Hauling some

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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hunter_mike
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Hauling some

Unread postby hunter_mike » Tue Feb 10, 2015 4:34 pm

There is something i have realized is kind of important while scouting larger hunting grounds. That is covering some ground. Many of you who have gone to Dan's scouting workshop have noticed that it is kind of like trying to follow a trotting horse through the woods. I noticed it in some of the tracking books i have read recently as well. These guys were covering some serious miles in a day and they weren't exaggerating. It is something i have been trying to work on more as I am becoming more drawn to bigger hunting grounds. I have even started using a stair climber machine at the gym to strengthen my legs even more. I have also made certain that i have a sandwich or snack with me when i go out, maybe i'm just a softy but having something good to chew on helps me keep hauling.

Don't get me wrong, once i find a hot area i love taking my time poking around and figuring it out. On the same note, I myself have made the mistake of over-analyzing spots. Time is a hot commodity for most of us, I would hate to walk past a hotspot without realizing it but the advice on this web site has made it easier for us to eliminate large expanses of land. Slow down in the likely areas but if the sign is not there keep trudging on to the next spot.

I just think that this subject can help people find more hotspots. Think about it, if you walk twice as far you will cover twice as much ground and will need half the time to scout that piece of land. I might be oversimplifying some things here but would love to hear what everyone else thinks.


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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby dan » Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:00 pm

Your on the right track... I would spend more time scouting than on the stair climber machine at the gym. Your legs will get strong scouting.

A lot of guys stop and look at every piece of sign they see and really don't get much done. I concentrate on terrain and bedding and look at the sign where I plan on hunting. I rapidly skip over non-important areas.
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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby fishlips » Wed Feb 11, 2015 2:16 am

I am an inefficient scouter. I definitely get caught up in spending too much time looking at sign that doesn't really help me.

I think what I have learned is that I have to trust my scouting plan. It seems like more times than not, the places that I pick out from aerials are good areas and the stuff that I investigate on the fly is not so great.
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Hawthorne
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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby Hawthorne » Wed Feb 11, 2015 3:43 am

When I find good looking sign I can determine quickly if its night sign. If not then I start looking around more in the area trying to find a bed or sign of another hunter. My area its tough to find areas that aren't already hunted. I'm in southern mi and pressure is extreme even way off the beaten path.

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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby checkerfred » Wed Feb 11, 2015 3:51 am

dan wrote:Your on the right track... I would spend more time scouting than on the stair climber machine at the gym. Your legs will get strong scouting.

A lot of guys stop and look at every piece of sign they see and really don't get much done. I concentrate on terrain and bedding and look at the sign where I plan on hunting. I rapidly skip over non-important areas.


How fast do you go... I mean how many miles would you cover in one trip in the hills?


Hawthorne wrote:When I find good looking sign I can determine quickly if its night sign. If not then I start looking around more in the area trying to find a bed or sign of another hunter. My area its tough to find areas that aren't already hunted. I'm in southern mi and pressure is extreme even way off the beaten path.

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How are you determining this? I assume sign in real open terrain is more likely night and sign in thick stuff can be day? Same with sign on food sources a beds? Am I missing something.

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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby Hawthorne » Wed Feb 11, 2015 4:07 am

Yes. Usually sign in open terrain. Ive been out scouting times this winter have probably covered around 1200 acres total. I have only found 3 buck beds with big buck sign. Alot of that was open woods tho.

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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Wed Feb 11, 2015 4:43 am

The idea of day vs night sign is important when scouting. And planning the visit and places to go is also.
Once a guy has his areas figured out then you can ease up a little. But I feel the pressure to get my scouting in before skeeters, chiggers and poison ivy take back the forest lol.

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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby checkerfred » Wed Feb 11, 2015 4:45 am

justdirtyfun wrote:The idea of day vs night sign is important when scouting. And planning the visit and places to go is also.
Once a guy has his areas figured out then you can ease up a little. But I feel the pressure to get my scouting in before skeeters, chiggers and poison ivy take back the forest lol.

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Sounds like my thinking.. Except don't forget snakes. And I found 4 ticks on my this past Saturday

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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby Dewey » Wed Feb 11, 2015 5:41 am

Over time you learn what areas you need to spend some time and what areas you need to rapidly skip by. I like to cover some miles while scouting and normally do a 5-10 mile loop in areas I know well. For the most part I know these areas like the back of my hand and do some speed scouting to spot check known areas for current activity. No need to really break things down because I know where they bed and travel from many years of hunting there. When scouting new areas I slow down quite a bit to learn the lay of the land and how the deer are using it. For the most part I already cyber scouted in advance so I know what areas I want to focus on so I rapidly skip over much of the stuff that's not really important. One thing that has saved me a ton of time in the field is having access to very high quality aerials and topos on my smartphone. This really helps me focus on specific spots and view my location in realtime on the screen. Seeing what's ahead and deciding wether or not it's worth checking out saves some legwork for the higher quality spots.
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Re: Hauling some

Unread postby hunter_mike » Wed Feb 11, 2015 6:07 am

dan wrote:Your on the right track... I would spend more time scouting than on the stair climber machine at the gym. Your legs will get strong scouting.

A lot of guys stop and look at every piece of sign they see and really don't get much done. I concentrate on terrain and bedding and look at the sign where I plan on hunting. I rapidly skip over non-important areas.


Thanks dan, Reading yours and many of the other members posts on this site, I think there are a lot of guys on here who naturally scout efficiently at a fast pace but they also know exactly when to slow way down and pay attention to fine details.

Also, I would choose scouting over the gym 100% of the time but i don't scout in the dark. The gym is for this time of year when im at work during most of the daylight hours of the day.

justdirtyfun wrote:The idea of day vs night sign is important when scouting. And planning the visit and places to go is also.
[glow=red]Once a guy has his areas figured out then you can ease up a little.[/glow] But I feel the pressure to get my scouting in before skeeters, chiggers and poison ivy take back the forest lol.

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This is exactly what i am talking about. I would rather have seen every inch of a place than to have one small portion of it memorized intricately.
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”


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