How much of your unit do you scout or hunt?

[Dave0317]

I tried to find some past threads on this, but didn’t turn up anything, so..
When you pick a GMU to hunt, how much of that unit do you scout?

Do you E scout the whole thing, then pick the best few ridges to check in person?

What about once season opens? I’ve had seasons where I spend much of my hunt all within a 2 mile x 5 mile ridge system, and I’ve also had hunts where I spent too much time driving 10-20 miles all across the entire unit thinking I might relocate to a “better” spot.

How do you strike the right balance? Most units are too big to cover it all in a 5-10 day hunt. But I would think you hurt your chances covering too little ground as well.

 

[justinspicher]

I live in the unit I hunt in so that really helps. I can’t imagine going somewhere to hunt.

 

[Raghornklr]

I make a couple trips out in spring and summer and try to cover at least all the road systems and trails of interest before season. Usually helps narrow down the area in season.

 

[Indian Summer]

If the unit is worth hunting, you should only need to scout two or three areas of about 10 square miles to find one that has what you’re looking for. If you’re doing it right, those areas should still be worth hunting when the pressure is on.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I hunt a block within my home unit of about 12 miles by 8 miles. That includes 5-6 drainages and 3000 ft of elevation.

So far I have hunted nearly three weeks averaging 10-12 miles per day on horseback. The elk move north -south cross-cutting the drainages. I ride roads and trails that are largely east- west. This allows me to try to anticipate which block of land they are in at this time.

Snow gives me an edge however this year with bare land I am running between 3 hrs and three days behind.

We have cut trails through miles of blowdown - some places 6-8 ft deep. The elk like the trails but they travel at night while we travel during the day.

I have two weeks + left of the season. Every day is another drainage. The horses get tired and thinner and I get older. This isn't Colorado. I operate in 100% cover. Mostly lodgepole jungles. We even killed one one year at 12 paces. Darn near self defence.

It takes years of time on the ground to learn the habitat and the travel patterns.

In frustration at times I hunt an adjacent district for a differant view. Either way, I am in the field for 30 - 34 days of a 35 day season and need nearly every day to connect.

 

[yvk253]

I live in the unit I hunt in so that really helps. I can’t imagine going somewhere to hunt.

that's the dream right there..

 

[Hnthrdr]

Depends, several units I hunt I know fairly well, so I have my usual spots, then I have places I will E-scout and then maybe check if the usuals aren’t producing. I also predator hunt, turkey hunt, and shed hunt pretty often in the units I deer and elk hunt so I try to cover lots of ground and always learn more about them

 

[wapitibob]

E scouted AZ off and on for months then went down a week early to see whare the Bulls were.