The 1 Thing You Learned- Glassing Smarter

[Oregon Hunter]

Hey Roksliders it’s been awhile since I’ve created a “1 Thing” post, so I thought it was time to start it up again. I think most of us make a mistake over and over again. We go on a hunt, but don’t make the effort to think critically about 1 thing we learned and will do different next time.

Think about it, how often do magazines write about a hunt, but fail to single out an action item to change in the future? Just 1 thing, maybe something you learned about elk behavior, your rifle setup, clothing, camping system. We can consume all the information we want, but if we don’t change anything, did it really do us any good? I’d like to start the series of discussions to get us in the habit of reviewing our hunt, and share highlights about the 1 thing we learned on a particular topic. To start, 1 thing I learned is about glassing.

10 years ago, I got to hunt mule deer in the steep and wide-open country near Lewiston, ID. My friend Matt grew up on the ranch and was spotting deer with his little 8x pocket binoculars so much faster than I was with my 10x30 Zeiss. This was the first time I ever was slapped in the face by the importance of field of view. There is a massive difference between pointing your binoculars at something you have already seen versus using them to dissect an entire hillside for something you haven’t seen yet. The next year I swapped out my Zeiss for a pair of Vortex Razor HD’s, which boast some of the widest field of view available, and I ended up finding more deer.

So what is the 1 thing you have learned about glassing? Maybe it is gridding, creating better stability, or even specific gear suggestions so that we can make the most out of our success in the field!



BTW- we just launched a new binocular adapter to make it even easier to swap between your binoculars, spotting scope, and rifle when using the magnetic Spartan attachment system

 

[Blue72]

Mount your binoculars on a tripod has been a game changer

 

[Northpark]

Actually glass! Sit down and spend the time. Funny how you can stare at a hillside for hours and suddenly there is deer there.

 

[roosiebull]

would be tough to pick 1 thing, and i have never had an "ah ha!" moment, just refining and refining, learning, and building confidence behind glass. a tripod, patience, changing angles (not glassing from one spot only and figuring you see what's there) peeking over that ridge you can't see beneath from any angle (i think a lot of opportunities are lost because people are too lazy to walk 20yds down a ridge to see that hidden country you can only see by doing so) and realizing the importance of glass on a stalk in thick country close range, glassing that ear of a bedded cow, or that sliver of yellow seeing the very top of a bull's back in thick cover, that white snout of a blacktail buck through the brush.... there is also believing in the spot, staying long enough for game to reveal itself, being nothing but a shadow on the side of a mountain waiting... trusting your glass, and confidence there is a buck in front of me, i just need to find it.

glassing is a far more valuable tool to me today than just 7-8yrs ago, and the glassing mindset has been very beneficial in about every style of hunting, even archery elk season, rather than going on another walkabout looking for sign, there are times now when i just go grab a vantage and glass the whole evening... i would never do that in the past... give up an evening of hunting to gain intel for the next day, but it's a good play at times, and has paid off many times. glassing has a very high value to me these days, and love sitting behind good glass looking at country, and it's interesting hunting with others that have no patience to sit behind glass... that was me too not long ago, but i forced patience through necessity, and now it's grown on me, and i look forward to that, and more stuff dies that didn't know i was there.

 

[Trap]

Patience-still learning on that one

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Actively glass and remember what you are looking for. It is easy after 2-3 hrs to get in the habit of just scanning on autopilot, likely only catching something in the wide open and moving. I find it helpful to constantly remind myself what I’m looking for and look for it with specificity. Look under each tree, every shade pocket. Look for the animal, not movement.

 

[MallardSX2]

Backpack chair…without it your going to hate glassing imho

 

[Blue72]

Backpack chair…without it your going to hate glassing imho

Another good one!

 

[ZackP]

Glass up close first, don’t just pick a distant spot and glass that.

And I mean up close… Then work yourself out further.

Last year the wife and I blew a beautiful old buck right out from under our noses on the way to put a stalk on a smaller buck we had glassed.

We didn’t go more than 150 yards from our glassing knob when he stood up and bailed. Was a very mature 5x5 with trash. Lesson learned, and I still feel very sick to my stomach thinking about it.

Sure he was bed down and in some deep thick sage brush, but maybe, just maybe, if we worked our glass from near to far (where we picked up the other buck) I might have caught a glimpse of a piece of him.

 

[Vaultman]

Glassing without a tripod equals not seeing.

Bino's on a tripod seemed weird to me, but I used to hunt more timber country. Now hunting the open areas, taking my tripod is an "always do it" type of thing.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Mount your binoculars on a tripod has been a game changer

You're right. We think we hold it still with our hands, but then we get tired or restless and move too soon

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Actually glass! Sit down and spend the time. Funny how you can stare at a hillside for hours and suddenly there is deer there.

