Tags
Glassing techniques for a successful hunt
I am getting ready to leave for my coues deer hunt in southern AZ so I thought I would bust out this old article i wrote for http://www.thehuntingchannelonline.com
Glassing techniques for a successful hunt:
One of the most common mistakes people make when pertaining to glassing is not having a system. Just having system, alone will improve the number of game you will see. One way I like to pick apart a mountain side is by first doing a quick scan going left to right and top to bottom. This way you can pick up any game that might be moving. Once ive done my initial scan I begin to pick apart the mountain very systematically starting from the right top corner and moving frame by frame, holding a minimum of 10 secs per frame. I will actually count out 10 sec for the first few to kinda set a pace. But don’t keep counting because psychologically you start paying more attention to the counting and not what your looking at. You should be scanning within each frame the same way you are looking at the mountain right to left top to bottom or vise versa . take note to look under each tree and check the shadows real well. You may only get an ear twitch or a tail flick that alerts you to the presents of an animal.
Once you have devised your system of glassing mechanics it is time to develop good glassing habits. First save yourself the frustration and get yourself a good tri-pod set up something light and compact because no matter how steady you think you are glassing off hand is not as effective and you will tire easily. Always try to pick out your vantage point from where you will be glassing before you go hunting, like during your scouting or the day before if possible this way you will know how long it will take you to get there in the dark to set up before day break. This is especially important during early season where the deer or other game may only be up for an hour or two. Picking a vantage point in itself is probably the most important aspect of them all: this for me is all dependants on what type of country I’m looking at. If I’m in the desert I like to be low looking up so I can see under the low trees and brush. If I’m in an area with spotted timber and big open areas I like to be high looking down. And in real rocky situations I like to be mid mt looking straight a crossed. Once I have picked my spot I like to figure out where the bedding and feeding areas are. At first light after I have done my initial scan I pick the side of the mountain that consists more of the feeding areas and I start the process there. As it begins to warm up I may focus more on the bedding areas or try a pick out the traveling lanes to the bedding areas. It’s real important to be systematic because it helps you stay patient and patients is the biggest key to being successful in the field . So develop you system and become more successful…..See ya in the field!