scouting

[powderhogg01]

looks like I will be hunting the same area I have for the past few years. It is a public section of gmu 38 in colorado. I have some good spots found already, as I spend a lot of time in the area hunting mule deer. This year I am really hoping to make things happen. I upgraded my sight and stabilizer. I am now shooting a trophy ridge react 5pin and have their 9 in static stabilizer. I missed a few easy shots last year, and have really been practicing so that does not occur again this season. I am hitting the vitals of my 3D deer at 60, working on getting that group closer together.
with all the excitement I am curious how often you fellas get out and into the terrain you plan to hunt. I am trying not to be in the area too often as I dont want to push animals out of the area. with that said I have been doing a lot of glassing, however the terrain I hunt is almost all dense trees.. I am hoping to get more of a game plan as the season draws near, but for now I have 2 main saddles and a spring which all hold tons of sign.. thats where I plan to start things off. I am going to put a camera up over the water spring... Hopefully a weeks worth of pictures will show some decent animals

[2Rivers]

If you are not pushing elk around you will be ok. I am coming from Minnesota. My son and I got in 2 days of scouting in July, would love to spend more pre-season time in our gmu but the distance is to far. Good luck this season.

[powderhogg01]

never pushing animals. My thinking is this, last season they always bedded down on the other side of the mountain this time of the day. I realize their patterns now may not reflect the patterns then, but it seems like a good way to start. The area I plan to hunt is a feeding and transitional zone where they travel from one drainage to the next. I need to get a good gps and start really mapping out the area in detail.. for now the handy notebook will continue to serve.

[Pop-r]

Sounds to me like if you get confident in your bow then you'll have no problem filling your tag. Concentrate on that. I will add when it's crunch time really FOCUS on a small spot & shoot it. Try to shoot his heart out. Forget about his lungs (unless that's all u have).

[powderhogg01]

while I enjoy any encounter... This year I would like to see some success. I walk back tuned my bow out to 40. I had already shot about 40 arrows and was not feeling strong enough to continue shooting accurately enough to do 50 and 60, those will have to come tomorrow. I can already see a big difference in my groupings, I know as I get the 50 and 60 dialed things will get even tighter. I will likely be going out tomorrow to scout a different area, put some glass on the hills for a while. I am fortunate enough to live a mere 15 minutes from where I hunt.. so things are looking up.
I have a few areas I would like to hang some stands.. I may try to get that dont soon as the season is fast approaching.