Out glassing for deer

Went out scouting with @Mattydoesntknow today. We hit the trail at 6am before light. We made our way up the trail until we saw a ridge we wanted to check out and see what was on the other side but it was on the opposite side of a canyon. So we bushwacked our way down a draw and headed towards the canyon and actually found some water in the creek that was flowing a bit. We took that as a good sign and worked our way up the west facing exposure and started to find some older deer scat in some places I wouldn't have thougt we'd find it in, it was some thick rocky country but once we got closer to the top we found some fresher sign. A few places definatly looked like good bedding areas. The brush got thicker and taller as we went up and once at the top we didn't have a good vantage point to glass from like we'd hope we'd have so we decided to work our way back down towards the creek. Things got a little squirrelly trying to work our way down. We got a little turned around due to the brush being taller up there but we could see a marker on the trail across the way and we knew we had come from that direction so we just worked our way down in that direction. Throughout the day we kept finding what looked like coyote scat full of red berries on and off the trail and once back down into the creek we found what looked like rosehip bushes. We decided to take a break by the creek and rehydrate. As we sat there we started to hear what sounded like footsteps and they were headed in our direction. They were slower cautious sounding steps and it sound like it had 4 legs. There was a tall bush directly ahead of us so we could not see what was coming. Whatever it was came within 20 yards of us but stopped as it got closer. We figured it had caught our scent and decided to turn around. We never saw what it was but it was definitely a cool experience. We soon made our way back up and made it to the marker we started from. Overall we were glad we found a water source and some fresher looking sign which told us deer had been there. We came up with a game plan for our next time out and hopefully we get to see some deer next time. I think we did well for a couple of green horns. We hiked a total of 8 miles after all was said an done.

20181018_081735.jpg

20181018_211251.jpg

20181018_211532.jpg

20181018_090002.jpg

20181018_211346.jpg

20181018_080857.jpg

20181018_211548.jpg
 
Last edited:
That looks like bear scat, I've never hunted bear but i'm sure the guys on here could help identify it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: longbowhunter2
My friends I believe that is black bear scat
http://www.bear-tracker.com/bearscat.html

We thought it was pretty large compared to some of the other stuff we were seeing on the trail. Other piles looked more like cat size turds with berries in it. Some had cactus fruit in it. Maybe we should carry a bear tag with us the next time we're in the area just in case. We also wondered it if might be from a mountain lion..
 
  • Like
Reactions: longbowhunter2
We thought it was pretty large compared to some of the other stuff we were seeing on the trail. Other piles looked more like cat size turds with berries in it. Some had cactus fruit in it. Maybe we should carry a bear tag with us the next time we're in the area just in case. We also wondered it if might be from a mountain lion..
Hard to tell the size, but most likely bear crap.

Not lion, they dont eat berries. Lion crap is dark black and sometimes runny due to the blood in their stool.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
So It's hard to tell from pics because of scale factor. Coyote is very similar except smaller. Usually full of choke berries, and Manzanita berries.
Cat scat Bob cat and mountain lion look visually the same except mountain lion is a lot larger.
Bob cat generally have parts of rodents but not necessarily.
The mountain lion could have anything deer, rabbits and on.
See examples
http://animalia-life.club/other/mountain-lion-scat.html
Since southern CA in my area has no bear. We don't see it.
But lots of coyotes, Bob cat, mountain lion.
Google the difference then when out in the Field take note.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HortoTheSlayer

About us

  • SCHoutdoors was created in January of 2011 by a few people who love the outdoors. The main goal is still the same – bring people together who enjoy the outdoors and share their knowledge and experience.
    Outdoors in the West, Hunting gear reviews, Big Game, Small Game, Upland Game, Waterfowl, Varmint, Bow Hunting, long Range Rifles, Reloading, Taxidermy, Salt WaterFishing, Freshwater Fishing, Buy-Sell-Trade on Classifieds and Cooking/Recipes
    All things outdoors…come join us, learn, contribute and become part of the SCHoutdoors community.

Quick Navigation

User Menu