Scouting with Google Earth: What are you looking for?

[Lugg]

Hello everyone,

I hunt regions 2, 3, 8. Regions 3 and 8 are too far to go to on a regular weekend trip for us so we enjoy trying areas of region 2. The image below is a typical type of area we would pass through and be able to stop at. Any game taken in Region two has been more luck and persistence than knowing where to look, hence this post.

If you look at the below photos as an example of armchair-scouting Mule deer in region 2, where would you focus and why?

Please feel free to post images of the types of terrain you would focus on in this type of landscape. it would help us a lot.

Numbers on first image are rough elevation.

Images https://imgur.com/a/fOUHNzT


Thanks!

[wideopenthrottle]

the same as on a topo map...I have had great success finding large farm fields that are next to big hills....I look for a nice spot up and not to far away from the field where the does will go relax after feeding at night...I will look for high spots near but further where the bucks would go...then I look for good ambush spots where they will have to go through a pinch point to get from the farm to the quiet spot to spend the day....this has worked especially well for me at one spot where I have killed 5 deer all within 100 yds of each other after only hunting the spot 7 or 8 times over the years....

[RyoTHC]

Well, none of that looks like anything I’m looking for when I’m scouting and I’ve filled all tags since moving here.

IMO that neither looks like an area I’d be racing season opener sept 1 nor would I be spending any time their during the rut.

Not to say say there aren’t plenty of animals but a spot like that you will need to work regularly and get to know intimately IME.

[blackbart]

I look for others pictures of huge bucks and bulls.

[Redthies]

I don’t scout by GE regularly, but I’ve used it a bit this year to show a friend some spots. I can see game trails in the one are we focused on, so I’d look for that sort of thing.

[Joegle]

This is what I am trying to figure out as well. Wouldn’t you be looking more for blacktail habitat in region 2? I’m trying to look at GE for spots in region 2 but since I’m just starting, it all kind of looks the same. Went and explored some spots and barely found any droppings, swung by an impromptu gun range and just over a knoll and in a dip not 150 yards away found many droppings and several tracks. Going out this weekend but literally it’s just hiking and spending the night down an old logging road in the pouring rain after the road has been deactivated so hopefully no one has been up there in a while and it leads somewhere cool

[Lugg]

I'm hunting in areas where there are no farms. Heavily forested with some cut blocks and logging roads.

What are you looking for in these situations?

Hiking is expected.

Here is another area I'm looking at inspecting.

https://imgur.com/a/AgXl8m3

Thoughts on this?

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

My take on this is: The "principle" of what you are looking for are always very similar:
You want to look for food/water sources with secure access (for the deer) and nearby safe bedding areas and habitats that are likely for deer at a certain time of year.

Now, how this looks like in practicality differs from area to area. E.g. farmland is a perfect food source (safe, the buggers know that!), and if you are adjacent to heavy forrest, that's very safe to get to.
In your case, older(!) cutblocks (you can go back in history on GE) can provide good food sources, old growth forrests as well.

You should also keep an eye out for "where so I set up"? Can I get in and out of my ambush/stand, etc in the morning/afternoon without spooking the deer? On-site knowledge of predominant wind directions, thermals, etc helps.

Meateater had a good episode on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAQeCZsb4Fo - again, look for the principles applied, not try and apply this exactly as shown.

And there are good resources on food sources, habitat preferences ,etc, for example
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/muledeer.pdf
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/whttail.pdf#targetText=The%20White%2Dtailed%20Deer %20does,valleys%20near%20the%20US%20border.

[JG75]

I'm hunting in areas where there are no farms. Heavily forested with some cut blocks and logging roads.

What are you looking for in these situations?

Hiking is expected.

Here is another area I'm looking at inspecting.

https://imgur.com/a/AgXl8m3

Thoughts on this?

That's looks like a beautiful spot to hike thru if anything. I would give that spot a chance. You easily sit on the top of valley there and glass all day.

One thing I've found when E scouting is that Google earth underestimates hills some times. I've scouted some spots where I thought I could climb up and glass but when I get there the trees are way above my sightline or the mountain I thought I was climbing turned out to be a small hill.

[J_T]

Think about it this way, go out, scout, find the animal of your choosing, note the habitat (not just the topography), access, water etc and "then" go to Google earth and find similar scenarios. And investigate again to confirm your findings.

[BC_KID]

Think about it this way, go out, scout, find the animal of your choosing, note the habitat (not just the topography), access, water etc and "then" go to Google earth and find similar scenarios. And investigate again to confirm your findings. Awesome , I couldn't agree more with you

[tyreguy]

Exactly J_T - go find some animals then look on Google earth to try and figure out why they are there...........natural funnel, water, feed, bedding - close to a coffee shop etc etc.
Get out, look around and you will figure it out.
Internet hunting is not the shortcut to finding game

Think about it this way, go out, scout, find the animal of your choosing, note the habitat (not just the topography), access, water etc and "then" go to Google earth and find similar scenarios. And investigate again to confirm your findings.

[Lugg]

Think about it this way, go out, scout, find the animal of your choosing, note the habitat (not just the topography), access, water etc and "then" go to Google earth and find similar scenarios. And investigate again to confirm your findings.


That's exactly why I'm looking at areas like this. :smile:

That said, I feel like even though I know they are there in at least small numbers I still don't know what I'm looking for when I want to explore a new place such as the last one I posted.

I see water sources, clearly can't tell what the food is like from google earth, or the visibility when on the ground.

I have no idea how to know if an area looks like it would hold deer, bear, etc. on a regular basis. All I know is that in all likelihood every area around here will have them wander through at some point.

Anyone care to explain what to look for as far as feeding goes in areas like this? People say to go to cut blocks... which are best? active blocks? recent blocks? 5 year old blocks? Blocks with 3 to 5 foot tall growth? etc. I have always felt like hunting a block is less likely to provide what I'm looking for than getting into the bush away from them.

What I end up looking for are areas that have pockets of little to no tree coverage and a close water source. I figure the areas with little tree coverage will allow us to see game more easily and may be a feeding area. However the areas are sometimes small and can only hold so much food. They would also provide nearby bedding areas.

Whoever posted the MeatEater video (thanks). I watched that when it was released, as well as many other videos on YouTube regarding finding deer. Most however seem to be explaining farm land hunting rather than what we get here in region 2. I know it's similar, but I have a hard time determining what a good food source is in these areas.

[Lugg]

To be clear, I've been here. I've seen them around the area but still don't understand exactly what to look for.

[J_T]

What is the animal you are looking for? What is your weapon for pursuit? What do you think is your strategy on approach? Spot and stalk? Still hunting? Calling? Some factors go into finding the most suitable spot for you and your style. I'll work with you... but you have to help.

[wideopenthrottle]

I like the area between the lakes near the center of the pic for where they might feed at night ...down below the bigger lake is some thicker timber the does might head for as light comes..that whole knob below the lake would be where I would expect them to go...from the bottom picture, I would expect the bucks to want to get higher and might be either near the top right ridge near the bare peak and along that ridge or down bottom left moving up that last draw up to that ridge.....personally I like the look of that whole valley and would push my way through it with a couple of others from one side to the other...looks like a good spot all in all

[Lugg]

What is the animal you are looking for? What is your weapon for pursuit? What do you think is your strategy on approach? Spot and stalk? Still hunting? Calling? Some factors go into finding the most suitable spot for you and your style. I'll work with you... but you have to help.

Hey, thanks.

You make a good point. We're hunting Mule and Blacktail deer. We got a Mule here 2 years ago. Using rifles. To be honest we are still learning and I guess it depends on our mood and / or the location we find that dictates our approach to the situation.

For the last spot I posted a picture of (with lakes)...


Game plan #1
If tree growth and height allows I'd like to get up on a ridge and glass, I could easily do this all day and enjoy myself.

Game plan #2
Make our way to the 3 small bodies of water on the lower right side and look for sign (watching for sign on the way). We would do the same between the larger lakes as this area looks like it might have slightly more visibility.


Things we've noticed when looking at the picture I posted...



Between the two larger bodies of water on the left, and the three smaller bodies of water on the right is what looks to be a natural "path" that connects the two locations together. I imagine that this might be a good line to follow when looking for sign. There are also many small streams that seem to run between other small water bodies that are not as visible.
I imagine that when bedding down they would prefer dense cover. It looks like the most dense area here is right below he largest lake and to the right of the one above it.




I like the area between the lakes near the center of the pic for where they might feed at night ...down below the bigger lake is some thicker timber the does might head for as light comes..that whole knob below the lake would be where I would expect them to go...from the bottom picture, I would expect the bucks to want to get higher and might be either near the top right ridge near the bare peak and along that ridge or down bottom left moving up that last draw up to that ridge.....personally I like the look of that whole valley and would push my way through it with a couple of others from one side to the other...looks like a good spot all in all

Do bucks want to be up high most of the time? Would time be better spent searching higher rather than lower? Should we check draws for sign? (I had to google what a "draw" was as I always forget.)

Thanks everyone. Hopefully others can learn from this too.

[Arctic Lake]

Hello everyone,

I hunt regions 2, 3, 8. Regions 3 and 8 are too far to go to on a regular weekend trip for us so we enjoy trying areas of region 2. The image below is a typical type of area we would pass through and be able to stop at. Any game taken in Region two has been more luck and persistence than knowing where to look, hence this post.

If you look at the below photos as an example of armchair-scouting Mule deer in region 2, where would you focus and why?

Please feel free to post images of the types of terrain you would focus on in this type of landscape. it would help us a lot.

Numbers on first image are rough elevation.

Images https://imgur.com/a/fOUHNzT


Thanks!

I find the same issue when I look at Google Earth ! Yes I can see water ie. creeks,rivers, lakes, but the vegetation or lack of is confusing for ME ! How old are the images we view ? Why can we not get updated images ? Man there is enough of those satellites up there ,LOL
Any answers would be appreciated !
Arctic Lake

[J_T]

In my hunting, I don't always find mule deer at the top of the mtn. They move up and down depending a lot on the weather. So when you hunt them, they could be anywhere. One thing I have found, in the morning, they like to increase their elevation and find a spot to bed. They like to be out of the wind. South facing slope, warm, no bugs. There is some good reading on mule deer. Have you read some of these?

http://www.sgrc.selkirk.ca/bioatlas/pdf/Habitat_Selection_by_Mule_Deer_in_Southeastern_Bri tish_Columbia.pdf

If that link doesn't work I have the pdf and can send it if that works better.

[Lugg]

I find the same issue when I look at Google Earth ! Yes I can see water ie. creeks,rivers, lakes, but the vegetation or lack of is confusing for ME ! How old are the images we view ? Why can we not get updated images ? Man there is enough of those satellites up there ,LOL
Any answers would be appreciated !
Arctic Lake

Yeah, the lack of vegetation gets me too. At least what I would consider good feeding vegetation, clearly I don't know what I'm looking for. More than likely it just can't be seen from space sometimes depending what it is.

I can tell you that the images viewed on google earth will tell you how old they are. These ones are from 2016, you can also go back in time to previous years, months, etc. Sometimes an update will skip 6 years, so from 2010 the next update might not be until 2016.

[IronFox]

If you are looking for new sat. images try this tool!
https://eos.com/landviewer/?lat=49.26460&lng=-123.16480&z=11

You can add multiple sat. (Bing) or map layers(Topo) into google earth as well.
https://ge-map-overlays.appspot.com


(https://eos.com/landviewer/?lat=49.26460&lng=-123.16480&z=11)

[Lugg]

In my hunting, I don't always find mule deer at the top of the mtn. They move up and down depending a lot on the weather. So when you hunt them, they could be anywhere. One thing I have found, in the morning, they like to increase their elevation and find a spot to bed. They like to be out of the wind. South facing slope, warm, no bugs. There is some good reading on mule deer. Have you read some of these?

http://www.sgrc.selkirk.ca/bioatlas/pdf/Habitat_Selection_by_Mule_Deer_in_Southeastern_Bri tish_Columbia.pdf

If that link doesn't work I have the pdf and can send it if that works better.

Downloaded that to read later. Thank you.

[Arctic Lake]

Good post JT Also Valerius Geist books on ungulates
In my hunting, I don't always find mule deer at the top of the mtn. They move up and down depending a lot on the weather. So when you hunt them, they could be anywhere. One thing I have found, in the morning, they like to increase their elevation and find a spot to bed. They like to be out of the wind. South facing slope, warm, no bugs. There is some good reading on mule deer. Have you read some of these?

http://www.sgrc.selkirk.ca/bioatlas/pdf/Habitat_Selection_by_Mule_Deer_in_Southeastern_Bri tish_Columbia.pdf

Thanks J.T. Also would like to add the books by Valerius Geist on ungulates !
Arctic Lake

If that link doesn't work I have the pdf and can send it if that works better.

[Arctic Lake]

Are the links you provided free to use ?

If you are looking for new sat. images try this tool!
https://eos.com/landviewer/?lat=49.26460&lng=-123.16480&z=11

You can add multiple sat. (Bing) or map layers(Topo) into google earth as well.
https://ge-map-overlays.appspot.com


(https://eos.com/landviewer/?lat=49.26460&lng=-123.16480&z=11)

[IronFox]

Absolutely!