Scouting... to soon or to late

[SocalAL]

Today's questions:

Is there a time (pre or post) hunting season, that scouting new areas or existing areas is basically not useful. Or is it best to scout year round if possible. I do a LOT of hiking in the Angeles forest and Azusa canyons. Both of which I plan on hunting in soon. So I'm just wondering since I'm up there, should I be taking some binos and glassing some of the draws an areas I believe might be good spots? Or should I just hike through and jot down what I see on a hunting log .

Thoughts? I'm a first time hunter an will be totally self taught so anything helps guys, thanks .

-AL

 

[Prime]

Scout year round if possible, then you can get a better idea of what they do and when. Bring the binoculars, glass the hillsides and draws, hike around and jot down areas of interest and things you see. The more knowledge you accumulate about the area the better. I would highly recommend trail cameras as well.

 

[ilovesprig]

Good advice from Prime......I never stop scouting or looking for permission to hunt somewhere......I might add when you're on your hiking trips to take some game trails and try to get off the beaten path.

Couple of other tips......Buy the best glass you can afford, get a good walking stick, & ALWAYS carry a camera.

 

[TRICER]

I think in socal you can scout year round. Our animals don't really have wintering grounds since we really don't have a winter. Now if you are scouting elk or deer in Colorado I would not plan on finding them in the fall the same place you saw them in the summer.

 

[SocalAL]

Good advice from Prime......I never stop scouting or looking for permission to hunt somewhere......I might add when you're on your hiking trips to take some game trails and try to get off the beaten path.

Couple of other tips......Buy the best glass you can afford, get a good walking stick, & ALWAYS carry a camera.

Hadn't thought about bringing a camera, great advice I can bring my dslr . Would taking pictures of certain typography ( saddles , pastures , clearings) be a good picture to take in conjunction with mapping points? Kind of paint a picture on a map.

 

[SocalAL]

I think in socal you can scout year round. Our animals don't really have wintering grounds since we really don't have a winter. Now if you are scouting elk or deer in Colorado I would not plan on finding them in the fall the same place you saw them in the summer.

I have some extended family in Colorado that I was planning on visiting with the intention of doing a good amount of scouting so that's great to know .

 

[longbowhunter2]

Well when I go to new areas, I like to hike the areas early to get familiar with the area as much as possible. Take note were there is high traffic of deer tracks and scat. Go stealthy and try not to disturb the trails.