It's counterintuitive, especially to people who aren't used to hunting in wide open spaces. Your suggestion works though, and it's like a fun Easter egg hunt to pick our animals that are hiding

 

[Oregon Hunter]

would be tough to pick 1 thing, and i have never had an "ah ha!" moment, just refining and refining, learning, and building confidence behind glass. a tripod, patience, changing angles (not glassing from one spot only and figuring you see what's there) peeking over that ridge you can't see beneath from any angle (i think a lot of opportunities are lost because people are too lazy to walk 20yds down a ridge to see that hidden country you can only see by doing so) and realizing the importance of glass on a stalk in thick country close range, glassing that ear of a bedded cow, or that sliver of yellow seeing the very top of a bull's back in thick cover, that white snout of a blacktail buck through the brush.... there is also believing in the spot, staying long enough for game to reveal itself, being nothing but a shadow on the side of a mountain waiting... trusting your glass, and confidence there is a buck in front of me, i just need to find it.

glassing is a far more valuable tool to me today than just 7-8yrs ago, and the glassing mindset has been very beneficial in about every style of hunting, even archery elk season, rather than going on another walkabout looking for sign, there are times now when i just go grab a vantage and glass the whole evening... i would never do that in the past... give up an evening of hunting to gain intel for the next day, but it's a good play at times, and has paid off many times. glassing has a very high value to me these days, and love sitting behind good glass looking at country, and it's interesting hunting with others that have no patience to sit behind glass... that was me too not long ago, but i forced patience through necessity, and now it's grown on me, and i look forward to that, and more stuff dies that didn't know i was there.

I think this style of hunting does take some maturity. At first we want to chase everything down. Then like you've realized, there are so many benefits to staying put

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Richard Mann wrote about how he uses our Sentinel tripod to glass from, shoot on, and even use as a backrest. After reading all of your comments, the main takeaway I'm picking up so far is it the best thing you can do for glassing is create stability. Do you agree?

 

[fatrascal]

Slow down. Sometimes when I haven't gotten out for awhile and I finally do get out im excited and glass too fast. I have to stop myself and slow down and methodically grid glass instead of just randomly scanning all over the place.
Its ok to look over an area quickly to find anything obvious but after that slow down.
And as stated above, look close first and then move out further and further.
Fatrascal.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Slow down. Sometimes when I haven't gotten out for awhile and I finally do get out im excited and glass too fast. I have to stop myself and slow down and methodically grid glass instead of just randomly scanning all over the place.
Its ok to look over an area quickly to find anything obvious but after that slow down.
And as stated above, look close first and then move out further and further.
Fatrascal.

Do you like to grid a section then move on to the next, or find one good spot and glass it most of the day?

 

[fatrascal]

I like to look at the spots that look the best for deer first and scan everything. Then I start grid glassing and going slower. I glass my morning spot for a couple or several hours then move on to the next drainage or climb over the top of the mountain and glass the other side or sneak accross the ridge glassing as I go. And I dont mean a scan but a sit down comfortably and methodically glass every spot.
I love summer scouting/hunting and sneeking through the mountain cliffs and alpine and looking for bedded deer or elk in the middle of a hot day. Its very rewarding finding a few bachelor bucks hanging out in the shade under an overhang or a lone tree. This goes in all day long until dark.
One exception to this is if I've scouted a big buck and I've seen him in a particular drainage several times. In this case I will stay back and watch this area exclusively and try not to move around spreading my scent. I once had a buck scouted and he one day disappeared. Never showing himself in the morning or evening. I had blown an archery stalk on him and he basically went nocturnal or moved. But I was persistent and glassed his drainage for days. One day during a light rain in the middle of the day he came out and the hunt was on again and I blew it again. Never got him during archery and my buddy blew him out during muzzleloader season. He then disappeared for about two weeks and my other buddy finally got him in rifle season in the bucks favorite drainage in his favorite spot. Again, before we got him we stayed out of his drainage glassing from a distance and glassing all drainages in his area from a distance trying not to spread our scent all over the mountain. Fatrascal.

 

[otolith]

Patience, patience patience. Comfort goes a long way in helping with patience. A comfy place to sit, using a tripod to glass or just finding some cover from the elements. A little patience can pay big dividends in the end.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I like to look at the spots that look the best for deer first and scan everything. Then I start grid glassing and going slower. I glass my morning spot for a couple or several hours then move on to the next drainage or climb over the top of the mountain and glass the other side or sneak accross the ridge glassing as I go. And I dont mean a scan but a sit down comfortably and methodically glass every spot.
I love summer scouting/hunting and sneeking through the mountain cliffs and alpine and looking for bedded deer or elk in the middle of a hot day. Its very rewarding finding a few bachelor bucks hanging out in the shade under an overhang or a lone tree. This goes in all day long until dark.
One exception to this is if I've scouted a big buck and I've seen him in a particular drainage several times. In this case I will stay back and watch this area exclusively and try not to move around spreading my scent. I once had a buck scouted and he one day disappeared. Never showing himself in the morning or evening. I had blown an archery stalk on him and he basically went nocturnal or moved. But I was persistent and glassed his drainage for days. One day during a light rain in the middle of the day he came out and the hunt was on again and I blew it again. Never got him during archery and my buddy blew him out during muzzleloader season. He then disappeared for about two weeks and my other buddy finally got him in rifle season in the bucks favorite drainage in his favorite spot. Again, before we got him we stayed out of his drainage glassing from a distance and glassing all drainages in his area from a distance trying not to spread our scent all over the mountain. Fatrascal.

I like those two different approaches you use. Anyone else have a glassing strategy that's different?

 

[BBob]

I like to look at the spots that look the best for deer first and scan everything.

Knowing how and when to Cherry pick is a good skill to have