Off season Scouting and GPS use
Connecticut
Starting a discussion on off season scouting and GPS use. How dose behavior of deer change from spring to summer to Fall? What food source changes? Game trails? Is it to early to scout? cut shooting lanes? What do you do to make sure you're ready for September ?
Dose anyone use a hand held GPS device to keep tracks and mark points? What type/brand? -Duncan
Depends on alot of factors. If your out for bucks find them in their core area for Sept and Oct. During Nov find the does for the bucks. Every year I put my cams out around all the deer sign I only get doe pics up until last week of Oct. then the bucks slowly show up. This year Im going to find the bucks instead. Also a huge factor is acorns. When they drop patterns change constantly. I have a gps but usually draw a map of my spot with all the signs then try to connect the dots and put up a stand.
Duncan,
best advice I can give - start with the area you have close to home - learn as much as you can about that area. Why? Because it's close and you can spend a lot of time there easily.
I like to get a topo map of the area, drive around the entire perimeter of the property to see what borders it, check to see if there are parking areas where other hunters enter the woods (might only get the real picture during hunting season), are there orchards bordering it or a game refuge, is there a back door into the area like a friendly landowner, and then I spend a lot of time in the woods with the map and my GPS.
I like to mark where oak stands are, thick laurel stands or other thick areas, where hiking trails cut the property, water, and just get a real good understanding of where the deer might go to eat, hide, bed, or escape.
I don't do much in the early pre-season any more, only because I don't need to, my 3 prime areas are pretty well documented on paper and in my head. My first trip out though I will clean up the path to my stand and still hunt the area to see if anything changed or if anyone has been around (stands, blinds, trail cams, etc).
I think a GPS is a great tool when scouting a NEW area, and was invaluable to me in New Mexico during my elk hunt. In big territory you need to be able to find the area where you saw good sign or elk bedding down, feeding, etc, so the GPS is the best tool for the job. In CT, it's not as critical, but still very helpful.
Once you've scouted and hunted the area for a few years you should be able to visualize just about everything the deer might do by season, weather, time of day, etc. That's when it's really fun. And just when you think you know everything, the deer will do,.... they will change their routine and you'll be scratching your head.
I have the Garmin Montana 650T GPS. Its reliable and accurate, I highly recommend it, especially when it comes to backtracking and finding plotted locations. I also like ScoutLookWeather app where I can log waypoints in the field with smart phone and view on a bigger monitor in my office.
Not so funny story about my GPS
While in New Mexico I was hunting solo in Cibola National Forest and during the mid day slow time I would play with my GPS checking out all of the features I never used in CT, just no need in this small state.
One afternoon hunt I decided to start my trek back to the truck and when I took out my GPS it was telling me to head in the wrong direction, I was CERTAIN of it. It turned out I had UN-calibrated the compass so it was no longer telling me the right directions, but luckily I had my bread crumb trail turned on, so I just followed that out by holding my GPS in front of me as I walked.
Lesson learned!!
I find that the map page on my Garmin Legend HCX sometimes does not update rapid enough to provide an accurate directional indicator. I do a lot of geocaching and especially on overcast days or in thick foliage, a compass is needed to stay on course. Therefore, I keep it with a compass, because regardless of the map orientation, the bearing to destination is always correct, and then I just point my compass, set to the bearing.
In scouting for deer, my GPS allows me to mark locations I want to return to.
I picked up a Garmin Etrex 20. Its should do everything I want it to do and allow me to do some Geocaching with the kids. Last year I walked 6 miles the wrong way when scouting an area I wasn't familiar with . That made for a long day, hopefully this Garmin will help. -Duncan
Duncan, nothing beats an old fashioned compass. I suggest you bring one along with the gps. You never know when technology will fail you. Once I thought the compass was wrong and went my own way. I then found out the compass is never wrong.
I was in a fog on my boat years ago I new I was going straight but the compass said I was going in a circle it was calm as glass, then I ride over my wake from then on I trust the compass .Steve
lmao steve ..yup, done that..me and my buds were out tube n worming at sunken island in a 16'aluminum duck boat with a old 50 hp evenrude ..couldn't see 5 ' in front of us..cranking on the way back to black rock , my buddy decides not to use to compass but to follow the lights on land by penfield reef . yup, we slammed into the reef tearing a nice hole in the side of the boat . he starts yelling at us for not seeing the rocks to wit I reply " you have the f@#king parrot on your shoulder,your the captain " ...ah good times..lol
I use my GPS when hunting state land. It takes me right to my tree avoiding the areas I want to avoid in the dark. Better than the orange tape hanging from the low branches and shrubs.
