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Scouting Questions

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  HNTFSH 
#1 ·
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
 
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#2 ·
This is Ohio with extremely limited resources so I'll keep it more simple than your question because there are so many factors and not that many birds.

Know where and why you should hunt a location because of weather (ice, water, drought, food source)
Know when and why you're likely to encounter the masses (ease of access, season maturity, proximity to metros)
Try to determine where birds are roosting and where they are headed when they leave the roost
Try and determine where birds are coming back TO the roost from
Where do you find them loafing
What times of day are they doing any of the above
What spots favor what winds

I scout spots not birds and then do the math on probability I'll see some. That is different field hunting but that's largely a private property thing (birds patterned to what fields and why) - my job would be where I can set up to draw them in from - where I am allowed to hunt.

Simply - if you see large groups in an area - figure out where they'll want to be the next day based on the factors above.
 
#3 ·
good reply ,,its fun to plan and think of even where you would set your blind or anchor you boat ,,BUT thenreality comes home!!!the river rises the weather changes crops DON'T get harvested next to your honey hole like last year ,,so birds go somewhere else to feed.So many things can go wrong or change the so called ''patterns ''of ducks.My hunting buddy will scout the day before or morning of a hunt,,keeps the variables down.
 
#8 ·
Maybe we'll continue this good rain through tomorrow! :thumbsup: Saturday is looking decent although I'm not thrilled with a SSW wind for my spot but will be thrilled to be out in the NZ.

Good luck everybody. The opener is when you realize how much you forgot (and screw up) since last season. :lol3:
 
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