Dana....

[rollingrock]

Now I think it's time to let us know whether you're an honest hunter or a good hunter. :wink:

Here is the question. Do you really think that scouting in July really helps your early season hunt? :mrgreen:

[muley kid]

I aint dana but personally i like to scout last 2 weeks july and most of aug.. it lets me know where the deer are hanging out and where the up and coming big bucks are.. they will move around but once I find a 175+ deer in july i will try and keep close tabs on him without disturbing him.. find out where he is most of the time, his crossing area's, feeding grounds etc..

[luckynuts]

Scouting always pays off especially if your hunting the early season and even if your not. I would say the only animal hard to pattern in the rut is deer and they still hang out in the general area. Moose and elk almost always have a specific area they hang out in and if you find them somewhere in july/August they aren't usually far in sept/oct. Though the elk on the island tend roam a bit more than up here but give it 3-5 days and they always came full circle.

My biggest frustration is when there are very warm temps out and or if the wolves move in.

[Steeleco]

I'm not one to speak, but if nothing else it gets your ass in shape. Like most I suck wind the first days out. There's no patent on excuses for not getting out, but the work done early will reward the workers!!

[BlacktailStalker]

Damn straight it does. At minimal, it gives a guy initiative. If you saw a big buck in an undisturbed area, there's a real good chance he's still there. You're going to hunt harder, be more cautious and hunt longer than if you had no clue if there was any decent animals around.

Wait until this september when the guys start posting pictures.
I'll bet 90% of them have a spot that is either tried, tested and true they will go to, or have spot(s) scouted, bucks located and patterned that will be hitting the ground within a week of opening day.
Public areas get hit hard and anybody who has been around any amount of time knows, once that velvet has been shed, the first gun shot has gone off or the first human scent has been caught in an updraft, the big boys are on high alert mode, even more so than any other time of the year.

The blacktails here go nocturnal. You cant get em where you saw them a week before opening. You have to get them before dark, enroute to where you saw them. For a hunter to get in there its noisy, hard access and there's a multitude of trails they may take to get there that vary day to day, depending on several different factors.

Boy am I amped !!

[Elkhound]

Blacktail Stalker is correct. 100%

[rollingrock]

Oh, I'm not saying scouting is useless. I scout too. But scouting 2 months before the season starts...well, boy, I don't know. :D I do like the scouting pix and get pumped when I see those pix. But I've found that even one week can make a lot of difference.:mrgreen:

[hannibal]

I'm glutten for punishment, I hike and scout all year.

[Dillybar]

Me personally, I do not do much or any scouting this time of year. With young kids out of school and the warm weather I prefer to take them camping, swimming and doing family things. Come early fall I do a lot more. I need to break things up into seasons so that it keeps my interest and allows me to do things other than just hunting. I find with current work schedules and limited holiday's there isn't a lot of time to have with the family.

[tufferthandug]

I think if you seen more people out scouting right now, you would probably see more big buck posts on this website in September. Really the only "Big Buck" picture from season opener I have seen on here, or Huntshoot was Muleychaser's a couple years ago. Maybe there has been more but I don't remember many.

I know if you start heading out now, then in September you won't be saying the old line "Hunting's the shits round here"...

[30-06]

iv seen 3 bucks in the last 3 days not more than 3km from my house,,2-2 points 1-spike

[Kirby]

Scouting is a joke, why waste time and gas driving and walking into an area to look for an animal that may not even be there in a month or two? It makes way more sense to sit at home on the internet and read where everybody else goes... waste THEIR gas not yours. Its like shed hunting... who cares what it grew last year? It may not even be alive anymore.

The only important time to see an animal is as your pulling the trigger.

Kirby

[rollingrock]

Scouting is a joke, why waste time and gas driving and walking into an area to look for an animal that may not even be there in a month or two? It makes way more sense to sit at home on the internet and read where everybody else goes... waste THEIR gas not yours. Its like shed hunting... who cares what it grew last year? It may not even be alive anymore.

The only important time to see an animal is as your pulling the trigger.

Kirby

:evil::twisted:8):shock:

Choked...

[steveo32]

hahahahha kirby i knew you were up to no good!!!! I also knwo you have not scouted one bit this year all i can say is good luck come fall:twisted:

Hope you get lucky on private land again sucker :mrgreen:


steve

[Kirby]

hahahahha kirby i knew you were up to no good!!!! I also knwo you have not scouted one bit this year all i can say is good luck come fall:twisted:

Hope you get lucky on private land again sucker :mrgreen:


steve

Just cause I ain't posting pics don't mean I ain't been out:wink: Too many followers on here to show off what I am seeing.

Just remeber to save enough money guiding to pay off your bets, that case of beer is gonna be some good tasting booze.

Kirby

[frenchbar]

Scouting is a joke, why waste time and gas driving and walking into an area to look for an animal that may not even be there in a month or two? It makes way more sense to sit at home on the internet and read where everybody else goes... waste THEIR gas not yours. Its like shed hunting... who cares what it grew last year? It may not even be alive anymore.

The only important time to see an animal is as your pulling the trigger.

KirbyKinda reminds me of the time me and a buddy were hunting up in the alpine.got up there a day before the season opened,there was a guide outfitter in the same area.well i guess this guide was watching this 4x4 mossy horn for 5 weeks on the same slope.well we got up really early and headed over to where i thought the bigger bucks were going to be,when i got there i found him and put him down .later we ran into the guide on our way back to camp he was taking a couple city slickers in to get the buck,man was he pissed,he said he was watching it for 5 weeks. The early bird really does get the worm.:-D.most of the high mountain bucks will spend a couple months in the same area . and yes scouting will bring you greater early season succsess.

