Year round approach vs out of town scouting/hunting?

[willfrye027]

I live in CA and hunt out of state quite a bit. My local spots are places I leaned and scouted heavily before I could afford to go out of state. If I draw a tag for a new area I try to spend a week scouting and learning the area before 1-2 weeks of hunting. I’ll try to draw the same unit in the future to build off the knowledge. Can’t really compete with locals who scout year round but I have done pretty well on these hunts and the adventure is well worth all the effort. My local hunts are usually more nostalgic and I don’t usually hold out for a big buck like I will on an out of state hunt. Made some great memories on scouting/camping trips out of state learning new country

 

[Customweld]

I live less than an hour from where I typically elk hunt. I'm in there every month except January thru March. I cut firewood. hike, hunt mushrooms, etc in that area . You can tell a lot of what's going on just by being out there. Is a certain drainage going to have springs running all year, are the huckleberries thick or non existent? Have the hound hunters beat that canyon to a froth? We have a had an extensive moth kill off of fir and spruce trees, so you never know if a spot has a timber sale going on. There is a ponderosa die off just starting now, things look pretty bleak for the conifers.

 

[chasewild]

The difference is vast compared to hunting out of State vs in State. My in-state hunting never stops. I’m always looking for animals. Even if it’s in a place that I don’t currently hunt. I’m looking. I’m constantly gathering more information. Whether it’s winter time, spring, or right before or right after the hunting season.

Honestly, much of my information gathering is just by always being in the country and observing. Not intentionally glassing.


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