How many hours of e scouting?

[Forkieslayer]

Out of curiosity how many hours of e scouting do you do for a new unit? Personally I would say 15-25 total hours over a few months. The first western tag I had well over that. I would guess 50 and I felt like a knew every square inch of it and it paid off. The more hunts I do though the less e scouting it seems like I do. Probably because I feel more efficient. I thought I would see what others thought on the subject. Im know every situation is different.

 

[Geewhiz]

You feel like you knew every square inch of the unit by looking at out of date satellite imagery?

 

[Forkieslayer]

fig·ure of speech
noun: figure of speech; plural noun: figures of speech
a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect.

I’m sorry if my choice in vocabulary confused you. I was referring to understanding the terrain and roads in the unit well. I think most people would understand my innocent question and not feel they have to write a statement like that. I’ll try to avoid any figure of speech my next post for you though.

 

[roadrunner]

Does asking for tips on hunting forums count?

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I recently drew a hunt in a unit I've never stepped foot in before and I would say I have about 8-10 hours of e-scouting so far. That's probably all I will do until I can go physically scout it, then I'll circle back and cross reference what I've seen in person with what I saw on the maps and aerials.

 

[bojangles808]

the main thing i think is just have a million different contingency plans after e scouting bc it;s probably not going to be like what you thought it was. It's still fun though for me

 

[signing off]

I don't think 10 hours is wasted time. And it could go up from there.
Now, consider that is from a Midwest hunter in the Midwest hunting. 2-3k acres of N forest during bow season is a large area to focus on.
Out west???? I imagine you scout x number of drainages vs acres.

 

[ORJoe]

How much time do you spend on the internet?

Nice try boss, not gonna get me that easy though

 

[wapitibob]

I've spent 20 hours so far this year e scouting a unit I can get around in with my eyes closed. Current sat imagery in onX makes a difference when hunting an area that gets logged a lot.

 

[southLA]

I usually just watch other guys e-scouting units for me on Youtube . Saves time.

 

[dylanvb]

I don’t spend to much time E scouting just use it to plot out a strategy of the easiest way to get somewhere but that doesn’t always work. Id say about an hour to hour and a half, If that.

 

[elkyinzer]

Anywhere from a long dump to complete paralysis by analysis. Less than I used to cuz everyone does it now and most end up in the same spots. Some of my best spots whether it's 20 minutes from home or 20 hours I've found by complete whimsy just picking an area I've never been and taking a jaunt.

 

[dboone3]

I usually just watch other guys e-scouting units for me on Youtube . Saves time.

This sounds like a great idea, unfortunately, I can't find any videos of GMUs in Washington.

 

[grfox92]

I've done a fair amount of e scouting. I understand how to read topo maps and look at satellite images.

I have never once shown up to where I scouted and found that it looked like what I saw on the maps. Never.

So what I do now is spend about 5 minutes looking at a topo satellite overlay and I can tell myself, ok this is steep country with alot of valleys, or draws running east and west. Then I go to the area and check it out on foot.

Maybe my map reading skills suck, I just dont find a ton of value in spending more than enough time needed to get a snap shot of an area, 20 to 30 minutes MAX.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[87TT]

0 for me. Never seemed to help so I just look at maps now and go.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I live across the country from anywhere I hunt, so escouting is typically my only option. Over time you get pretty good at it. Numerous times I’ve found great spots, run into some locals and they ask how in the world I ended up there. You should see their faces when I tell them google earth!

How much definitely depends on how “good” or excited about the tag I am and how many other hunts I have. I’d say around 10-12hrs minimum per tag though.

 

[Fatcamp]

I've spent 20 hours so far this year e scouting a unit I can get around in with my eyes closed. Current sat imagery in onX makes a difference when hunting an area that gets logged a lot.

Same. I can identify 1000 different events over five years and still enjoy looking at the satellite imagery. And other than how much grass grows it never changes.

 

[CZluvr]

Have driven several times to places on hearsay and found out they were total duds. If I had looked at some satellite pics first I could have saved a wasted drive and effort. Could have gotten an idea of the layout first.

 

[2ski]

27 hours

 

[timekiller13]

My first trip out west, I spent an absurd amount of hour escorting. Probably 60-70 hours.

What a waste of time. No matter how much imagery you look at, it never compares to the real thing.

Now, I just spend a couple hours identifying good access points and may drop a couple pins on areas that look interesting to check out when I get there. But I do not spend much time beyond that.