[hunter1947]

To me scouting for elk or deer in the early season does not count that much ,were you see animals in July and early Aug ,doesn't mean there going to be there in Sept ,they move for habitat and rutting purposes.

[steveo32]

Kirby your p.m. box is full

steve

[hunter1947]

Scouting is a joke, why waste time and gas driving and walking into an area to look for an animal that may not even be there in a month or two? It makes way more sense to sit at home on the internet and read where everybody else goes... waste THEIR gas not yours. Its like shed hunting... who cares what it grew last year? It may not even be alive anymore.

The only important time to see an animal is as your pulling the trigger.

Kirby
You got my vote on this issue kirby,:wink:

[Kirby]

Kirby your p.m. box is full

steve

Emptied it.

Kirby

[dana]

There are many reasons to preseason scout. The 1st thing scouting allows you pattern bucks in their summer range (which just happens to be in some awe-inspiring country as well) and then put the kiabosh on a big ol bruiser come opening day. Yes, you see a buck right now, there is a good chance he'll still be hanging out in the same piece of highcountry come early Sept. Hunting is never a guarentee but at least scouting allows you to hunt where a big buck lives (and you know it cause you saw him in July or Aug).
The 2nd thing scouting gives ya is practice. Practice glassin. Practice still hunting. Practice stalking. The more you do these things the better you will be when the hunt is on. If you haven't picked up your binos since last fall, do you think you'll be an Eagle Eye spottin deer left, right and center come opening day? The more you glass, the better you will be at it. I like to put stalks on bucks so I can try to get them on film. I spotted the buck in my last scouting pics thread at close to a km away. I was able to sneak up on him at well under 20 yards. It was fun and it gave me practice. Get the picture?
The 3rd thing scouting does for ya is lets you know the quality in the area you are hunting. If I scout a mountain and all I'm seeing is dink after dink after dink without even one Hawg track being spotted, do you think that is where I'm going to spend my Precious Opening Day?
The 4th thing scouting does for ya, is it allows you to learn the lay of the land. You get to know the buck's living room intimately. This can greatly assist you come your Early Season hunts.
And lastly, the 5th thing scouting gives ya is Excerise, which I don't really need, but I'm sure many of you do. :)

[mrdoog]

Can't really qualify it as "scouting"; the wife and I went for a drive because it was so freaking hot.
We went for a drive down the road I shot a 2 point last fall.
Told the wife to keep an eye out cause there are some big does hanging around, and she has a LEH tag this year.
We saw the biggest buck I have ever seen laying in the rootball hole of a blown down tree.
On the way back to Knouff Lake we encountered a long legged 2 point who had to be forced off the road.
I sense meat in the freezer this fall.

[rollingrock]

There are many reasons to preseason scout. The 1st thing scouting allows you pattern bucks in their summer range (which just happens to be in some awe-inspiring country as well) and then put the kiabosh on a big ol bruiser come opening day. Yes, you see a buck right now, there is a good chance he'll still be hanging out in the same piece of highcountry come early Sept. Hunting is never a guarentee but at least scouting allows you to hunt where a big buck lives (and you know it cause you saw him in July or Aug).
The 2nd thing scouting gives ya is practice. Practice glassin. Practice still hunting. Practice stalking. The more you do these things the better you will be when the hunt is on. If you haven't picked up your binos since last fall, do you think you'll be an Eagle Eye spottin deer left, right and center come opening day? The more you glass, the better you will be at it. I like to put stalks on bucks so I can try to get them on film. I spotted the buck in my last scouting pics thread at close to a km away. I was able to sneak up on him at well under 20 yards. It was fun and it gave me practice. Get the picture?
The 3rd thing scouting does for ya is lets you know the quality in the area you are hunting. If I scout a mountain and all I'm seeing is dink after dink after dink without even one Hawg track being spotted, do you think that is where I'm going to spend my Precious Opening Day?
The 4th thing scouting does for ya, is it allows you to learn the lay of the land. You get to know the buck's living room intimately. This can greatly assist you come your Early Season hunts.
And lastly, the 5th thing scouting gives ya is Excerise, which I don't really need, but I'm sure many of you do. :)

WOW!:shock:
Excellent lecture!

[Walksalot]

Scouting also keeps you in tune with what is happening in you favorite hunting spot. I remember one year we hiked up the ridge in the dark and waited until first light, bugled and nothing answered. We crested the ridge and before us lay a huge cut block where our favorite hunting spot used to be. Bummer!

[hunter1947]

It's alright if you are two or three hr from your hunting spot ,but when you are on the island and have to get off the island and drive 10hr to get to your favorite hunting spot ,well that is a different story ,but this year i can be there for the in-tire hunting season for elk ,retirement date Aug 23/07 ,LOL.:mrgreen:.

[bruin]

Openning day is a precious thing to me as Dana said. I would much rather spend it in an area that I know has big bucks than an area that used to have big bucks last year

[daycort]

yes scouting is very important. There was a time when me and the boys were into the deer and elk every year, but the past 4 years I have not done as much as i used to. Working in camp and are 3 children in 4 years, takes away more time then i would like to think. So for now i am just a bucking bronco livingroom horse, trapaline expert and the master of the spot and drive around the country with the kids, droping bino's on the floor.