Topo map help

[Bionic]

Hello, I am new to map scouting, and scouting in general. For all the years I have deer hunted I have simply chose an area with some deer skat, and a place I could see a decent area of while in my climber, and hunted. I have been walking many hours searching since last winter, until about 3 weeks ago(which is roughly around the time I stumbled upon this forum). I have My thoughts on where I believe are good spots to hunts in my area, and I was wondering if you guys can make head, or tails out of this topo map for me. If this isn't a great map, let me know. I would appreciate any input you have, thanks in advance!

[hunter_mike]

if there are wetlands/lowlands on this property, an aerial photo may help just as much as a topo. also hard to tell what the terrain is like since there is no way elevation marks on the other elevations. Do you have 10ft of elevation change per line? or 40ft? 20 ft?

Here is a link to a good scouting map site:
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.p ... tour_lines

[Bionic]

Hunter_Mike,
The maps really don't say what those other lines elevation changes are, however, the elevation changes are 30-50' i would guess.. That "pond" is basically always dried up, it has a little 50' diameter puddle in the center of that "pond", whats not water is thickets, like a matted down grass. I have explored the area along the pond outlet to the lower left of the pond. The area i just mention along that very small creek(6' across) is in an area that drops down about 30-40' in elevation from its surroundings. Basically, if you were to walk perpendicularly to, or away from the creek, you would start climbing in elevation about 30-50' from that creeks level, like a valley that is about 200 yards wide with that creek in the center running parallel to hills. I hope I'm painting a rough picture. Once on top off the one hill you eventually reach a row of houses on the road, it is all mixed hard/soft woods from the stream, up the hill, to the houses, and to the road. If you cross the stream heading up the hill opposite side of what I just described, you walk through a couple acres of huge uprooted blowdown pines, with a lot of waist high ferns, and mostly pine forest. At the top of the hill it levels out, then gently declines toward a wetland type area you cannot see the other side of. This area us not necessarily a swamp, more like a wet land section that is still woods.

All these areas as said are 30-50' in elevation of those labeled on that map im guessing. If you see the cross hair on the map, that is the vicinity I'm referring to.

Thanks.


[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bionic]

By the way, the shadowed area to the left of the cross hair, is about where that wetland-like area is. I have used google earth and sat maps, but all it shows are tree canopy, very dense pine woods here, no fields at all.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[KLEMZ]

I would suspect bedding near that creek. It looks like multiple directions of easy access for hunters, so the farther you are from any access point, the more likely you will find deer. Bedding near the creek is the furthest from access and also provides a barrier to predators.

Specifically, I would look for bedding very near the creek on that main point the runs south. Also, the single contour line point just south of the crosshairs on the second topo. I would not even use that first topo map you posted...it looks very general and not accurate...notice that the point just south of the crosshairs on the second topo is shown to be on the EAST side of the creek on the first topo!! That first topo is worthless!

look in google earth time line view (click on the clock in the toolbar)... you should be able to scroll thru different years of aerial photos and hopefully find a pic taken without leaf cover. I find that the very first picture on the google earth time line is typically the old black and white photos taken without leaf cover. Even though they are old pics, they do usually show vegetation density quite well.

[Bionic]

Oh wow! THANK YOU. I really appreciate your time.

That is VERY exciting to me reading what you read, I do see that point on the creek you mentioned. I never would have noticed that in a million years. Its funny you mention bedding might be very close to the creek because there is a patch of grass about 100 yards off that pond, and that patch of grass used to be a pool in the creek, a pool roughly 15 yards in diameter, and the creek flows gently along the side. In that patch of grass, it is beaten down with paths leading to the creek, and has big blotches matted down. I am assuming they are deer beds, but you never know is what my thoughts were, so i placed a camera there 1.5 weeks ago, and another upstream almost to that "pond" pictured. I placed all those cameras prior to learning about staying out of the area you want to hunt, so I plan to leave the cams until I stumble through that area during bow, or rifle. On the other side of the area described, the land rises up gently towards blow downs, and I found a good size rub(for this area), which was on a pine tree of about 4" in diameter, it was a tall rub, and had a oval directly underneath. This discovery was last season after my father, and I both filled our tags. Anyways, that bed had a some skat very near to it, and at the time, I had no idea that it may be a buck bed. After all my researching/learning this summer from forums/internet surfing, things are now clicking in my head from scouting post season last winter.

Thank you again, I really appreciate it.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bionic]

Also, when you say to look for bedding on the main point that heads south....are you referring to the pond that has the point funneling into the creek?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[KLEMZ]

yellow dots are spots i would think you should check for bedding. beds could be located based on the slight rise on elevation and back in cover, or likely on the very edge of cover, looking out towards the creek (if it opens up near the creek)

[Bionic]

The yellow dot on upper right, is literally near where my girlfriend noticed at grassy patch she said looked like bedding, shes not familiar with that, but it does look like it could be.

Any idea as far as a good spot to sit one day would be? Food sources are tough to figure out due to this place being strictly woods.

[ Post made via iPhone ]