Glassing time

[2rocky]

I'd be really interested in seeing pictures of where people are glassing, the amount of cover that is there, and how long you are going to commit to glassing that area before moving on to other vantage points?

Alpine Basins

High Desert Mountains with mountain mahogany

Sagebrush flats

 

[MarvB]

No pics but the sage flats, to me, are some of the toughest and require the most time and detail- almost opposite of what one would think. In the basins there always seem to be spots where you just know a deer/elk are going to appear but of the flats every little dip, draw, and roll in the terrain could be holding something and (from distance) it all looks the same

 

[Doublecluck]

Popular block management, ridge had 3 other groups of hunters glassing it at daylight , by 9 everyone had left except me, after 3 hours of looking at the same hillside I found a 320-330” bull bedded completely alone within one of the lone 3-5 pine tree clusters. Unfortunately private land borders prevented a ideal stalk and the only approach was staring on, he picked me up at 1200 yards and blew out pretty fast.

 

[Hammsolo]

I’ve learned through failure after failure to slow down, and truly be methodical. I do this by building combing strategies. I sweep first, and then use W movements that overlap. After awhile I will move a short distance to shift my angle. I’ve found this especially important in sage brush steppe. Honestly, there never seems to be enough time or patience for glassing. Actual amount of time? Hmmmmm…

To often I’ve stood up to suddenly spook something that was just about to be “spotted.”

 

[riv3rbanks]

I found elk in the thick timber on the left side of this pic after two days of glassing the open hillsides beyond that face. I was ready to pack it up and find a new spot. I'm glad I gave it one more glassing session. I learned that even thick timber faces have glassing opportunities. They just require more patience.

 

[NearerTheBone]

No photos but I spend a lot of time glassing for mule deer in the low country- sage, mountain mahogany, juniper, etc. As a result of my inexperience and impatience, I often find myself glassing for 30-60 minutes before moving on, and moving a lot more than sitting. Probably because I end up second-guessing my vantage or choice of country to glass.

Hunting with my dad this weekend I learned a valuable lesson, especially where hunting pressure is high. We were out glassing for mule deer and had this great vantage. Hour goes by, then two, and I start getting antsy. We're seeing no deer and several hunters combing the landscape around us. If it were just me, I would have been long gone from that spot in search of greener pastures, but my dad encouraged us to sit a bit longer. We probably glassed for a good three hours in that spot when suddenly we caught movement. About a dozen deer, mixed group of does and 3 bucks (in rut) spook out from some hidden draw to our side and nearly right into our laps. I will definitely hunt differently after that experience - slow down more, and, if hunting pressure is high, let the other folks do the walking for me.

 

[Jason73]

The 2 mulies in this pic were hiding really well until the one moved its ears. It is SO hard to be patient.

 

[Art Vandeley]

I do not feel you can spend “too much” time glassing from a good vantage. I feel like I see more after staring at the same spot for 20 minutes than I do the first 20 mins.

 

[antlerradar]

I have had plenty of days were I walked farther in the dark than I did all day hunting.

 

[trb]

Half or all day for all of these. Could just as easily have been multiple days. Just comes down to how many other spots I also want to look at and how much time I have available.

The last photo is hiding 3 bucks, about 20 elk, and a cow moose in the closer range patches of timber. I have spent probably 7 full days looking at that slope over the past 2 years.

 

[Bert2368]

if hunting pressure is high, let the other folks do the walking for me.

Yup. My neighbors insist on fidgeting, walking around looking idly for deer, riding 4 wheelers back to base camp to use a bathroom/get lunch/God knows what, TALKING and generally being noisy and obvious to ME from 1/4 mile or more away.

I hold still in a sheltered area or a stand with some screening from skylighting myself and move very slowly with no sudden movements while endlessly glassing the whole area. Usually use an 8X45 monocular so I can use my other eye intermittently on the near field without dropping the glass.

Net result: 1 or 2 deer per season put in the freezer over the whole time we've been here. My neighbors seldom even see anything to shoot at, although about 1/2 of the deer I've taken were running away from their excessive noise and poorly considered movements.

Last year, a doe walked up to less than 2' from me and SCREAMED in my face when she finally figured out I was there and bolted away. I was wearing orange and sitting on a 5 gallon bucket at the base of a tree, clearly visible from the waist up.

Just be quiet and don't move much but your eyeballs.

 

[Sagebrush1]

This is a good point. The time you spend glassing, as in any hunting endeavor, must be valuable time. If you can focus and glass effectively, then an hour is worth more than a day spent “glassing” off your knees, talking the whole time, and eating constantly.

It puzzles me how often I encounter people who go hunting, but are actually never doing any real hunting.

Also, I’m no expert, so don’t take this as arrogance, there are many better hunters than I. This is just something I think about in the field.