Flyin’

I started scouting for mule deer in the early 90’s.  By scouting, I mean looking for bucks and likely country before the season.  In this day and age of tough hunting, it’s the one equalizer that can level the playing field for the DIY hunter.  I attribute 90% of my success on big mule deer to scouting. By locating actual bucks preseason or the really good mule deer pockets, I can focus my precious hunting days on the best-odds places.  Even in great units, the majority of the country won’t hold big bucks during the season.

As far as scouting “techniques,” it’s not really complicated.  Spend time in your unit locating likely country and hopefully a good buck or two without spooking them out of the area.  The tools to get you there will be optics, shoe leather, trail cameras, horses, legal motorized vehicles, and patience.

While not everyone will agree, I’d add legal manned-vehicle aerial scouting to that list.  This can be a controversial topic.  Everyone’s personal ethics are different and some would consider aerial scouting as unethical.  I get that and really wouldn’t argue with someone on the point.  However, if done within the law (every state has laws guiding aerial scouting), to me it is one more tool a hunter can use to increase his success.  

In the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to dedicate a blog post covering aerial scouting so everyone has the facts.  

A few questions to ponder:

• Is it legal?

As stated above, yes.  In every Western state it is allowed under varying circumstances.  Most states require at least a 24-hour waiting period between flying and hunting.  There is also a federal law, the Airborne Hunting Act, that adds restrictions.  I’m a licensed Sport Pilot and have logged hundreds of hours in the air both as pilot-in-command and passenger.  My opinion is that done within the law, aerial scouting is a fair way to look for game.

A recent flight in a PPC I took with my son, Cash.  

• Is it effective?

If it weren’t, I wouldn’t have spent all that time in the sky.  However, it is very misunderstood.  Many people who haven’t done it think you just fly over your unit, pick out a big buck, land, and shoot him.  Ha!  In 21 years of flying, I’ve only killed about two of the bucks I’ve spotted from the air (I say “about” because it can be hard to tell which buck is which from hundreds of feet above).  Both were spotted in the summer.  I killed one about 60 days later during the rifle seaon, and the other with archery tackle a full 13 months (and 40+ hunting days) after first finding him.  

                      Wyoming Buck, 2005                                                                             Idaho Buck, 2009

Even when you spot a big buck from the air, you have to overcome all the challenges that hunting presents.  I can emphatically say that virtually all the great bucks I’ve seen from the air got away once hunting season opened.

• Is it expensive?

If I count all my costs of becoming a licensed pilot, purchasing flight time, aircraft rental, fuel, etc over my 21 years of flying, I’ve spent about $1,500 for each really big deer I’ve seen from the air.  I’d suspect the cost is similar or higher if you count everything it costs to find a big deer from the ground. Either way, it’s not cheap.  

• Is it dangerous?  

That is a very personal question.  Anytime you’re above the ground with forward airspeed, there is danger and risk.  However, there is danger riding in cars and we don’t give that a second thought.  Aviation experts publish that about 600 people per year die in the US in plane crashes (a fraction of those in the mountains) compared to about 60 times that many in automobile crashes.   You can push those numbers to any conclusion you want. For me—a happily-married father of three who wants to grow old enjoying this blessed life the good Lord has given me—it is a calculated risk that I can accept.  I do everything possible to maintain safe aircraft, get proper training, and choose qualified mountain pilots when flying as a passenger.  The rest is by faith in Him who gives me the very breath I take.  

Here’s a little photo tour of my 21 years of flying in everything from Super Cubs, to PPCs, to Cessnas, to Huskys:

                      The views are breathtaking                                             You’re more likely to find habitat than bucks

                Typical distance you’ll spot bucks from                              Sometimes you can get a good look 

                                      Often bucks appear as tiny dots but at least you’ll know the country they are using.  

While spotting big deer from the air is difficult, occasionally it does happen.  I found this buck, pushing 200″, one morning in the high country.  I returned for the hunt but never saw him again.  

Central Idaho has a lot of rough country that holds few deer.  This picture is of a spring I noted on one flight.  If you look closely, there is a good buck on the left side of the spring.  This flight helped me narrow down a dozen square miles of country to an exact pocket where bucks could be found.  That was worth the $300 bucks I spent to hire the pilot.

    Elk are much easier to spot from the air than deer 

If you so desire, I hope that one day you can feel the excitement of peering out from under the wing and spotting the buck of your dreams looking back at you. Half your work will be done.