We are fully immersed in scouting season right now! Isn’t that exciting? Everything that we do now is laying a foundation for our upcoming season, no matter what species one might be after. This is the leg work necessary, to help ensure the highest quality hunt we can attain. It is what separates the consistently successful hunter from everyone else. Lately, I’ve been out scouting water sources for a black bear hunt here in Arizona. The hunt takes place during a dry and hot time of year, so water is key. This is going to help me eliminate water sources and key in on others. Hunting is a game of chance, so giving yourself the best chance for success is what it’s all about. Even though this hunt is focused on bears though, doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention to other critters I come across. I’m constantly scouting for next season…..this season.
Years ago, I was sitting on top of a knoll burning up the surrounding hillsides with my binoculars. It was early Fall and I was hoping to find a hungry black bear cruising for a meal. As the hours rolled by, my confidence started to dwindle, at least for the bears. We had been seeing elk all over the place, and nice bulls too. This was an area that I would have never thought elk would hang out in, but after our fruitless bear hunt, it proved otherwise. Years later, we are still hunting that area for elk, and it’s still as good as when we first found it.
What I’m trying to get at here is always have your eyes open. Just because you are hunting mule deer doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay attention to any other critters in the area. I used to be like that and would get tunnel vision. The fact of the matter though is, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow sometimes looks a bit different than you thought it would.
In the digital age we are living in, there is so much information that one can get from scrolling around on their phone. Whether it’s looking at country via mapping software or chatting up other hunters on social media, a lot of scouting work is being done digitally. That is great and it makes me happy to see us engaging with our fellow hunters and hearing their stories. The best story though that you can read is the one told from good old fashion animal sign.
The sign that we find out in the hills has a story to tell. In the case of bears, their scat can tell us what they’re eating. By knowing that, we can not only key in on certain food sources, but we can know what time of year they’ll be there in future seasons to come. Say you’re walking a canyon bottom in late December and find an old pile of bear scat with acorn shells in it. While that bear might not be in that area now, you can be sure that come next year when the acorns are ripe, they will be. The same logic can be applied to elk. If you’re out in late November hunting deer, but come across a bunch of elk rubs, guess what? That’d be a damn good place to look come next September. The stories are there. You’ve just gotta be willing to read.
After you’ve come across said sign that might solidify a future hunting trip, write it down. Our lives are pretty fast paced and it’s really easy for these things to fly under the radar a year down the road. I try and keep notes in my phone about when I find things. Taking pictures with that phone will give you the date of when you saw the sign as well. This stuff is great to refer back to come time. That fast paced world we all know so well now is filled with instant gratification. From the online shopping that we do to the Youtube tutorials we drown ourselves in. While this note taking might not provide instant gratification, it will provide gratification in years to come. Remember, you’re playing the long game here.
Goodness gracious. It’s March 30, 2020 right now as I’m writing this. Tomorrow marks the start of my spring bear hunt. I’ll be loading up my backpack with a few days worth of gear and heading into the backcountry. Just a fella with a bow and a dream. Many of you will be heading out over the next few weeks for the first time this spring. I sincerely wish you all the best of luck out there and hope that you find what you’re looking for. Whether that’s a break from work or a notched tag. Along the way though, keep your eyes open for the less obvious. Always be looking for that next adventure. It might be right under your nose.
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