How much time to spend glassing?

[gofast23]

Hi All,

Here is my problem: I am new to big game hunting and I am planning a high country (~8400 ft) backpacking hunt in an area I am not familiar with. I will not have time for on the ground scouting and i will only have 3 days to hunt. I am doing my best to learn e-scouting techniques and will try to get away from the easily accessible areas. I have no feel for how much time I should spend glassing my chosen area. I don't want to spend my entire time glassing an area that may not have any mule deer. Any suggestions for how I should allocate my time in the field glassing vs. checking out new areas? Given my short window I would guess that I should be covering more ground in the hopes of finding an area that has deer. Appreciate any guidance you may have.

Thanks.

 

[Jc213]

I like to get up before dark and be on a vantage point or glassing knob that you can see several basins from. Get a few picked out on google earth and start with the one closest to camp. The longer you glass the more likely you’ll see an animal walk around a corner or a tree, so double check spots over and over that look good. They are out feeding kinda late right now and you can catch them coming off water until 9 even 10 throughout archery season. And up feeding as early as 5 pm I saw last weekend. Make sure you have all your water sources mapped out to help you find where they might be.

 

[gofast23]

Thanks. I've picked a camp spot that splits two basins and a glassing spot that looks over the length of a green valley with view of tree lines on either side. I have the water sources on the map, but I am not sure how seasonal they may be in late August. It's hard to pick a camp site that isn't somewhere that might also have game.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Glass as much as possible before moving. Its tempting to move when you aren't see much after even a few hours but I assure you that you will waste more time moving around from location to location than staying put. If it is an area with water and feed then they are in there somewhere. I typically give a new area 2 days of sun-up to sun-down glassing before abandoning ship, and those are rare instances if the effort was put forth.

 

[MuleyFever]

For high country deer I think water is overrated. Deer get all the water they need from their food and the dew on it in most places. Not saying they won't go to water but they dont need it to be present. I would focus more on fresh sign, food and cover. Also solitude. High country deer can be run out of an area pretty easily as its so open and they can see and be seen/chased easily.

 

[gofast23]

This is all great information. I think the mental toughness to stay put will be a challenge. Also, trying too move between camp and glass without blowing them out.

How much will a deer move between bedding areas and food? I've read they like to stay high on the slopes, but do they come down for the grasses in the valley or stay high feed on trees and herbaceous shrubs?

 

[WI in the west]

I’m also in the newbie status when it comes to hunting Muleys, I guess in my mind in that fight time frame I’d say that glass all morning from one spot, eat your lunch then try to slip in to some completely new stuff for the evening until you turn some deer up. That is assuming you were able to thoroughly cover the morning spot. I’d think you would need to be relatively aggressive once you see one to take a chance on a even a lower odds stalk.
Can a seasoned/experienced hunter kind of confirm or deny that, I’m just thinking out loud with minimal experience to back it up. I know it’s always different in every scenario though.

 

[a_noob_hunter]

Definitely be ready to glass at first lite if not at your spot in the dark. I usually stayed until around 10:30-11 even if I didn't see anything. For the evening be out by 4. It sounds early but last year in early September the bucks we saw around 7k elevation were out feeding by 4 or 4:30.

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[Deere83]

I’m also in the newbie status when it comes to hunting Muleys, I guess in my mind in that fight time frame I’d say that glass all morning from one spot, eat your lunch then try to slip in to some completely new stuff for the evening until you turn some deer up. That is assuming you were able to thoroughly cover the morning spot. I’d think you would need to be relatively aggressive once you see one to take a chance on a even a lower odds stalk.
Can a seasoned/experienced hunter kind of confirm or deny that, I’m just thinking out loud with minimal experience to back it up. I know it’s always different in every scenario though.

Some good glassing spots you can see better one way in the morning and the other in the evening, doesn’t mean you can’t glass with the sun in your face but it’s not best

 

[Travis Hobbs]

My favorite way to attack a new area w/ short time....I find a place I can look at MILES of country especially mornings and evenings w/ the sun at my back, usually the highest peak I can get on top of. With extremely limited time, (3 days is extremely limited IMO) I personally want to sit in one spot looking at big country. You can spot bucks a long ways out with just some 10x42 binos in the early morning sun.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Is there a certain class of buck you are shooting for?
After any buck - glass the best looking areas you can see from your vantage for half a day, morning or evening and then move on.
After a more mature buck - glass each area a morning and evening, so in your case 3 areas and hope for the best.

 

[tttoadman]

Don't discount the mid morning stretch. Be in area where you can see a few saddles or transition areas going from south to north. They will move with the sun once or twice during the day. I got the buck on my photo at 1:00PM after watching him get up and walk around at about 11:00AM. He got up for less than 30 sec. and turned around and laid back down again.

 

[gofast23]

This will be a trip of firsts. First big game hunt, first archery hunt, first backpack hunt. I am doing all the research I possibly can, but I know that will only get me so far. I plan for this to be a lifestyle sort of change, so I figure the trip itself will be greatly valuable to me. That said, I have every expectation of putting a buck down. That has to be my mindset.

 

[cmahoney]

If you are above tree line during archery season, looking at those green parks, chances are there are deer in or around them. I have glassed areas one day not seeing a deer, then found several the next day. I think guys stop glassing too early in the morning, which took me along time to learn. Not putting my binos on a tripod is another mistake I made for years too.

 

[WI in the west]

Is there a difference for deer what slope they are on, like north facing, south, east west?

 

[muddydogs]

Personally I think glassing all morning or all day is a waist of time. I'd hit a good glassing spot right at day light and look around for an hour or so then I would start still hunting a likely area. 8000 feet isn't really high country in the West but not knowing where you are actually hunting doesn't help with giving a good answer. Where I've hunted at 7000 to 9000 feet its generally forested with smaller open pockets and one would be hard pressed to find enough area to glass for more then an hour from any one vantage point but start moving through the area and there is a lot of opportunity to glass small openings here and there along a still hunting route.

This get up high and spend all day glassing is something the TV hunters have made popular as it's easier to film then trying to follow a still hunter around all day. You being new to hunting would benefit from getting down in the brush and experiencing hunting, following game trails, checking water sources and blowing a few opportunity. Its hard to learn hunting or the area setting up on a hill all day looking through bino's.

My saying is its time to get off my butt and go make something happen instead of waiting around hoping something happens.

 

[tttoadman]

Muddydogs makes a great point. The fear is always blowing out the only good buck that may be within 2 miles if you. If you are good and stealthy, nothing wrong with moving along a ridge a few times and getting multiple vantage points. The terrain can easily dictate the best plan, so make it up as you go.

 

[Rich M]

You are doing all that for the first time as a 3-day hunt! You have to hunt like a hungry wolf.

I'd cover as much ground as possible - glass, move, glass, move until I saw something (anything legal). Then move in for the kill.

 

[wesGiddingshunt]

As long as you can take it, lol! That’s my downfall.

 

[MaxHenderson]

Make a grid on a hill, and glass every box in that grid, long enough to make sure you don’t miss anything. It all depends on what you’re seeing, or not seeing. I prefer to glass for hours, but some like to get up and move. If you can, like others have said, find a ridge or knob and get comfortable.


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