Scout to hunt ratio...

[dirt nap giver]

I don't think over hearing a conversation is scouting. However, once you hear of it, look at maps, then lay some leather, that is my definition of scouting. Map viewing, I my opinion, is extremely important, but it doesn't mean a thing if your not spot checking your points of interest from your maps. The 2 go hand in hand. Without the maps, most of the time is just wandering in the woods. Without the leather your just looking at a picture. I will not walk through an area without first looking at a map. Time is to precious. Just my opinion.

[virginiashadow]

This is a good question, but it also has it's limitations. For example, one could hunt in an area with only a 4 week long bow season, so on average their scout to hunt ratio would be much higher than if they put it in the same amount of time scouting while hunting a bow season that lasted three months.

And I am not trying to make people mad but I just do not believe that everyone scouts 3 to 1 on here, unless they are only hunting 60-80 hours a season. My season is 3 months long and I will put in around 30 hunts, with an average hunt being 5 hours. That would put me at 150 total hunting hours. Now if I scouted 3 to 1 then I would be putting in 450 hours of ground scouting.

So over the course of nine months I would put in 450 hours of scouting, or on average 50 hours a month. I call bs on someone putting in 50 hours a month of scouting. I am sorry but I really do. Now if someone considers riding around in their truck spotlighting (not an option where I hunt) or driving around glassing (not an option really where I hunt) then maybe they could pump those numbers up to a 3 to 1 ratio. Or if every Saturday a guy left his family and scouted from dusk til dawn he would build up that 50 hours a month...see where I am going?

But for me, my honest answer is that this year will proabably be my first year at 1 to 1 in terms of ground scouting to hunting hours. If you add in mapy study I would be 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 scouting to hunting.

[dan]

So over the course of nine months I would put in 450 hours of scouting, or on average 50 hours a month. I call bs on someone putting in 50 hours a month of scouting. I am sorry but I really do. Now if someone considers riding around in their truck spotlighting (not an option where I hunt) or driving around glassing (not an option really where I hunt) then maybe they could pump those numbers up to a 3 to 1 ratio. Or if every Saturday a guy left his family and scouted from dusk til dawn he would build up that 50 hours a month...see where I am going?

I scout 12 months a year, not 9... Spotlighting for fun is not scouting. Spotlighting or glassing where you hunt and using the info you gather is scouting. I am close to 1 to 1 ratio just with my in season scouting. 50 hours a month is nothing...thats less than 15 hours a week.
I shine for an hour or so each morning before work patterning and finding bucks. I glass in the evenings, and shine after dark. I spend time studying maps of new propertys and walk around 1 or 2 propertys a week...
And really, it would be a of a lot higher ratio for me if I was not committed to this website and getting some DVD's made.

[Spysar]

I guess it depends on a few things. First off, as someone said, what is scouting? Are you talking actually being in the woods walking? Or does in your house research count at all?

I don't spend much time hunting around my house. No big bucks around where I live, it's well documented. I spend at least a month on the road hunting two or more states. I would love to, but I can't do year round scouting from 1400 miles away.

Do you really need a 3 to 1 ratio on land your already familar with? At some point, that much scouting is just stinking the place up.

The scouting ratio goes up significantly when I'm exploring brand new land. Both field time, and ariel map computer time.

Spotlighting isn't even an option in some states.

[virginiashadow]

Well if you think 50 hours a month is nothing then my hat is off to you Dan. 50 hours a month scouting is like working an extra week a month, or an extra three months of work each year. To me that is significant and to most everyone I know that would not even be considered an option due to their pesonal lives. Everyone has the cards they were dealt or made and have to adjust accordingly. If glassing/spotlighting were an option where I hunt I more than likely would like to do that as it is not that difficult physichally and would add some pieces to the puzzle. Other than that, if I walked 2 properties a week for 5 hours each, that would put me at 40 hours a month. That still would not get to the 50-100 hours a month some people claim they scout.

So over the course of nine months I would put in 450 hours of scouting, or on average 50 hours a month. I call bs on someone putting in 50 hours a month of scouting. I am sorry but I really do. Now if someone considers riding around in their truck spotlighting (not an option where I hunt) or driving around glassing (not an option really where I hunt) then maybe they could pump those numbers up to a 3 to 1 ratio. Or if every Saturday a guy left his family and scouted from dusk til dawn he would build up that 50 hours a month...see where I am going?

I scout 12 months a year, not 9... Spotlighting for fun is not scouting. Spotlighting or glassing where you hunt and using the info you gather is scouting. I am close to 1 to 1 ratio just with my in season scouting. 50 hours a month is nothing...thats less than 15 hours a week.
I shine for an hour or so each morning before work patterning and finding bucks. I glass in the evenings, and shine after dark. I spend time studying maps of new propertys and walk around 1 or 2 propertys a week...
And really, it would be a of a lot higher ratio for me if I was not committed to this website and getting some DVD's made.

[dan]

Agreed... Its not for everyone, and for some not an option.
My point was, some people do put in that much time easily.

Do you really need a 3 to 1 ratio on land your already familar with? At some point, that much scouting is just stinking the place up.

The scouting ratio goes up significantly when I'm exploring brand new land. Both field time, and ariel map computer time.

Yep... Once you know a property scouting changes from foot work to cameras or glassing. Big buck bedding really don't change much. When I go back to properties I hunted years ago, the new big bucks are bedding where the old big bucks bedded.

[AC Rider]

My area is closed from March 1 until September 1 so the only scouting that can be done is from season close through Feb. I'm not about to head into the swamp the first two weeks of September.

[muddy]

Whenever I'm walking in the woods during season I am scouting. Sometimes I'll take a different path to/from stands and check things out. If I counted off season scouting/stand hanging/trail cams/etc I'd really skew that ratio.

[Indianahunter]

Well thus far I have continued in hunting on familiar land and if Aerials and Topo, shining and glassing are being counted in scouting then I am definitely in the 3:1 or better range. I am constantly trying to locate that one little place where no one ever goes and how and when I might access it. Since I have "Beasted" I really do enjoy the scouting almost as much as anything else. Actually and more to me scouting is the hunting and the other part is the killing.

[Autumn Ninja]

To be honest with you, I physically scout very little. 90% of all my scouting is done with a topo. One quick walk through to note buck beds, doe beds, food, water, transition lines and signs of where other hunters go, then I study the topo for days, sometimes weeks of the area. I form a game plan for 3 or 4 hunts in that area, these hunts will take place over a 3 or 4 month pireod....where I sit-up will depend on time of year, time of day, food and wind direction. Alot of the spots I hunt I never physically see until the day I hunt them.

Physically scouting/hunt ratio, probably 1 to 5.
Topo scouting/hunt ratio, probably 5 to 1.

I can only kill one buck a year....so I don't need to scout 50 hours a week..., I don't even need to scout 10 hours a week. If you just enjoy scouting thats great, but if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!

[Indianahunter]

if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!

I respectfully have to disagree to a certain extent my friend. That is a broad statement that doesn't necessarily encapsulate the goals of individual hunters, nor does it consider the availability or distance of hunting land available to many hunters. Unlike myself hunting mostly private property, most people here hunt public land, and not necessarily close to home either. In addition Dan and many others target a specific animal which is a whole different ball game. For two years I have seen a very nice mature 10 (never given a bow opportunity) This buck is probably 5 1/2 years now by my guesstimation and I want him bad. I have worked very hard to locate this bucks beds and travel habits to no definite conclusion. Last year I seen a Dandy 140 class 8 and I want him badly but have had the same results locating him. Now I have seen these deer and had I been carrying my shotgun, I would have had that 8 pointer. As it is, I choose to suffer the limited range of my bow. I love the challenge and the new opportunities that Dan has opened up to me in my hunting and I can say with utter certainty that targeting a specific animal over sitting in a good funnel waiting for a nice deer to come along are two totally different things. So it definitely depends on the hunter and his or her personal goals.

[Zap]

if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!

The whole "your doing something wrong" thing is a pretty poor statement. IMO.

marty

[Autumn Ninja]

if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!

The whole "your doing something wrong" thing is a pretty poor statement. IMO.

marty

You may have taken the quote wrong, I'm not trying to make anyone mad.

It all comes down to Recognition, Interpretation and Aplication.....To some people this comes natural and some people just don't get it. Just being honest, not trying to bruise any egos....if I did I'm sorry.

[Zap]

if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!

The whole "your doing something wrong" thing is a pretty poor statement. IMO.

marty

You may have taken the quote wrong, I'm not trying to make anyone mad.

It all comes down to Recognition, Interpretation and Aplication.....To some people this comes natural and some people just don't get it. Just being honest, not trying to bruise any egos....if I did I'm sorry.

I was just being honest about how I felt about your statement.
Unlike you I used the term IMO.

You stated a "fact".

"if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!"

I stand by my previous statement.
I hope you have a good season.
marty

[dan]

The reason'S I scout more than I hunt...

I locate as many bedding areas as I can on each property I hunt. This ties up my spring. During the summer and during the season I locate as many big bucks as possible.
The very biggest animals are the target animals. Thats based on what I see on cameras, glassing, or shining. The target animal sightings are kept track of and mapped with time and conditions. This data is related to where the big buck bedding areas are on those properties. Once I know which bedding areas these bucks are using I create a game plan.
I also travel to hunt and like to hunt new areas frequently. This takes scouting.
Andrae D'Aquisto scout to hunt ratio is probably higher than anyones... He is always scouting. He only hunts about 1 out of every 3 or 4 days of the season. Yet, I don't know anyone who consistently puts themselves in position to kill mature bucks more than him.

Autumn Ninja wrote:
if you have to scout more than you hunt to get on a top end buck for your area.....YOUR DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!

Im thinking your just happy shooting a good buck... A lot of people here would probably shoot that buck too, but want to hunt where the odds are best for the biggest animal on any given property.