Black Bare Report post Posted October 17, 2008 Guys, When glassing I generally get up on a high point and glass down into and across a canyon. What I am wondering is that in an area with flat land and high peaks (not canyon after canyon), is it better to glass from the flat area looking up at the facing slopes of the peak. Or is it better to climb the peak and glass down into the flats. Hopefully my question makes sense. My concern is that if I climb the peaks to glass, the deer will be bedded down under me on the side of the same hill and I will never see them. What do you think? Am I crazy? Thanks. BB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liv4coues Report post Posted October 17, 2008 Last year I did my glassing with a pair of 10x50 Nikons, so I was pretty much limited to the close stuff. After reading all the off-season posts about the magical deer spotting capabilities of the Swaros, I upgraded to a pair of 15x56's. During my scouting trips this year I was getting discouraged because I wasn't seeing as many deer with the Swaros as I saw last year with the Nikons. During my last scouting trip, I realized the problem: I'm wanting to take advantage of the new Swaros by glassing mostly the stuff way out away from me and I'm not paying much attention to the close stuff. After making a correction to start glassing the close stuff with the Swaros, I started seeing more deer. My challenge during the season is going to be forcing myself to start with the close stuff and then working out from there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ultramag Report post Posted October 17, 2008 Last year I did my glassing with a pair of 10x50 Nikons, so I was pretty much limited to the close stuff. After reading all the off-season posts about the magical deer spotting capabilities of the Swaros, I upgraded to a pair of 15x56's. During my scouting trips this year I was getting discouraged because I wasn't seeing as many deer with the Swaros as I saw last year with the Nikons. During my last scouting trip, I realized the problem: I'm wanting to take advantage of the new Swaros by glassing mostly the stuff way out away from me and I'm not paying much attention to the close stuff. After making a correction to start glassing the close stuff with the Swaros, I started seeing more deer. My challenge during the season is going to be forcing myself to start with the close stuff and then working out from there. yep I had the same problem the first year I had my 15x swaros, when I did see a buck he was a mile away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted October 18, 2008 I have always had the same problem. Now that I have the Duovids I have a little bit of a 'system' that helps with that. I will start out with 10x and glass all of the closer stuff. If I feel it is too far out there to properly glass (see a tine, or an ear etc etc) then I will switch to 15x. If I find something that I need to take a closer look at, I will mark the area well, and switch to my spotting scope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZbowhntr Report post Posted October 18, 2008 I think that I have been lucky enough to have learned from someone that knows coues deer pretty well. I was able to take Duwane Adams glassing class a few months ago and I learned quit a bit. We started out glassing the south facing slopes and watched a ton of deer for a couple hours that morning. And as it started to warm up we were able to watch them move across to the north facing slopes. And don't waist your time glassing the north facing slopes in the sunlight. They will almost always be in the shadows. If you ever have the opportunity to take his class I would jump all over it. It was well worth the time and money spent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLG Report post Posted October 18, 2008 AZbowhuntr, I saw that on his website. It looked interesting to me. I have been glassing for 20 years, but I am sure a half day with Duane would be worth the money. What I came to realize using the 15's at those moderate ranges, is they do a great job at showing depth into the shaded areas under the trees and bushes. During pig season this past year I glassed up the ham of a pig, at about 200 yards. I knew it was a pig right away because you could make out hair. He was mostly hidden by a tree, but after sometime, you could start seeing his whole outline. I had the same thing happen on a pig hunt two years ago. We spotted a set of two pigs. We set my friend up to kill one and the second ran off. I stayed back to walk him into the location were his pig went down, when I saw movement high and to the left of were his pig was killed. I had my friend stop and with the 15's looking into the sun at about 100 yards you could make out individual hairs on the pigs ears thru the bush he was standing behind. I watched him until he made a more open area, setup to shoot and because my rifle scope was c---. it was hard to see the bush he was standing behind, much less make out the pig. That day I would not have filled my tag if not for the clarity of the 15's. Anyway, force yourself to look close, even if you only have the 15's. The clarity and depth you can see at those ranges is awesome. It really is about taking your time,just enjoying the day and not feeling the need to be in a hurry or trying to look at everything at once. Advice I must admit I have a hard time following, Take Care, JLG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhunter Report post Posted October 18, 2008 Don't take naps at midday, go towards the bottom of a canyon and glass upward and find bucks hidden among the trees, as for the morning and afternoon I glass from a point where I can glass both north and south facing slopes from one spot, usually a small knoll between 2 large hills or mountains Midday bucks will look something like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
