How do I become a better glasser?

[CaliforniaMuley]

Find the high vantage points where you can see lots of country, bring food and get comfy, use a tripod, be on those vantage points during prime time ( First thing in morning / Last light ). glassing in the middle of the day can be effective but to write off an area you need to be there at the prime times or you'll never know whats actually there. and then let the eyes do the work!!! never know what you may find.
And buy the best glass you can afford...

 

[Pistolpete28]

It definitely takes alot of practice, between scouting before the season and years of doing it you will become alot better. Another thing I would recommend is figure out the areas that look "bucky" and focus on those area in the prime hours. Sometimes in October mature bucks will not move a whole lot and will only move for a few minutes, so knowing the bucky areas through scouting/experience can be very helpful.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

When you first come to an area you are going to be glassing you must first do a quick scan of the entire place to see if any animals are immediately visible on their feet. If you do not see anything that catches your attention then start picking it apart. After a while I will do another quick scan to see if anything might have moved in or stood up. Then go back to where I was picking it apart and continue. This continues for however long I decide to continue or if i make a move on an animal. I am picky though so I am likely just moving to another spot to start all over.

 

[lif]

Everyone’s advice here is sound. Practice in the offseason, be patient, get good glass, etc...
The one thing I would emphasize is to get a decent tripod. I wasted many years on free hand glassing. At one miles distance I’ll take $200 vortex diamondbacks on a tripod over $3000 swaros being free handed every time.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

This is what i've learned glassing coues (the true grey ghost ), which are usually quite a bit harder to find than muleys, but the same things apply:

-Buy the best glass you can afford; if your limit is <$1,000, stick to 10x or less, i've yet to look through higher power mid level glass that was any good.
-invest in a good tripod and a good pan head, have a solid way to mount your binos on there.
- Get comfortable; if you're not comfortable you're not going to glass for very long. Glass pad or stool.
- keep your binos still and let your eyes wander within the field of view. you'll find more deer by catching movement than you will by actually seeing the deer.
-go slow; if you're finding squirrels and rabbits at 1000 yards you're doing it right.
- be patient, you'll be surprised what pops up when you've "already looked there"
-glass year round even if you're not hunting, if you get good glass it's fun, one of my favorite things to do.
-the most important, have fun.
Good luck

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Here you go:
1) E-scout: Look for vantage points that provide large areas of visibility. Figure out how close you can get to it driving and how long it will take to get there.
2) Proper setup: Buy the best binoculars that you can afford. Put them on a stable tripod. Get a comfortable seat. Can be a tripod seat, Helinox chair, pad (beware of pokies). I always have a chair of some sort as well as a couple of sections of Z-Lyte.
3) At first light and first afternoon shade, do a quick pass to see if any deer are on their feet.
4) Do a grid search and go slow. It does take a lot of patience and discipline but it will pay off. Do not look for a deer. Look for an ear, flick of the tail, jaw moving from chewing the cud, etc. Look under/over/next to every tree, bush, shrub, etc.
5) Glass all day. You'd be surprised at the number of deer that popup out of nowhere to "follow the shade".
6) Go 25-50 yards left or right and re-glass. Changing the angle helps.
7) Keep glassing the same area over and over and over. Deer do pop up unexpectedly in areas that you've already glassed 20 times.
8) Glass near and far. Most folks tend to overlook what is close to them and miss deer.
9) Practice a lot. You have to spend time behind the glass. Get out in nature or a park and glass away. Hang out with birding groups if you must. The more you do it the better you become; it is a skill set that will rust.

 

[Wassid82]

As I became better at glassing techniques I became a more successful hunter. There is no wrong way to hunt because it is based on preference. However when I was a young hunter I had horses and the plan was cover ground and lots of it. When I was an adult I lost the luxury of horses and pack mules. But the only way I knew how to hunt was cover ground and lots of it. I was willing to work hard for success and I did achieve that from time to time but not often enough to be satisfied. So I studied hard on glassing. I bought better quality binoculars...then I bought my first spotting scope...then I learned to e scout high points with unobstrucitve views. I would over lay what I saw on topo maps and with google earth. I started to see more and more game. I would then use search grids to cover the most likely spots for deer and elk. then I would map out the where shade, feed, and water were. the next part was to learn that my silhouette would give me away so I would never stand and glass at the peak of the ridge. I bought better clothing that would help me stay out longer(and now I stay out all day). its amazing what you will find moving around when most people go back to camp because its too cold/hot/rainy/sunny etc. the game plan is still the same....cover more ground....but instead of riding or hiking it to sit silently covering ground with my eys. I can't tell you how often game has crossed right beneath me. two years ago a doe walked within 5 ft of me and didn't have clue I was there. I could have steer wrestled her to the ground by her ears. That day I saw a pack string blow out 50 animals in two canyons I was glassing. They stayed for about 2 hours and then left because there wasn't anything to be "found". I have found glassing to be the most effect way to hunt for me. The hard part is trying to decide how far to hunt and what is worth the trek to the animal because you can only shoot them where you see them!

 

[Beendare]

patience is the key to all mule deer hunting...

Yep^..... “Patience you must have my young Padawan.”

______

 

[Gen273]

Great tips guys, thanks for sharing!

 

[WCB]

I agree with most above. Tripod, decent glass, and comfort (proper clothing for wind, rain, cold) are the baseline.

Quick scan of the area...then slow down. Binos stay still eyes move within view.
As someone mentioned above...if there is snow, take note of tracks and how fresh the snow is. You can spot trails and tracks from a long ways. Neither on a hillside with couple day old snow? quick scan and gone.

Take a break. If you station up for hours hit the glass hard at peak times but take a break. A 10 minute nap will save your eyes and energy.

Also, my personal tip for glassing is also knowing when to move on. Not necessarily move on from 1 glassing spot to the next, but when to ditch the long glassing sessions and cover ground. I've been on hunts where guys came in with the plan to glass, glass, glass. After a few days they had seen minimal animals and others in camp including my self had been on animals all day everyday. These guys are very good at picking out animals but if they aren't there don;t waste your time.

 

[WyoBC_99]

OP, as far as picking glassing spots digitally, use the viewshed analysis tool on Caltopo.com. It will shade all the area that is visible from a spot (you can control the eye altitude; I recommend 2 meters). Use Google earth to ID outcroppings and spurs that get you high enough to see the most country.

whoa that viewshed analysis tool is a hot tip! thanks

 

[Dos Perros]

OP, Jay Scott has put some out real useful content on this stuff. You should look him up on YouTube and Instagram and search his mountain of podcast inventory for specifically valuable episodes.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

whoa that viewshed analysis tool is a hot tip! thanks

google earth has a viewshed too. right click a pin and select viewshed. it's awesome

 

[Ultraheight]

google earth has a viewshed too. right click a pin and select viewshed. it's awesome

Touché I didn't know this, thanks

 

[Austink47]

Always start close. Glass different directions, especially not left to right. If you find an animal look else where for a few minutes then try to relocate it, you can practice spotting the same animal over and over, and you will often spot others in the process. Have snacks, I reward myself with for glassing chores with snacks. Get comfortable, and set a time you are there till. A lot of times you have to look at it as 100% confirming there is not an animal in a given area, instead of looking for an animal.

 

[shootsacreed]

Another thing to consider is to glass from right to left. Since we read from left to right we tend to fill in things that might not be there, such as letters in words, or complete misspellings. If you glass from right to left that doesn't happen because we are not used to it so we don't skip over stuff like we do the other way.

 

[dtrkyman]

Tripod.

Slow down.

And when you’re glass is stationary move your eyes and look around your field of view without moving glass!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2rocky]

google earth has a viewshed too. right click a pin and select viewshed. it's awesome

Please expand on this.

 

[MallardSX2]

Colors and shapes and dedication and stop taking your eyes away from the glass. Got to stay behind the glass to see deer at a distance. A lot of people say they glass but they are busy messing around with their packs and eating snacks. When I glass I dont take my eyes away from the glass from the time I sit down until the time I leave. I spend hours behind the glass.

Most importantly in my opinion is an elevated seat. For me it is. I HATE sitting on the ground glassing.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

Drew a Late Season Deer Hunt that has lots of Burns. How do I become better at letting my eyes do the work instead of my feet?

A: As others have said, practice looking at animals all season to keep your eyes trained to see critters and work your feet before season to find the areas to focus on when season comes. Glassing Is a way to find animals, you cant shoot em if you can't find em, and when you do find em 2 miles away on a distant, crappy, steep ridge, you better be ready to put in the effort to get within shooting range. Your feet will do work regardless.

How do I pick out likely glassing spots when E-scouting?

A: Echoing others, for a New State/Unit I have never been in... use Google Earth With the pan and tilt as well as the Ground View. Couple that with using OnX with the topo elevation lines will really help get a few exact vantage points/spots located. Google Earth also has a Sunrise/Set feature that will give you an Idea of areas that will get the first sunlight of the day and the first shade pockets of the evening. I usually find 2-4 areas on google earth to concentrate on then open up OnX and go back and forth between the two to dial in those "better looking" areas and mark stuff like glassing spots, water, cover, trails, and my access.

What makes you stay in a glassing spot a little longer when you aren't seeing deer?

A: I would put more time in where I am confident that there are animals, look for game trails, water, feed, cover etc on Google Earth/OnX and scout with boots on the ground. Sometimes with hot weather, pre-rut, or a full moon animals just wont move much, that's when patience behind the glass and working different angles on the terrain will help.

What makes you write off a glassing spot?

A: Seeing a lot of pressure (hunters or hikers), finding marijuana grows, not seeing sign such as tracks, game trails etc. and obviously seeing no animals during the prime times of morning and evening. This also depends on terrain, If it is Open terrain I can be more confident that I saw all the land has to offer, If there is heavier cover or a lot of terrain I cant see I will be slower to write off the spot if I don't see much. 90% of the Game Uses 10% of the land for the most part.

What is the minimum amount of time you will spend glassing an area if you haven't seen a deer yet?

A: That is up to you to decide. If you are seeing sign and you have confidence, such as seeing animals previously there or catching them on a Game Cam I would give it a fair amount of time, maybe a morning and evening or 2 mornings and an evening it all depends. If no confidence or I am looking for animals in a brand new area, I will cover ground looking for an obvious critter, then slow down because usually if you find one animal that likes that place, then likely there will be others in the general area.

Thoughts on glassing with a tripod?

A: I rarely glass without one. I have my 10xs and 15xs both setup to be able to be tripoded. I will typically scan an area quickly, looking in "high percentage areas" like benches, openings etc with the 10Xs then pick the whole area apart with the 15Xs. Terrain and Distance I am glassing will determine what power I will use. Everyone has their own techniques, tricks, likes and dislikes. You just have to do it and figure out what best suits you.