How Important Is Scouting Before Your Hunt

How Important Is Scouting Before Your Hunt?

When I had my first big game hunt when I was just 15 years old I didn’t even know what scouting for elk or deer meant. If you would’ve asked me I would’ve said sure I’m in scouts and I do scouting every Tuesday night. Lucky for me my father knew the best places to go and has had the same honey holes for decades so finding animals were never a problem when I was young. However when I got older and started to expand my hunting areas I learned how important it is to scout the area you’re going to hunt.

It actually took me 5 years from the age of 18 before I was able to kill my first elk. For the first 5 previous years I had come close but never got the chance to connect when an elk. I finally learned the importance of scouting and it paid off when I was 23 years old. And I owe it all to scouting and learning the area I was hunting in great detail. If I wouldn’t have spent all of those days, hours and miles in those hills I wouldn’t have been as successful with my elk hunts as I am today. Because of those scouting trips and long hours in the mountains I’m able to harvest an elk almost every year from my honey holes.

There’s a term hunters have for other hunters who only hit the mountains when it’s hunting season and only on the weekends. And they usually only pull their rifles out during hunting season.

We call them “”weekend warriors.””

Weekend warriors do get lucky sometimes and they’re usually in the same ranks as road hunters. I’ve seen some weekend warriors get very lucky sometimes but not nearly as lucky as those hunters who actually put the scouting work in during the summer time.

There’s a quote I like that says, “”The harder I work the luckier I get.”” That couldn’t be more true in the hunting world. Definitely the harder I work the luckier I get. I’ve killed some of my biggest deer an elk during some of the hardest hunts of my life.

So yes scouting during the summer time is very important for your hunting success. If you don’t know where the animals are in the first place it’s going to be that much harder to find them during the hunts. We all know how they like to disappear during hunting season.

I know we’re all busy with our families and work but I recommend scouting on a minimum at least two weekends a month. And spending all day in the field if possible. Not only will you learn the animals habits and patterns but there’s nothing like being in the mountains relaxing and getting away from the city.

I encourage everyone to go scouting as much as possible.

Be safe and good hunting.