually April being the best month ) 9. Any time I go out of state I treat it like an adventure and try to stay positive even when others with me have given up (it only takes 1 min to change the whole trip) 10. Typically I travel during the rut and use more rut tactics (funnels)- for hill hunting = Mapping Trophy Whitetails is great book for helping learn how to read topos to locate hill funnels 11. I usually hunt from sun up to sun down 12. I typically need a vacation after a hunting vacation :lol: 13. I like to go with hunting buddies that are hardcore... it makes the socializing/planning aspect a ton of fun and you don't have to babysit once you arrive + you got a drag partner after dark and the drags usually SUCK - pick your travel buddies wisely :lol:
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Spysar » Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:44 pm

I guess the main thing is to keep it fun, and the most important thing in my book is a positive attitude. Nothing is quite as bad as a negative outlook while hunting...

And next, I'm more or less a regular guy, and there's nothing really special about what I do. If I can do this stuff, so can anyone. All it takes is the desire.

I'd say I'm very serious when it comes to hunting, and I spend a lot of time thinking about it. I'll be the first one to leave, and the last one to come back.

I think about the big buck states, and I think about the "sleeper" states. There's a few I've been too, and more I'd like to get to.

There are a couple types of hunts I do. One is to go where I've already been, and the other is places that are new.

To find the new places, I use the internet. The last "new" place I went was Iowa. Here's how that went down; I waited till I knew I could draw(drawing tags is another thing the traveling hunter has to keep tabs on). By the time tag results are in, there isn't enough time to properly plan. So I waited till I had four points...and would draw for sure.

So I started looking. My first choice to make was what zone.....So I went to the info provided by the Iowa DNR, and they give info and stats on how many were killed in what county. I also looked at avaliable public land in the area. All sources of land including, power company, Army Corp of Engineers, indian reservations, etc. Some states have "walk ins". The point is to explore all huntable land, not just state owned. And I looked at what big cities were nearby. Big cities usually hold big idiots that wind up in the woods....I found good public that was far enough away from the people in the city. I choose zone 5.

Now I picked a zone, and needed to narrow it down more. I needed to pick a central location where I could access the most tracts of public that I could effectivly drive to and hunt. One tract of public isn't enough. The more tracts of land that are in driving distance from where I stay the better. I'm willing to drive up to an hour from "home" base, but obviously closer is better.

So now I'm many hours on the computer with Bing maps, and google earth trying to get a feel for the various land, and what the better places might be. I study the deer potential. I study how I will access land. I study people too. Studying people is a big thing. I rule out spots that look good deer wise, but look bad as far as people getting in too easy. If it's easy, others are there. I look for spots where there is at least one barricade that will weed out the lazy guys.

So now I'm to the point where I can point to the map and say to myself, I'd like to be right about there. Now I've picked a general spot where I can access several pieces of land. Now it was time to find a place to stay.

I don't like hotels, and I don't want to be camping.(I like camping, but not for an extended deer trip) I like cabins. So I set out to find a cabin near the area I had picked.

Here's where things just fell into place. I will say one thing about my trips....I'm just plain lucky sometimes, and I think it goes hand in hand with having a good positive attitude. Sometimes when your open to the world, the world will open up to you. This has been true on many of the trips I've been on....

So anyway, I find a cabin. Right where I needed one, amazing. While talking to the gal on the phone, I find out that the cabin I picked was sitting on a 640 acre farm. :shock: I got on the phone with her husband, and they gave me permission to hunt the farm! And on a follow up call the farmer told me he got me permission on his neighbors too! I think he could tell I was excited.

The rest of my preparation was looking on line at the farm. I also still cyber scouted the public. What if the farm was overhunted? I never like to keep my eggs in one basket. I need a plan A, and B, C, and D. As many plans as I can think of. I'd rather have places I never get to, than scramble around looking for a place.

That hunt ended in a nice buck, and friends I will always have in Iowa.

Enough typing tonight.....There's more I want to talk about....I guess that just wound up being a story on one particular hunt....

More tomorrow....
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:24 pm

Spysar wrote:... I don't like hotels, and I don't want to be camping.(I like camping, but not for an extended deer trip) I like cabins. So I set out to find a cabin near the area I had picked...

That would be HUGE for me. I HATE hotels and I'm the same as you about camping. I need to start thinking about locating cabin's in the area's I want to hunt.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Spysar » Tue Jun 28, 2011 9:27 pm

Here's a clip of what I do with my zodiak boat.

[bbvideo=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBMZpn4k_k[/bbvideo]
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby GRFox » Wed Jun 29, 2011 3:08 am

Awesome video man! I assume this is on one of your out of state trips, but where are you from?
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby PLB » Wed Jun 29, 2011 3:48 am

That's cool man!! 8-)
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby dan » Wed Jun 29, 2011 4:40 am

Good stuff Spy... Guess you do things a lot like I do...


I'm just plain lucky sometimes, and I think it goes hand in hand with having a good positive attitude. Sometimes when your open to the world, the world will open up to you. This has been true on many of the trips I've been on....


I 100% agree with your comments on attitude. 8-)

Bucky your tactics sound pretty good too..

I was reading Spy's comments and caught some of the things we have in common. 1 is to look for the hunting spots that are the farthest from a town,...
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Re: Spysar ???

Unread postby Spysar » Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:44 am

A few thoughts on what it takes to do out of state deer trips....

You have to have a good job. One where you can take off the nessesary time, at the right time. All my life deer season has been a "no work" time. People say, how? I have just made it non negotiable with the boss. I let him know I'll work my off all year, but 4 or 5 weeks of deer season is mine.....not everyone can do that.

Then you have friends. Sometimes you want to go with them, and I do to. Like Bucky said, make sure you get with the guys that will be as hard core as you, or that don't cry when you leave them in the dust..Some people talk about it, actually doing it is what counts.

On a trip, for me, most of the money is getting out there. Once I'm in good country, I like to hunt two or more states.

When I started hunting, there was no internet. I'll have to say, learning hunting on my own in a non hunting family has taught me the most about hunting. But right now, you can avoid tons of mistakes by using forums like this to your advantage.
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.


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