My first real cyber-scouting test!

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flinginairos
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My first real cyber-scouting test!

Unread postby flinginairos » Mon Jan 23, 2017 1:29 am

I put my first real cyberscout to the test yesterday after learning so many new things the past year on here and I must say, I am beyond excited!!

I have mainly hunted just a few properties in my life and never had always just figured things out the "hard way" by hunting them over and over and making adjustments. After getting on here and seeing how good some of you are at cyberscouting, it really motivated me to get better at it and get out of my normal routine and hunt some different places. I have always wanted to access an area by boat and I have been looking and going over maps for a good while to find a spot I could try. I located a spot on a lake that is about 40 minutes from my house that has 18k acres of public hunting around it. My main criteria for the spot was it had to be over a mile from any road access and within reasonable paddling distance for my kayak. After finding that spot I then looked at the main ridge above the lake and determined the predominant wind direction for Oct-Dec. After finding the leeward side of the hill I marked all the points at the 1/3 elevation and picked out a faint transition line by looking at a few aerial images of the area. I loaded those points and a track for my access on my GPS and I took off for the lake yesterday! I had no problems getting to the spot and parking my kayak right where I had planned and slowly made my way up the ridge, checking small fields for sign along the way. As I got to the top field that is situated about 1/2 way down the ridge I found the main trail coming off the ridge, right off the point I had marked on the map :mrgreen: As I started climbing the steep ridge, the trails started to fan out in the thicker cover and I knew I was getting real close to bedding as I neared the 1/3 elevation line. Near this point is where I had marked the transition line of thicker cover and bigger hardwoods and wouldn't you know it, as soon as I hit that line there's a big rub! I started following the faint trail through the thick stuff and up ahead I could see a small tree broke off about 4' off the ground and the top laying perfectly on the ground. I was about 60 yards away from it and in my head I said "there's the buck bed i'm looking for" and sure enough it was! I was pretty surprised that I was able to go in completely blind and in an hour find a buck bed and two stand locations that I think will produce. I was able to eliminate so much wasted effort just by a few hours of cyberscouting this place. I will admit that when I pulled up in the kayak that huge area of steep timber was a little intimidating but I had confidence in what I picked out and stuck to the plan :mrgreen:

I know it's not a huge deal and you guys do it again and again and have success, but I am pretty excited to finally be able to put the pieces together after gaining so much info on this site this past year. Exited to see what 2017 holds! :mrgreen:


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cbay
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Re: My first real cyber-scouting test!

Unread postby cbay » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:51 am

Cool! That's a great feeling of accomplishment when you can do that.
Scout.  Learn.  Hunt
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jwilkstn
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Re: My first real cyber-scouting test!

Unread postby jwilkstn » Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:48 am

Nice job :clap: :clap: 8-)
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Stanley
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Re: My first real cyber-scouting test!

Unread postby Stanley » Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:49 am

:clap: :clap: :clap:
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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<DK>
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Re: My first real cyber-scouting test!

Unread postby <DK> » Wed Jan 25, 2017 3:22 am

You will get better as you go, congrats!
The more you stare at the maps, the more hidden spots you will find. Some people can just do it quickly at a glance, I like checking maps before I pass out at night. I like hunting 3 properties plus a draw only hunt, every bit helps!


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