windymtnman
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 484
My comment isn't done to criticize, more to try and help those that aren't as experienced in Western hunting and are E scouting from far off places.
I've been hit up by a few hunters that are in the planning stages of their Western hunts. Some have sent me maps of areas they thought might of interest to them, that are in my "neighborhood", as my ranch is surrounded on 3 sides by the vast Rio Grande National Forest. I live in GMU 80.
When I look some of the areas they are considering, I pretty much know they'd use up a lifetime of luck if they got any Elk there. Reason being, there is NO WATER in that area, except perhaps during Spring snow melt off. Moreover, some of those areas are hot and the grass is withered. Yet, a Google Earth image might be of a Winter image or otherwise make it look pretty decent.
Another thing, is some of these areas have a lot of human activity during the Summer months with lots of folks harvesting their firewood supply near the roads. I know of forest trailheads that are full of hikers or fishermen all Summer long, and yet there's no way to discern that from looking at Google Earth.
Right now, where I'm at in Southern Colorado, we're in one of the biggest droughts I've ever seen in my 10 years of living here. My hay supplier may not even have any to bale this year? I've been out in the backcountry quite a bit, and Springs are drying up, and the creeks have much less water in them. So, when you're scouting, I'd be trying to search out areas where ALL of an Elks needs are met, not just some. Obviously, the more experienced hunters will know this, but to a person looking for a new area to hunt, they may overlook it? Another bad facet of this, is that it may tend to concentrate more hunting activity where all the needs of food, water, cover, and security are all present.
I've been hit up by a few hunters that are in the planning stages of their Western hunts. Some have sent me maps of areas they thought might of interest to them, that are in my "neighborhood", as my ranch is surrounded on 3 sides by the vast Rio Grande National Forest. I live in GMU 80.
When I look some of the areas they are considering, I pretty much know they'd use up a lifetime of luck if they got any Elk there. Reason being, there is NO WATER in that area, except perhaps during Spring snow melt off. Moreover, some of those areas are hot and the grass is withered. Yet, a Google Earth image might be of a Winter image or otherwise make it look pretty decent.
Another thing, is some of these areas have a lot of human activity during the Summer months with lots of folks harvesting their firewood supply near the roads. I know of forest trailheads that are full of hikers or fishermen all Summer long, and yet there's no way to discern that from looking at Google Earth.
Right now, where I'm at in Southern Colorado, we're in one of the biggest droughts I've ever seen in my 10 years of living here. My hay supplier may not even have any to bale this year? I've been out in the backcountry quite a bit, and Springs are drying up, and the creeks have much less water in them. So, when you're scouting, I'd be trying to search out areas where ALL of an Elks needs are met, not just some. Obviously, the more experienced hunters will know this, but to a person looking for a new area to hunt, they may overlook it? Another bad facet of this, is that it may tend to concentrate more hunting activity where all the needs of food, water, cover, and security are all present.
