• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Do you find yourself looking at spots you normally wouldn’t?

Thetrueredneck

Thetrueredneck

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2019
Messages
338
Location
Arkansas
I have been noticing lately that with OnX and HuntStand that I am looking hard at properties I normally wouldn’t even consider. And it hit me that this is all do to my new way of hunting more mobile. Had anyone else noticed this about themselves?
 
Not different spots, but when I get to them I look at trees different


Spencer
 
Sniper4hire said:
I found my best spots, and taken some of my best bucks, using Google Earth back when, and now Onyx.
Click to expand...
I'd selfishly prefer than none of that stuff was out there. It felt so much more advantageous say 10-15 years ago downloading GEOTIFFs from the USGS seamless server when not every damn hunter had that app in their pocket.
 
One of the reasons I bought a saddle was because last year I had a doe within 35 yards and couldn't get a shot off because I was limited to trees I could climb with my Summit. She came out of a corn field, milled around at the edge for 20 minutes staying behind a big bush than slowly meandered away. That being said I found some new areas that are in bigger woods this year and have found myself using trees that I could access with a climber. Only exceptions have been the one time I used a tree that would have been borderline too small for a climber and one tree that had quite a few knots on it so the climber probably would have been at a funny angle and not tight to the tree.
 
I used to start my scouting by identifying areas at least one mile from access, with high priority on those 2 miles from access as the first pass.

Now I have gone back to giving the same priority to all spots, regardless of distance to access. Way more people are mobile, and know how to do that exact thing with their phone and computer. And they do it. I'm not interested in meeting other likeminded hunters 2 miles deep.

Now, I just start walking. I identify some things I'd like to see on the map. Then I walk. I find sign. I find deer. and when I find them, I usually don't find people. Internet scouting now solely rules out areas that won't hold deer due to terrain, vegetation, or food/water availability. I don't try to figure out where people aren't on the computer anymore. Everyone can do that now. The only way to do it is to walk.
 
Yes, and picking trees to sit in i never did before. I've had to consciously reorient my thinking when looking for trees, from a climber mode to a saddle mode. Sitting in trees i never would have hunted in before. Too cool!
 
mattsteg said:
I'd selfishly prefer than none of that stuff was out there. It felt so much more advantageous say 10-15 years ago downloading GEOTIFFs from the USGS seamless server when not every damn hunter had that app in their pocket.
Click to expand...
Its actually a rare hunter that wants to get too far off the grid in reality. I get into places that I am amazed nobody else is there, or has been there.. most hunters in my area use bait, banned or not, and rarely get more than 200 yds off the roads. So even armed with this technology, most daydream more than they act upon the ability to go there
 
I still hunt the same trees I’ve hunted with a small locon and sticks. It’s just easier now. GPS apps are a huge advantage from the old days.
 
Sniper4hire said:
Its actually a rare hunter that wants to get too far off the grid in reality. I get into places that I am amazed nobody else is there, or has been there.. most hunters in my area use bait, banned or not, and rarely get more than 200 yds off the roads. So even armed with this technology, most daydream more than they act upon the ability to go there
Click to expand...

Same here. Highly mobile, motivated, and tech savvy hunters are common on the internet but rare among the general population (around here at least). A common goal in life is to get a nice private land lease so that they can set up bait and then only they can hunt over it.
 
I've been hunting super mobile for a few years, this is season 5. I was using a summit open shot prior to my saddle. Even though it was light weight it still made me hold back from deep dives or atleast doing it often. With my saddle rig, I'm not only diving in deep more often I prefer to do it. I also now am not reluctant to quickly change my location or adjust tactics on the fly based on what's happening around me. When I carried a stand in and got setup, I rarely if ever would change spots during that hunt, I would adjust for the next time I went in. Utilizing a saddle provided me flexibility that I honestly would have never exercised with a stand. I wouldn't say I'm minimalist but relatively everything I use to get elevated is in a backpack, so I can hunt from the ground just as easily as from a tree. I'm also not afraid to get into an area I've never been to to scout and maybe setup, I never wanted to do that with a stand because of bulk and the fact I'd be exhausted walking around with no plan.
 
My backpack carries everything I need to one-stick saddle hunt OR ghilie ground hunt depending on what's at the spot I stop at. What's changed most is that I'm not hunting the same place twice, ever. I can drive to never-before-visited land that I e-scout, start looking for sign, and set up on it no matter the conditions there.

That was a goal last year but I still ended up cruising the same old places. I've upped my map reading game and know how to use different options for terrain. Last year's goal is reality this year.

Now, it's still not killing me deer. I had 1 equipment failure (and since then got rid of that peep sight) and one doofus failure (ground hunt where a deer snuck in on my 6 because I didn't have good back cover), but those are better excuses than I had last year.
 
Mallard8629 said:
Saddle hunting is a game changer. I do look at land differently now.
Click to expand...

Once the stand is gone, then you can focus on reducing all the little sources of weight. I'm carrying less than 15 lbs now.

The saddle also has me in smaller trees and using the tree to hide. I'm also more likely to hunt out of trees with branches. I feel a lot more stealthy in the tree.
 
ThePennsylvanian said:
I've been hunting super mobile for a few years, this is season 5. I was using a summit open shot prior to my saddle. Even though it was light weight it still made me hold back from deep dives or atleast doing it often. With my saddle rig, I'm not only diving in deep more often I prefer to do it. I also now am not reluctant to quickly change my location or adjust tactics on the fly based on what's happening around me. When I carried a stand in and got setup, I rarely if ever would change spots during that hunt, I would adjust for the next time I went in. Utilizing a saddle provided me flexibility that I honestly would have never exercised with a stand. I wouldn't say I'm minimalist but relatively everything I use to get elevated is in a backpack, so I can hunt from the ground just as easily as from a tree. I'm also not afraid to get into an area I've never been to to scout and maybe setup, I never wanted to do that with a stand because of bulk and the fact I'd be exhausted walking around with no plan.
Click to expand...
Exactly!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top