The secret to out of state hunting.

[WillMc]

I would like to start a thread on everyone’s best advice for hunting out of your home area. I’ve hunted 7 different states. All but one was DIY. I’ve harvested a handful of Pope and Young animals and two Boone and Crocket mule deer. The best advice I have and the one I see the most people fail at is. Why are you waiting till you draw a tag to start scouting? There are literally thousands of post that start out. “ I just drew this tag that took me 10 plus years to draw. Not going to have time to scout. Please point me in the right direction. “ Not complaining or pointing fingers. Im actually glad to help most the time. If a tag takes 10 years to draw that’s 10 years you should be scouting that unit before you draw. I have never drawn a tag or hunted a unit that I didn’t scout in the years leading up to the hunt. It’s a huge help and probably the most important thing you can do to improve your success rate. Pick a weekend during the hunt dates you want to hunt each year and go to the units you’re applying for. Even hitting one Unit each year for a couple days can really be a huge help. Good luck on your hunts.

 

[willfrye027]

I hunt 3-5 states a year. Unless I’ve been there before, I won’t step foot in a new unit without a scouting trip. Ideally during the summer. If I can hunt and scout a unit multiple times over the years, my “luck” improves exponentially.

Even one weekend learning the roads and access to public land is crucial.

Depending on the hunt I might actually look for animals to hunt or specific spots to hunt.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

I’ve hunted units I didn’t scout plenty of times. But I try to be realistic about expectations. In this scenario I figure on having a good time, pick apart the country I can and hope to take an animal I’M happy with.

 

[uphill]

I agree with WillMc's post but I don't have any rules I live by. This year I arrived in an area I'd never seen before, 1.5 days before the opener, it worked out.

I'm planning to spend a few days next week in a new area that I have a tag for. That hunt opens in late Oct. and on the way home I'll pull over and spend a couple days in a unit that I believe I want to hunt in the years to come.

One thing I avoid is scouting on the opener in units that people have waited years to draw. I just feel that the tag holders deserve a little less crowded experience and since I'm just looking around I can wait a week or two into the season before I show up.

 

[jims]

I would definitely agree that it helps having experience in a unit before drawing a high demand tag that takes years to draw. Sometimes that's impossible but the more time and experience in a unit the better.

Also, as WillMc mentioned, it helps being there previous year's during the season. As many of us know, a lot can change from the summer or just prior to a season opens vs as the season progresses. Sometimes things can change from 1 year to the next or from opening day to later in the season.....so it helps having several year's experience. It also helps to get tips from locals that have intimate experience in the unit.

It obviously takes time to figure out a lot of the logistics of a unit (access, water holes, migration routes, summer vs wintering areas, etc).

Research is also important...aerial and topo maps, past hunters, etc prior to drawing tags. This may answer questions about access, hunting pressure, and what exactly the country looks like.

Another thing a lot of hunters tend to overlook is what other hunting pressure is in a unit before and during your hunt. A great example of this is OTC elk units in Colo. There may be few deer tags issued but the floodgates open with OTC cow and bull hunters.

Yep, there's definitely a lot that can go into research and scouting.

 

[HighCountryHill]

I hunt 3-5 states a year. Unless I’ve been there before, I won’t step foot in a new unit without a scouting trip. Ideally during the summer. If I can hunt and scout a unit multiple times over the years, my “luck” improves exponentially.

Even one weekend learning the roads and access to public land is crucial.

Depending on the hunt I might actually look for animals to hunt or specific spots to hunt.

Spot-on. I try to use a credit card with some sort of rewards (fuel discounts, sky miles, vehicle rentals, etc) to purchase licenses and preference points so I can try to get at least one scouting trip in before I hunt new country. That trip in is usually just as good for marking off "bad" country as it is for finding good country, and what I've found even more beneficial is using it to cache water in areas that don't have a source I can filter from.

 

[Grouse Legs]

I thought the secret to out of state hunting was not living in colorado

 

[BrowningRage]

Like so many other things... it takes time and money.

 

[TKMulePacker]

100% agree. I have a 10pt resident colorado MD tag this year, 3rd season in a great unit. Ive been visiting, scouting, and elk hunting the area since 2020 in preparation for this tag. Ive driven most of the roads in the area and know where the concentrations of deer are during the rut. IS IT NOVEMBER YET!?!?!

 

[Joe2Kool]

I agree. Scouting trips definitely improve my success rates. Or, if I haven't taken a scouting trip, the success probability goes up with the 2nd or 3rd hunt. As mentioned above, scouting trips often rule out areas just as much as they highlight areas to target.

However, with family commitments, work commitments, distance to travel, vacation limitations, and other hunts, scouting trips sometimes just don't make the list. But, I've never hunted a tag it took 10+ years to draw. Having 11 AZ points in Arizona will change that though.

 

[tracker12]

So I gather points in multiple States for multiple species. Would be nice to scout before I hunt but that is a fairytale situation for me. I have hunts this year AUG (Georgia), SEP (Saskatchewan), OCT(NJ) and NOV(CO) that will take me out of my home state. In the summer I fish and golf. I have been successful due to staying away from OTC hunts unless I am paying a trespass fee and hunting private property.

 

[DeerHunter53]

Leaving this week for a week of scouting in the unit before we arrive there to hunt.
It helps to know areas to camp in, a fall back area if the one you picked is gone.
Also knowing where to start hunting not just running around the unit to find the animals.
If you can do it it pays off, but for most of us including myself until two years ago you have to work and can't get the time off. Just getting the hunt off and then time to do so is a feat in it's self.
That's why every year there are efforts of here to have an MM member tell them where to go once they draw a tag or at least they try. LMAO

 

[Bkule]

Looking at recent draw odds for a Utah tag.......1 non-res tag and 4992 applicants.......probably not a good idea for everyone to pre-scout this unit. The time and money can be better spent in other ways. JMO......BK

 

[Stubaby]

If you are thinking about applying/drawing a tag then go glass and do recon work in that unit during the same dates as the tag you eventually want.

It’s also fun to help others with the same tag as time goes by to get a good feel and it also creates friendships who can help when you yourself get the tag.

All that being said, there’s still nothing better than putting yourself out there after the draws come out with posts on hunting forums and Facebook that start with “I don’t want to know anyone’s honey holes, but……..”. ?

 

[Jgill19]

All that being said, there’s still nothing better than putting yourself out there after the draws come out with posts on hunting forums and Facebook that start with “I don’t want to know anyone’s honey holes, but……..”. ?

I've been waiting to the be "that guy" over 20 apps in a year, I am due!!!