Glassing Tips?

[swiftni]

What are some tips for glassing a knife edge ridge/range? There is very little contour/drainages coming off the side of a linear mountain, and it looks very difficult to glass. Would you sacrifice glassing location elevation and glass from a smaller hill below?

 

[Nickofthewoods]

That sounds like a really specific question without knowing more specifics of your hunt, but in general I would pick whichever spot gives you the most glassing flexibility. It might be nice to be up high but if you can only see a limited amount of terrain that deer might occupy throughout the day then I would find a spot where feeding and bedding areas are more visible.

 

[CC11]

I always opt for a glassing point that gives me the most area to look over until/unless I have a reason to look at a smaller area sample

 

[illbell]

Replying here to "watch" the thread as I'm interested in glassing techniques as well, new hunter.

 

[Deadfall]

If glasing is tight. Do it from several different spots. Start low. Work your way up. Travel the way the deer do. Down at night, up in morning

 

[MountainMan83]

- This video by Cliff Gray might help. He has a couple others on glassing on his youtube channel.

 

[jrogerso]

Following as I'll be on my first archery mule deer hunt later this month.

 

[Indian Summer]

All spots aren’t cut out to be glassed. Without knowing much about the area …. To glass I have to have multiple areas to keep panning back and forth to. You don’t spend time staring at one spot.

So the first thing I look at is getting further away. Like to the next big ridge or next mountain over. Try to be around the same elevation. And use a spotter that’s good enough to do the job at that range.

These days I don’t bother banging my head against a wall to hunt places where I can’t see some country. Instead I go scout out places that have a good number of open areas and find the 2-3 primo places to sit to see as much as possible of it.

I know there are guys that like to hunt timber. I know lots of them are good at it. Those hunters probably know their area pretty well. I’ve killed lots of bulls that way. Shot a few right in their beds. But to me the difference between hunting in timber and locating elk by spotting a big area is like the difference between a blind squirrel who’s looking for a random nut and a squirrel with really good vision who can see nuts in every direction. Being able to see them is the first step to anything! And I don’t mean seeing elk butts running through the trees or hearing hoofbeats thundering away and not even actually seeing them. I’m talking about seeing elk and where they came from and are going to while they have no clue you’re watching and planning.

IMO the best thing any elk hunter can do is take the time to actually go out to a region you want to hunt and look over a few pre picked areas and pick a spot that of course has elk but also has the ingredients to allow you to locate and kill the suckers! My hearing is terrible. I cannot hear an elk bugle unless it’s 50 yards away. So I use my eyes. It works. Once I found it places that made it worthwhile to carry a big ol spotting scope I was in business. It’s never a matter of finding elk. It’s are they in a spot where I can make it happen… today? Tomorrow?

If I was Elknut things would be different. I’d be calling my elk in. But you can’t carry on a conversation when you can’t hear the other person so I adapted to use my strong points. Calling in elk is a blast for sure. Very fun and rewarding. But so is learning how to outsmart bulls by being smart and sneaky. Knowing when to be patient and when to get aggressive. Not everyone is going to be Dr Doolittle when it comes to talking to elk either. Seeing animals is half the battle. But I can tell you just seeing elk every day is fun AND it’s motivating. It’s easier to crawl out of the sleeping bag when you know you’re going to be watching elk feeding and bulls being bulls and trying to find a way to drop the hammer on one.

I have images in my mind of big bulls that I’ve spotted and could never outsmart. A few are still out there and I’ll be trying to laugh last when I go back this year. Seeing so many things with post card views in every direction is a fun and very productive way to kill elk consistently.

So if your area isn’t great for doing what it sounds like you want to do…. Go find somewhere that is!