Glassing

[bobbyo]

One thing I have to tell myself is to make sure to look close by first. I tend to fall in love with the 15 power and end up looking at a great distance exclusively. Leaving out the areas 200 to 300 yards. If you are in good coues country a deer could just as easily be that close. I use my 8.5 on the tripod to start out. You will be amazed what might be close by.

 

My wife made me a sun blocker cloth that fits on the bill of my baseball cap. It is great and keeps the sun off my neck. I will take a picture when I get home. When I wear it I look like a bundled up Amish lady, but it sure does work. No glare. A great view.

Bob

[joeybari]

Use a shirt or something to throw over your head and part of the binos. It helps a lot.

[justin_birch]

Get a tripod. I found that once I got a tripod, I started seeing a lot more deer because the steadiness helps you pick up the slightest movement. Also, you can lock it down on one area so you can focus in on those silhouettes.

[naturegirl]

Something I didn't see mentioned yet was go ahead and spend the money on good high powered clear binoculars. It took us years to do this and sure wish we would've done it sooner.

[200"mulie]

My advice would be patience, and if you glass a whole hill side, go over it again. I usually go over a hill side 3-4 times and 1/3 of the time i would find something had moved (deer, dogs, cats, other small mammals). If you are glassing a thick hillside and dont find anything dont give up, move 50 yards or what you feel is right and start again get different angles.

 

Mule deer --- look in bottoms, and have seen them in little thickets on small slopes. Look for there big ears and racks sticking out casue most of the time thats all you see.

 

Whitetail --- look for a poocket that has good shade almost all day long near tops of hills...most of the time in my case they will look downhill (so they can see stuff coming) and they will have an easy walk out exit behind them over the hill that you only get a split second to see em'....also they can hear something walking up behind them.

 

 

Be patient, bring water & sunscreen, snacks, and be confident.

[rcdinaz]

As has been already said pretty much everything is covered already!

 

- Patience is key I see a lot of animals while the rest of our party is distracted with all kinds of other things or is moving around.

 

- I try to sit in the shade if there is shade it is usually more comfortable and masks movement.

 

- Watch other animals, it keeps you from getting bored and a lot of times one animal will cause another to move.

 

- If you have a guy that can't sit still help him plan a hike where you can watch the area around him. It drives me nuts when one of our guys just takes off, it seems almost pointless if there is no plan.

 

- I also take short breaks and close my eyes to keep from getting fatigued.

[CDBishop]

During the warm afternoons when most deer are beded up and its hard to find em I break out my comfortable chair or packable stadium seat. I like to Set up in my comfy chair looking at that shaded northern facing slope maybe even with a sandwich in hand. I figure the more comfy I am, the more patiant, the more patient the more likely I am to find these lil guys.

Most people will take a break during the hottest hours but you would be supprized that u can still make it happen during noon hours and when you do its a nice bonus!

 

Has any one else tried the new swarovski 12 x50 EL swarovision yet? they are amazing

- Corey

[Coach]

Patience is the key. The best glassers I know are the most patient ones. The faster I move my glass, the less animals I see. It's simple to say but hard to do. Pick a grid and don't move your glass from one field of view to the next until you have at least counted to 10 slowly. Pretend you are watching your buddy walk from bush to bush in your field of view and only once he has determined there is nothing there, move slightly, a couple of degrees up or down, left to right and repeat.

 

I said this on another post, but it's something I have to continually remind myself of. Once you pick out a doe, watch her and keep track mentally how often she is openly visible compared to partially visible to totally invisible. That's a good mental check when you are glassing to keep you honest. Most coues deer will be partially or completely invisible most of the time, even if you know right where they are. It's a good excercise to recognize how many deer you pass over because you are glassing too fast and looking for a deer instead of an ear.

[ThomC]

It is just like anything else practice looking thru your glass, even when your at home. Try looking for very small grey things or grasshoppers around under and behind every bush, tree, grass, rock, what have you. Every once in a while scan the whole area. Take breaks to rest your eyes. Keep a positive attitude you just know that a deer is there your job is to find it.

[Condor]

I use a shemagh to cover my face and binos while glassing when the sun is at annoying angles, they are only 15 bucks and they literally have 100's of uses. You can make your own shade with them when you sit down to glass, you can prefilter water with it, keep the sun off your neck when walking, use as a bandage, etc. Also a good thing to tell yourself is that "there are deer on this hillside, I'm just not seeing them" that always keeps me intently glassing. Also when things slow down, lock your pan and tilt, take your hands off your panhead or pistol grip and look under every single tree, bush, or cactus in your field of view. And all the stuff coach said is exactly what you need to do, especially that last part.

 

Also when glassing the afternoons you have a better chance of putting on a stalk than during the evening glass because you have so much more time. Favor glassing points you can shoot from during the evening glass or try to glass just the closer stuff.

[game hntr]

I usually get on a hill 30 min before light... and stay on it untill dark. Glass all day long... they will be moving. If i don't glass anything. I will come the next day.. and the next and the next..... until i will see one it works... I don't get monster bucks but... it works. and yes.. I do walk at least 1 mile from any road...I have a bipod and my swaros 15-56 ... they sure do the job

[mitchel]

Employ and hire patients it is the best thing behind some good bino's. All this advice from everyone is priceless. Makes for a successful hunt.

[parrita58]

This is great 411 on this thread. You guys have really made readers think about what they are doing wrong and how to fix them when they are out there. Thanks a lot and yes I have always said patience and a good pair of binos is the key to find the hardest north America whitetail, "the grey ghost".

 

The best of luck To everyone this 2012 season,

Azcoues09

[kazpilot25]

I'm going to throw in my $0.02 on the topic. I used to be an awful glasser. I couldn't ever find squat. I took Duwane Adams glassing class and it really opened my eyes as to what to look for, and really just how to go about it. Ever since, I've started glassing up bedded deer, and overall finding a lot more game.

First, I will say you need quality glass, and you need to have your binos setup on a tripod. No tripod, no deer. Period.

In the AM you need to be glassing the south/southeast facing slopes. Get in position about 30-45 minutes before first light and be ready. Use a grid pattern and start glassing the hillsides. Once you find a deer, if it's not exactly what you're looking for, move on. You can always come back to it to see what it's doing and where it's going.

Once the sun is up and you can feel it starting to warm up, it's time to move. you need to get in a position you can glass the North/Northwest facing slopes. It's really a pain in the butt glassing the north facing slopes with the sun in your face. It's hot, it's difficult, and it's tedious. