Scouting is essential for success.

[masoncade1992]

So I figured I would take the time to write an article to hopefully help guide people to a more successful hunt. As some may know, I am original from WK area and now reside in the Peace region and have for 7 years. I didn't take hunting really serious, until I moved up here.

Now, this year more than ever, I have seen an absolute influx of out of town ppl. Now this is not a bad thing, but I have taken time to stop by a few camps this year and B.S and talk about hunting. I have also seen a lot of post with ppl saying they are not seeing game and the same holds true for most of the camps I have run into. Lots of ppl saying " we haven't seen a thing" , "no game this year" blah blah blah blahh blah. NON SENSE is all that is. The only animal I can truly say is less, is moose.

The group I hunt with tagged out in 6 days. I helped my brother and brother in law find an elk .Now I am looking for a monster bull and have passed many many elk this year. Our group including my self gets an elk every year. We are not magical hunters, but we do a lot and I mean a lot of scouting. Scouting is 100% essential to get game. it accounts for at least 60% of the hunting equation to get your game. Every one complains about not seeing game, but most of those ppl don't scout pre season. I have taken the time to scout many areas in the summer months. I have scouted tumbler, FSJ, del rio area, williston ect ect and you know what all those areas have elk. the elk are not everywhere in those areas , they are in little pockets away from human activity. jumping in your truck sight unseen and pointing on a map is like driving with no headlights. The areas are vast and large and the elk could be miles from where you are. Scouting tells you where the elk are generally, where they are feeding and bedding down . Elk sometimes move at 2 pm in the afternoon and you wonder why you don't see them at 7 am.

At the end of the day, I don't want to discourage anyone from driving 12-16 hours to hunt in the peace but if I lived anywhere that had an open 6 pt season, I would never come up. I would find the elk within 1 hour of my house and put in the time. I have friends who kill elk in Kelowna area, friends who kill elk in nakusp, prince george friends who kill elk in some of the nastiest areas, but they all scout the living piss out of it. then when it opens, they know where the elk are and then they put their skills to use and typically bag nice bulls.

lots of ppl say" we get one hunt a year and everything is open up north" , this may be true we have a good season. but that doesn't mean moose and elk are around every corner. you are at a huge disadvantage, as this area is vast and the game again is in small hard to find pockets. Any areas that I hunt, even if I gave you direction, you would not find because they are that hidden.

At the end of the day, I would suggest you to look at some of the people on this forum that seem to be very successful and you will find a pattern to why .

P.S. Good luck to everyone this year !

[Ourea]

Great post.

I have always said "I hunt (scout) for targets all spring and summer, come hunting season I go to kill"

Hunting is like any activity.....it requires time and investment before the hunt.

[quadrakid]

It helps to get out of the truck once in awhile.

[HighCountryBC]

Quality post.

I always shake my head when I hear other hunters talking about "luck". If you have done your homework, scouting etc. then luck has very little to do with harvesting an animal. Know the inventory, become familiar with their habits and your success will increase.

[twoSevenO]

Yes but the reality is that most hunters from the LM cannot afford to scout much when you consider that most hunt 3+ hrs away plus hiking time.

Granted they could scout more for their local game .... blacktails but they dont.

With everyone getting into the trail cam game, there is no scouting more efficient than putting some cams up on one trip and checking what they found on another.

Of course, you still have to scout on where to put the cameras.... but that comes down to how quickly do you want success and how much time you are willing to dedicate out of season.

Most people I know have a hard enough time booking time off for hunting let alone for out of season scouting.

If you want it bad enough, you will make the time.

[J_T]

Yup. Legal hunting season is only the killing season. I spend the rest of the year finding, following and figuring out - hunting.

[masoncade1992]

Yes but the reality is that most hunters from the LM cannot afford to scout much when you consider that most hunt 3+ hrs away plus hiking time.

Granted they could scout more for their local game .... blacktails but they dont.

With everyone getting into the trail cam game, there is no scouting more efficient than putting some cams up on one trip and checking what they found on another.

Of course, you still have to scout on where to put the cameras.... but that comes down to how quickly do you want success and how much time you are willing to dedicate out of season.

Most people I know have a hard enough time booking time off for hunting let alone for out of season scouting.

If you want it bad enough, you will make the time.

So true, about making the time. I see lots of people in summer come up camping that also like hunting. Funny the areas they camp at , also hold good elk numbers. instead of drinking, they could spend a little more time scouting lol

[Walking Buffalo]

Scouting is absolutely Not essential for success....

But it sure helps.

[Stillhunting]

Scouting will obviously increase your odds for success, but having an understanding of how game uses habitat and hown to read sign is perhaps more important. You could spend the whole year scouting but if you don't know what to look for, it's a waste of time. We just got back with a nice bull from an area we had never set foot in before because we knew where to look and what to look for.

[Camotoes]

Scouting will obviously increase your odds for success, but having an understanding of how game uses habitat and hown to read sign is perhaps more important. You could spend the whole year scouting but if you don't know what to look for, it's a waste of time. We just got back with a nice bull from an area we had never set foot in before because we knew where to look and what to look for.

this ^^^^^^^