Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
justdirtyfun
500 Club
Posts: 2973
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 4:10 pm
Location: Misery, previously Hellinois
Status: Offline

Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:16 pm

hounddog409 wrote:
szwampdonkey wrote:I think people look WAY too much into the E scouting thing.

Take out ANY mapping app on your phone, Onx, Google Maps, etc and just look at the property you want to hunt then use it to find likely bedding, bottlenecks, etc. Should take you 5-10 minutes no matter which you’re using then get out and walk to the spots to either scout them or hunt them and you’ll have all the info you’ll need to start breaking the property down into manageable and productive chunks.


Maybe on initial hunts you can be in the game with the quick phone e scout. But I think a 48" or 60" chess board can be beneficial.
The areas don't change (usually) but my understanding sure does. First year my game plan might be find rut stands, next year realize that I need south wind intel, or late season cams showed one pattern I didn't understand.
These thoughts and musings are sometimes imagined while staring at the BIG PICTURE.


You don't have to be the best, just do your best.
Drich
Posts: 246
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:39 am
Status: Offline

Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Unread postby Drich » Fri Sep 03, 2021 4:32 pm

Last fall I had a bow hunter fairly irate at me as he was thinking I was gun hunting in a bow hunting only zone (I think, my hearing sucks, and I didn't stick around for full conversation.) Pretty sure the problem stems from his mobile app showing the boundaries incorrectly. I know that the boundary is/was physically posted 300 yards north of where we were.
KLEMZ
Posts: 1705
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:28 am
Location: SE Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Unread postby KLEMZ » Sat Sep 04, 2021 1:09 am

Here's something that hasn't been mentioned in this thread, that I believe to be true...all the phone apps carry the same level of information (publicly available aerials and generic topo lines). Sure, some aerials are without leaf coverage if you're lucky, but that's about as good as it gets. So basically, all the public land hunters using phone apps for their e-scouting and following the bedding tendencies of bucks taught by Dan, are being driven to the same spots.

Using a PC for e-scouting allows organizing and layering ANY unique terrain information from ANY source on the internet. This information can then be transferred to your phone or GPS unit. This definitely helps with efficient on the ground scouting to discover some of the subtle features that the bucks hide in.

Example...
I found a "flood stage" aerial of a marshy backwater on a small river. I noted the only dry humps and the location of the mainland dry points on the edge of the flood water. Then, in normal water levels I checked the spots out. Many of these exact edges were buck bedding areas, even at low water. These spots did not stand out on a topo map or via aerial pictures. Onyx and Huntstand users would not have found these spots as easily.

I believe boots on the ground woodsmanship trumps everything, but PC scouting can give away subtle clues that phone apps aren't going to give you.
User avatar
funderburk
500 Club
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2018 10:16 am
Location: South Carolina
Status: Offline

Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Unread postby funderburk » Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:16 am

CalTopo makes an app. Just as good as desktop version.

8-)
“I’ve always believed that the mind is the best weapon.” John Rambo
Maverick1
Posts: 499
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:34 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Unread postby Maverick1 » Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:41 pm

ThePreBanMan wrote:
KLEMZ wrote:
ThePreBanMan wrote:That said I do use my phone. But I use Google Maps. That because I can take a map from Google earth, with all my mark ups, etc, and export it to Google Maps making it accessible from my phone.


PreBan, I would love to here more detail on how you are doing this.


It's pretty simple actually. Export an overlay from Google earth to a KMZ file and then upload it to a folder on your Google Drive. It will now be accessible in Google Maps on your phone under the My Maps section. It will have all your mark ups on it, etc that existed at the time you exported the overlay.



@klemz
@ThePreBanMan

I do something very similar to ThePreBanMan, but just skip the google earth step. I put it all into google maps and work from there.

There is a much easier way. (The instructions below may 'sound' hard, but it is very simple.)

While at home / From your PC:
Log into your google account. Go to google maps. (You can toggle between different layers: satellite and map are most useful).
Click on the screen to add a location.
This location can be saved into a "list" on your google account. (I have several different different lists, one for each public land spot).
These locations can be saved as a "place" and named by adding a label.

On your phone:
Log into your google account
Open the google maps application.
All of your "lists" and "places" will appear.
These can be accessed and edited while in the field.

The imagery on google maps is the same as google earth. (Google earth has many more features, such as the ability to tilt and see previous images.)

With the google maps application "generally" showing all of the public hunting land boundaries, this helps greatly while at home and in the field.

To make it super-slick, I have an Excel spreadsheet, with hyperlinks to all of my public land places. Have also included links to my computers hard drive with pictures and videos taken while in the field. Makes it easy to sort and filter (afternoon stands, morning stands, wind direction, pre-rut, rut, late season stand locations, etc.) The hyperlinks go to the DNR webpage for that public land parcel, maps from the DNR online website, google map, parking spots, stand name, videos, pictures, number of times scouted and/or hunted, acceptable winds, treestand/saddle, season to hunt, etc.

I came up with this system after many years of scouting and having a bunch of spots on public land. (Too many to keep track of, had to get organized!)

A couple of videos that are somewhat similar to what I do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDF1cnd05cY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HhsIU8qXYs

My log is "somewhat" similar to what Dave does in his video, but I've hyperlinked everything in Excel as mentioned above.

This approach enables me to successfully hunt public land without a subscription to any type of service (OnX, for example.).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41588
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting

Unread postby dan » Fri Oct 08, 2021 1:39 am

I keep track of land borders and navigation with onx... I switch over to google earth or a mapping site when I scout


  • Advertisement

Return to “Scouting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests