Scouting Scenario

[cohunter14]

It\'s getting to be that time of year again. Time to get in the mountains for your scouting trip prior to the big hunt this fall. So I figure why not make a scenario for everyone and get some opinions on how you would handle this. Here\'s what we got:

The below topo map, road map, and aerial photo is a new area you will be hunting this year. The center section that is shaded is private land. You have gotten general information on the unit and have decided to focus on this specific location. You will be making a scouting trip over a long weekend this summer, with half a day Friday, all day Saturday, and half a day Sunday to scout before you have to head home. You will then return a day or two prior to the season opener to set camp and potentially check the three trail cameras you are bringing with you on the scouting trip.

So, let\'s hear your plan.
1) What are your areas of focus for your scouting trip and why?
2) What are you hoping to find in these areas?
3)) Where are you planning on hanging your trail cameras and why?
4) Where are you assuming your A spot, B spot, and C spot are going to be and why? I know that can change after getting boots on the ground, but everyone has an assumption before the check a spot out.

Anything else you want to add would be great! As a reminder, feel free to save the map to your computer and open it with Paint. Then you can edit and draw on the map, save it, and post it back on here.

[attachment=1]<!-- ia1 -->Topo.png<!-- ia1 -->[/attachment]
[attachment=0]<!-- ia0 -->Roads.png<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment]
[attachment=2]<!-- ia2 -->Aerial.png<!-- ia2 -->[/attachment]

 

[iccyman001]

I\'ll take a crack at this tomorrow!
I need to figure out how to save the picture, mark it with Xs and then upload it

 

[cnelk]

Derek
This looks a tad familiiar...

 

[otcWill]

Without breaking down your maps I\'ll tell you what I do. I hike an insane loop and cover as much country as possible when scouting. I let the terrain naturally lead me where it leads the elk. I follow heavy sign back to bedding areas and I try to find these areas in a place where others wouldn\'t think to or simply can\'t go. I like to find heavily established trails with droppings both old and new. Mostly I like to see rubs from every year from 10 years ago until the present. If you find all this and the area is tough to access, has no trails, or is just in a place nobody would think to look, you have a gem. I don\'t have to worry much about feed and water as the areas I choose to scout are abundant in both.

 

[AndyJ]

What are the odds. I know exactly where this is. If this is where you plan to hunt, PM me. Knowing this area I can tell you all the scouting in the world won\'t help you until you see where other guys are hunting. I have the same scouting strategy as Will. In this case, I would hit every north facing drainage possible to see which ones get traffic. I am looking for bedding areas and I would also be looking for drainages with the most direct path to higher up. I too am looking for a lot of rubs of all ages and I will be looking for \"the\" trail. You\'ll know it when you see it, but it tends to be common in drainages that are heavily used. It will be the trail that looks like a hiking trail.

A few areas of interest: That big stream that goes from private property and heads north east can be tricky to cross, which will deter some guys. That north facing slope to the south behind the private property can be a way to get to a good inconspicuous spot or it can attract attention. And finally, A lot of hunter traffic will be headed to the wilderness area that is really close.

Hit as many drainages as possible so you can prioritize best to worst. Have at least five options and more is better. Then, when you arrive to hunt, pick the spot farthest from any other vehicles.

 

[AndyJ]

One thing I forgot to mention that I think is really important is hunter\'s sign. I am looking for plastic water bottles (I don\'t know why so many hunters are against filtering water) candy bar wrappers and flagging. If an area is littered with these things, you may will want to keep it in mind.

 

[cohunter14]

Good info Will and Andy! And no, I\'m not planning on hunting here. I picked a completely random area, but just scratched off all the markings so we don\'t ruin someone else\'s location!

I posted this just because I think there is a lot we can learn from these. It\'s very interesting to hear what people look for when scouting, how they spend their time when scouting, where they like to hang cameras, etc. Hearing from two known elk slayers makes the thread even better :upthumb:

I\'ll try to get some time to post up some of my opinions this evening.

 

[cohunter14]

Here is a map of the areas that jumped out to me. I numbered them just for reference. This area is very unique in the fact that the main road is up high, forcing people to hunt low, for the most part.

[attachment=0]<!-- ia0 -->Topo.png<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment]

Area 2 jumped out at me right away due to the flat terrain and lack of nearby roads. Someone would have to hike 3/4 of a mile or more down steep terrain to hunt the majority of that area, meaning you aren\'t going to see many, if any, people down there.

Area 1 is unique because the road stops where I drew the blue gate on the map. This is great info to have and proof that although topo\'s show a road somewhere, that doesn\'t always mean it\'s open. Knowing that the road is closed, that really opens up some of this area. What I loved about it is the fact that you have north facing dark timber that is relatively flat and on the other side it looks like it would be good feeding. Add in water and that could be a solid spot.

Area 3 intrigues me simply because you have to hike up and over to get in there or, once again, go down from the west side and come up. It appears to be dark timber that is relatively flat in spots.

I would scout this by spending all day Saturday hiking a big loop through 1 and 2, in no particular order. I would either start north of 2 and loop down to 1 or vice versa. I would hope to have a vehicle waiting wherever I plan on coming out of the woods. Friday afternoon and first thing Sunday would be spent checking out area 3 along with any other areas I feel are necessary.

Will and Andy touched on a lot of the things I would be looking for. As far as hanging trail cams, I would probably be looking for a very solid game trail like the one Andy eluded to, one with tons of sign, both old and new, and looks like a highway running through. Going into it, I would be assuming that my A, B, and C spots are spots 1, 2, and 3 in that order.

 

[Baby Huey]

If I had half of a day on Friday, I would set up at the two spotting scope spots I marked, probably starting at the lower to hopefully get looks at most areas except for areas D & E. I would have my spots marked out on my map and take notes of what I saw at each of my pre-determined spots. Then I would move up to the upper spotting scope spot. This spot should yield a lot of areas to glass and get good notes, including D & E, but not likely G.

It looks like the main vehicle entry into this area is from the right side of the map. Assuming north points to the top of the map, all spots except for G are north facing slopes, that is why I chose those spots.

Spot A is first as the main trail that leads up from near the private land (PL), isn\'t near the trail, so I am hoping most hunters won\'t venture over there. It is also pretty steep for the PL people to hike up to, so I am hoping that cuts down on people getting there from the PL. The remoteness, north facing, water source and heavy timbered area draw me to that spot first.

Spot B is still a little more work to get to, and I think it is off the main trail enough to be a good prospect. Again, the steepness from the PL hopefully makes it a little more difficult to get to.

Spot C looks good as well since it is not right at the trail, as the trail takes a bit of a U turn and the small dog leg off the main trail peters off after a bit. The steep terrain below will give the elk a vantage point for anything coming up from below. The flat area potentially is good for feed and bedding with a good water source.

I also chose spots A, B and C as I think that people who just stick to walking the main trail will push the animals away from that main trail and hopefully into these areas.

Spots D & E look good as well in the north facing drainages. They are also a bit off of the road and no trails around, so hopefully that helps as well.

Spot F has a trail just north of it and it is steep enough that the animals will come into the F drainage and I expect most hunters will not want to hike up that steep hill. This area is close to the main road and trail, but since it is down hill, a lot of hunters do not like to hunt down, since they will have to hike the animal uphill on the pack out. I think this spot has potential, but will have to check it out - hopefully the spotting scope will help me understand if that area looks elky and if I want to spend my limited time hiking down there on the scouting trip.

Spot G is both downhill and away from any roads. I could see some hunters going down to that flat spot due east of my first spotting scope location, since they can just drop down off of the road and that would look like a good flat spot to check out. If that happens, my hopes are that the animals would push over into this G drainage. G also has a few meadows that the other spots do not have, so it may be secluded enough and with water there, it may be a good spot.

Assuming everything looked good from the Friday spotting scope sessions I would start the boots on the ground scouting by driving to the start of the trailhead near the PL and head up the trail. When I hit 8400\' on the GPS, I would go off trail to see what kind of sign I would see as I make my way towards Spot B. After taking notes and photos, I would cross the small drainage looking for sign and old rubs and elky areas until I made it to point A. Again take notes/photos and set up the spotting scope to look back at Spot G and get a better feel for it. I would also glass that area to the right of spot G to maybe gain some other potential spots. After that I would head up east along the ridgeline and working my way across the trail, down the next drainage until I hit 9400\'. I would follow that contour around the mountain and then start dropping down to Spot C and check out that area. Anywhere that I felt really good along these 3 spots I would place a camera(s). From C I would head down the drainage until I hit the main trail. I would also be looking for feasible water sources, as I would likely backpack in and not go back to the truck each day during hunting season.

If there was time left in the day, I would drive over to the 4WD road that dead ends at the trail near spots F & G. Depending on how much energy I had, I would try to hit one of those spots. Then on Sunday, I would hit the other spot and then drive over to hike to spots D & E and their respective drainages. I would save these spots for Sunday, since they are relatively shorter distances so I could finish scouting and head back on Sunday at a reasonable time. Again, notes/photos at each location.

 

[cohunter14]

Great info Roman! I like the idea of using the spotting scope as well.

I looked really hard at that area to the east where your A, B, and C are at. The reason I stayed away from it was simply because it seemed like nothing but thick dark timber with the exception of a few steep, south facing slopes. While I\'m sure it could hold elk, it doesn\'t really fit me for rifle hunting as I am not much of a still hunter. A bunch of good info in there though :upthumb: