How to scout from a state away?

[howler243]

Forgive me if this topic is already been discussed on this forum. How would a guy scout an area from another state? We plan on hunting next year in MT and I have been over the area on google earth looked at national forest maps and delorme maps. My wifes relitives live out there and have been in contact with them asking them some questions, but is there anything else i can be doing? I have a binder full of forum topics and mrs that i have found. I guess what i should be asking is what do you look for in an area you have never set foot in? Looking over a map is there anyhting that your looking for? Thanks guys for your time and hints

[WapitiTalk1]

First of all, welcome to "the" elk forum friend. Yes sir, there is a lot to scouting an area from a far to maximize your potential success and overall enjoyment of your hunt. I would urge you to continue digging through the threads on this and other forums and ask specific questions rather than a general one. You'll get more informative, specific, responses that way. Are there any specific areas you've been considering at this point? That may be a starting point for your inquiries. RJ

[howler243]

We paln on hunting Gallitan county. About 20 miles south of 1-90 i found a lake with several medows and what looks like a good amount of trees. Its call mystic lake. I also have been looking further south by yellowstone. I have a few places that i have printed off that look promising. The other lake is called Albino Lake. Thanks for the help

[bnsafe]

I havnt been to Montana in 30 years so cant help ya there. but welcome to the site. glad to have ya. I may be wrong, but I think indian summers guides in Montana and maybe does some scouting for a fee. I have no idea how much or what all is involved and I may be wrong anyway but its worth a shot. he is a great source of info on here. I think hes bear hunting now so wont be back on here for awhile. shoot him a pm.

[howler243]

awesome thanks for the advise.

[Z Barebow]

I am researching MT also.

Here are a few things which I have been doing.

Contact state biologists.

Find out the game wardens and call them.

Here is a good place to start to get POC #'s or e-mail.

http://fwp.mt.gov/doingBusiness/contactUs/

Forest Service- Get their # and call them also. (That side of the range is Bozeman office)

Develop a list of questions and print up copies for each POC (Point of Contact). I write answers on each copies. Do not ask where are the big bulls! Ask about seasonal locations, current population, access questions. Ask them if they know of anyone who would/could pack out an animal. Ask them about leaving a vehicle for extended periods. (And any rules that going along with that). Show that you care. No one will give you there honey hole, nor do you want it. If they tell you, it won't be a secret honey hole!

I have purchased the Gallatin FS Map. (You will need the west map as the Gallatin FS is so big it takes three maps) It will show you trails and eligible transportation and any seasonal closures. (The latest map is 2012). There can be year to year changes, so the FS can update you. This most recent map also shows the results of some recent land swaps. (You need to make sure you stay on public unless your relatives have land)

Look at the MVUM map. (Motor vehicle use map). Again- it will give you an idea of who/ what can travel where.

MT FPW has a great website and has a hunt planner. It will show recent harvest, HD borders, Bio and GW for HD area, etc. Google Earth is also your friend.

Have fun researching, I know I do! I am currently in the process of identifying waypoints of places to check out, load them into Garmin Base Camp/GE and loading them into my GPS.

[kevin_t]

It was not a state away, but here is how I did it in an area I never scouted
http://seekoutside.com/virtual-scouting-with-colorado-hunting-atlas/

[Jaquomo]

The one thing you can't figure out from a state away is how many other people will be hunting in your area. That's where the local warden and the USFS ranger can help once you've narrowed it down.

I got lucky with one new area I was scouting on Google Earth, when I discovered the most recent satellite photos were taken last September 10th. I was able to "fly" all of the roads and trails and enter a push-pin wherever I found a camp. (I located the camp of a fellow I'd help remote scout for moose, as well). By doing that, I could zoom out, triangulate the camps and get a good idea of where people were and weren't hunting.

I've since used the date slider at the top of GE to look at other areas with September photos from previous years.

[howler243]

Thank you guys for the great advise. I have found a new topo map website: http://map.mtbullypulpit.org/ Z Barebow Thank you alot of those ideas i hadnt thought of yet. Kevin_t great write up thank you for the link. This is the first time I am going elk hunting and want to stack the odds in my favor. Your right I dont want anyones honey hole. I belive working hard for the elk will be more exciting then having my hand held. Thank you very much for the advise

[Garrett Drach]

As mentioned above contact the local biologist and Forest Service. One question to ask the biologist is when was the last time they were in the specific spot that you want to hunt. Their answer will tell you if they personally know that spot or if they are reciting info gathered by someone else.

Try to contact the Forest Service Trails Manager, or even better a member of the trails crew, if they have done work in your area recently. These folks live in the area for part or all of the summer and can be a wealth of information on access points, water, cattle
/sheep location and even the most recent elk location.

Garrett

[Z Barebow]

howler- That is a great site for MT! Play with it. You can toggle between satellite images and topo view. Also the ability to toggle landownership. (Note: Not all of the ownership is up to date). But gives you a running start.

[Mikeha33]

Use Flash Earth maps also. They are almost identical to Google earth, but have better resolution when you are zoomed farther in on the terrain. I am going through the same thing currently, scouting CO from KS, and GE, FE, and the State's website maps are excellent tools for figuring the lay of the land.

Now, if there was just a way to scout elk...

[RockChucker30]

Use all the web resources that you have available, but you've got to use them in a smart way.

I'd start by picking a general area and then pick specific trailheads you're interested in. Talk with the game wardens to figure out where they see a lot of people. Now when you're talking to game wardens, try to figure out what kind of warden you're dealing with and remember that they're out looking for hunters, not elk.....so they probably go where the most hunters are and most wardens aren't going to get back into the backcountry.

After you pick your spots, measure out a mile from all roads and trailheads and color that with a highlighter. Anything beyond those areas will probably be better than anything within them.

Now you take what you know of elk behavior in the area and look for specific spots that should hold elk.

[Wapitibob]

I use ArcGis explorer for my computer app, add a topo map server, then BLM server, geo referenced FS visitor maps, fire history data, unit boundaries, and go from there. I usually add Panaramio pictures so I can see what the area looks like too, provided there are any available.
I started using TopoFusion earlier this year in prep for my AZ hunt. It's primary purpose is to transfer maps to your GPS. It currently limits export to 500 tiles (Garmin limit) but once that's fixed it will export an entire unit worth of MyTopo and hi res Sat images to your PC. You can then convert those to .jnx and put them in the Birdseye folder on your Garmin and bypass the custom map limitations of the garmin.