Glassing techniques

T

TDIESEL

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What are somne of you guy's techniques for glassing animals or do you just look over certain spots? certain slopes at certain times and so on always looking to be more efficient
7mm wsm 600yrd. and closer checkmate
 
Be sure to spend most your time glassing when the animals are up and moving. Right at dawn until it starts warming up and you think everything's bedded down for the afternoon. Then again in the evening when it starts to cool off until dark.

If it's cool and shady and you're not seeing anything in a specific area keep on the move.

Position yourself to watch the shady slopes even if that means you'll be looking into the sun.

Make sure you have a good spotting scope, it's a lot easier to spot a mile than it is to walk it.
 
Spend more time on your butt than your feet. Beat the sun up and be in position at first light. Glass meadows and transition areas between feeding and bedding areas first thing. I like to glass sweet spots first, then when I've done that a couple times I slow down and really start picking the country apart. If you're hunting bulls after the rut you'll want to really concentrate on thick north facing slopes. They hunker down in some really nasty country after the rut. They also make a slight switch from grass to forbes at this time as well so they don't need to move off slopes to feed.

I personally glass all day long. I don't head back to camp for naps. I've spotted many a buck and bull by glassing all day and catching them in their beds. Mid-day can be a great time to catch a bull stretching before bedding back down. You have your whole life to sleep, if you really want to get it done, spend as much time as you can glassing.

Also, spend as much time scouting as possible. When you're scouting spend lots of time glassing. You need to burn what an elk looks like into your retnas. Take note of how they look in the sun, shade, front view, back view and any other situation you can imagine. I also like to look for legs. for some reason they stand out to me.

Good luck and I hope the info helps.

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, US Army
"Most men go through life wondering if they made a difference, Marines don't have that problem." President Ronald Regan
 
+1 on the what's been shared so far!

Something else that has really helped me out with more effective glassing is to get a set up that allows you to mount not only your spotter to your tripod but your bino's also. I have glassed up ALOT more animals and parts of animals when I am not holding my bino's. It takes a little getting used to but it makes a world of difference. Good luck!
 
If nothing comes up the first time you look over the area dont get up and walk off looking for another area cuz it only takes a second for an animal to step out from behind the bush. Glass over areas multiple times. Be patient and like what was said above spend more time on your rear end than your feet.
 
Don't just look with the sun to your back or from side to side. I purposely look in the sun's direction while hunting deer, especially in the evening. Deer will bed down in large expansions of sage, and when they stand up or make a move the sun reflects off their hide. You can see this from very long distances.
 
Here in Utah there's a ton of oak brush and it takes incredible patience to spot critters in that stuff. I've sat glassing for 1/2 hour before I've been able to pick up a critter some times.

There are places I know they hang out and the reason I stick around, but for years and years I'd have looked that oak patch over and moved on in less than 10 minutes.

Another observation is that elk rarely bed for more than 45 minutes. They get up and move around all day long. When it's really hot they'll only do it in the dark timber which makes glassing them nearly impossible, but again if you know where they are roughly and have the patience to sit it out for an hour or more you will find elk moving about all day long.

It's all about knowing where the critters go to and from and then having the patience to sit them out. Something I never had for the first 30 years of my hunting career.

Cheers,
Pete
 
#1 Don?t look for an elk (or deer), if they are standing out in the wide open, you have probably already spotted them.
Look for an ear, or antler tip sticking up, or a leg under the lower limbs of a tree. Look for a tan patch that seem ?out of place?.

#2 Don?t just scan a hill side, mentally break it down into a grid with small enough sections that you can focus on them one at a time. Then, take your time going from section to section. Pick each section apart, look at every shadow, behind every bush or tree, under every overhang. Tell your self, ?There IS a 200 inch buck in THIS section, and keep looking at it until your convinced otherwise, then move on to the next.

#3 Good optics and a good, solid tri-pod are priceless. Eyestrain is your enemy.
 
Obviously glass at dawn and dusk but be sure to glass throughout the day as much as possible in between naps of course haha Seen many a buck give up his hidey hole in the middle of the day to rearange or grab a quick blade of grass. I like to sneak from vantage point to vantage point picking the "bucky" areas apart looking for antler tips or an outline of a dear laying in the shade.


Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed to where the trail meets the sky...
 
I plan on having something to sit on, and have warm cloths ready when you start glassing. It usually gets cold once you are not moving around, and that cold makes you want to start moving around again. A pad to sit on will help with the comfort. Dont get so comfortable that you fall asleep glassing. A buddy caught me sleeping behind my spotting scope once.(wrapped up in my sleeping bag nice and warm) I still never hear the end of it.
 
I've had great success with using my spotting scope on the lowest power possible and glassing the mountain like you would mow your lawn. Up down over, up down over. I rarely go a night without seeing things I just wouldn't have been able to see with my Bino's. Speaking of Bino's, don't waste your time glassing to much sunny areas. Focus on the shade! That's glassing 101 David Long style :)
 
A lot of good info here. The only thing I can add is to take care of your eyes, (Eye drops, sunglasses if needed, hat. . etc.) You need 'em.

"Half of being smart, is knowing what you're dumb about."
 

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