How do I become a better glasser?

[Trimbandit]

I do a lot of glassing every day while hunting. You need to be comfortable while glassing. Taking s fold up sleeping pad isnt much extra weight but can help keep steady because your butt and legs arent falling asleep. I also have a trigger stick bipod that I carry all the time. It works great as a walking stick and to shoot from but the most use it gets is I glass with it. Just set them to the height I need and it steadies my binos a ton. I generally use 12 or 15 power binos to cover the big country we have here out west.

 

[Block]

There’s a lot of dead zone out there. I disagree with the sit and glass as long as you can comments UNLESS you KNOW there’s deer there. Iv picked countless glassing points that look great on paper but wouldn’t have mattered if I sat for a week there ain’t deer! If you don’t know the country it’s best to stick and move stick and move. ESP on a late season hunt !

Always helps if you have time to scout and put ur boots on the stuff you want to glass. Pretty dang easy to rule areas out after you walk thru them and see minimal to zero deer sign,,, or only doe/fawn tracks ect. Sometimes an area just holds no bucks. Iv found most of my best spots personally by walking thru it,,, following tracks and trails and jumping bucks up. Then come back and glass that area.

 

[mtjimbo]

Take this for what its worth. Get up high and glass south faces depending on how cold it is. Search near to far another of times deer are right under you. And when you think you are done glassing glass it again and again haha I can't tell you how many times I've thought I had completely picked an area apart and then found deer after hours. Also look for shapes forks of an antler, roundness of a ear , etc amazing how often you will catch an ear twitch and have to look at the spot for 15 min to make out the actual deer. Good luck!

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[180splitg3]

Lots of good advice here. I'm another rookie glasser but I'm wondering what type of portable chair you guys use for glassing? Didn't think it was worth starting another thread just for that topic...

 

[mtjimbo]

Lots of good advice here. I'm another rookie glasser but I'm wondering what type of portable chair you guys use for glassing? Didn't think it was worth starting another thread just for that topic...

I usually just take a chunk of foam padding or part of my wife's yoga mats that I cut up and double it up and then find a good tree or rock for back support

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[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Lots of good advice here. I'm another rookie glasser but I'm wondering what type of portable chair you guys use for glassing? Didn't think it was worth starting another thread just for that topic...

I always have half of a Z-Lite pad. I do use it occasionally as a seat but cactus spines go through it with ease. I do have a lightweight tripod stool that has served me very well. Am continuing to test a Helinox. It is more comfortable but harder to get steady on uneven surfaces and can sink in soft ground; nothing that can't be overcome but the weight and setup time increases.

 

[huntngolf]

Always start close. Glass different directions, especially not left to right. If you find an animal look else where for a few minutes then try to relocate it, you can practice spotting the same animal over and over, and you will often spot others in the process. Have snacks, I reward myself with for glassing chores with snacks. Get comfortable, and set a time you are there till. A lot of times you have to look at it as 100% confirming there is not an animal in a given area, instead of looking for an animal.

I really like the advice of glassing the same animal over and over again. If possible you should move to a different area and glass it then come back to where you know a deer is bedded and relocate it. It’s amazing how different a deer can look just depending on time of day and the angle of the sun

 

[pdxflung]

Great stuff!

 

[MallardSX2]

I use one of these with a very lightweight foam pad. Its a bit heavy, but its a game changer. I have two of them and could not imagine using anything else. I wish the legs were slghtly rubber coated titanium...for obvious reasons.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I use one of these with a very lightweight foam pad. Its a bit heavy, but its a game changer. I have two of them and could not imagine using anything else. I wish the legs were slghtly rubber coated titanium...for obvious reasons.

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Can look at using liquid electrical tape for the rubber coating. Or some pipe insulation taped on for noise reduction.

But having a comfortable seat while glassing makes a huge difference.

 

[Brydawg512]

Lots of helpful information here. Thanks for asking the question!

 

[Tag_Soup]

Something I find super helpful when E-scouting for possible glassing vantage points is to increase my elevation exaggeration on google earth. It’s in the settings and really helps see a more realistic representation. My default setting is 1.7x and after playing with it a bit I find that is about accurate to real life. By panning you can usually get a lot better idea of actual topography with this setting.

For glassing tips, most has been covered above but a tripod is a big help even with just Binos. Get the best 10x42’s you can afford and a tripod if you can swing it, if not glass off a tracking pole like a mono-pod. I do that all the time in early season scouting and it’s way better than hand held. Really pick apart the high shaded side of trees and the edges of rim rock type structures. In burned timber spend way more time glassing any unique terrain feature in the burn, animals can hide incredibly well in a standing burn but I often find them in place with some other “feature”...this could be a small dry creek bottom, a patch that is slightly greener than surroundings, an area with some un-burnt brush, jack pines in an older burn, etc.

Good luck, trust your instincts and spend time behind the glass.


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[2rocky]

Thanks folks, taking a lot of these suggestions to heart. I was hoping there was a patience pill or eyestrain reliever snake oil solution. I have gotten a gardening kneeling pad. Little thicker than the Zlite. Just ordered in a tripod adapter for my binos. (The one that screws into the front of the hinge. )

I'm still amazed at how I can glass a whole hillside and then have a doe appear in broad daylight in the middle of where I was just glassing.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

I was hoping there was a patience pill or eyestrain reliever snake oil solution.

The eyestrain reliever i like to use comes in a green and white box and has a picture of a hawk on it.

 

[owengohunt]

If hunting in mountain country always rember to keep an eye out for predators that may be curios or hungry.

 

[Tag_Soup]

Not revolutionary, but a ball cap and a shemagh/loose hood can be pretty nice on bright days. Keeping the sun out of your eyes and off your neck really makes it easier to sit and look longer. Haven't personally tried eye shields on my binos but I hear good things. May dive into it this year.

 

[himtnelk]

So in August would you glassing the south facing is more productive or some north facing too?

 

[Ekrider]

If you don’t have a tripod, a trekking pole works grea to balance your binos while you glass.

 

[Mesplay]

Lots of good information in this thread. Always something new to learn.

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[Troutnut]

Last season I tried out a little glassing tip I heard on Remi Warren's podcast, and I really liked it... use the brim of your hat to help stabilize your binos when not on a tripod.