Hey guys, feeling ambitious?
If you feel up to it please answer some of my questions about your personal scouting efforts. Just curious as to what some of the veterans have found to work best.
General...
1. How many weeks before season do you usually start scouting?
2. Do you scout for particular species or are you searching for any signs of life?
3. What do you scout most: fields, ponds, rivers, lakes, marshes?
4. How many spots do you scout each year?
5. Do you scout the same spots every year or does it change with each season?
6. What is your average travel time to your scouting locations?
7. What percentage of your locations are private vs public land?
When scouting...
8. Do you scout more in the mornings, afternoons or the evenings?
9. How much time, in hours/minutes, do you spend on a typical scout?
10. What are you looking for other than birds in flight or on water? Are there any other tell tale signs of a potential good spot?
11. Do you only scout preseason or do you continue on during the real season?
12. What is proper etiquette when scouting during the season as to not ruin anyone else's hunt?
13. Do you just observe from a distance? Or do you setup a blind? Decoys?
14. How do you distinguish between local and migratory birds?
Measuring Success
15. In your opinion what is a successful scout? You spot 1-5 birds, 5-10, 10-20?
16. Are there other factors of success?
Lastly, I've read about people "patterning." Does this pertain particularly to geese or does it apply to other species? How do you do it?
Any other parting words of wisdom with regard to scouting?
Thanks
If you feel up to it please answer some of my questions about your personal scouting efforts. Just curious as to what some of the veterans have found to work best.
General...
1. How many weeks before season do you usually start scouting?
2. Do you scout for particular species or are you searching for any signs of life?
3. What do you scout most: fields, ponds, rivers, lakes, marshes?
4. How many spots do you scout each year?
5. Do you scout the same spots every year or does it change with each season?
6. What is your average travel time to your scouting locations?
7. What percentage of your locations are private vs public land?
When scouting...
8. Do you scout more in the mornings, afternoons or the evenings?
9. How much time, in hours/minutes, do you spend on a typical scout?
10. What are you looking for other than birds in flight or on water? Are there any other tell tale signs of a potential good spot?
11. Do you only scout preseason or do you continue on during the real season?
12. What is proper etiquette when scouting during the season as to not ruin anyone else's hunt?
13. Do you just observe from a distance? Or do you setup a blind? Decoys?
14. How do you distinguish between local and migratory birds?
Measuring Success
15. In your opinion what is a successful scout? You spot 1-5 birds, 5-10, 10-20?
16. Are there other factors of success?
Lastly, I've read about people "patterning." Does this pertain particularly to geese or does it apply to other species? How do you do it?
Any other parting words of wisdom with regard to scouting?
Thanks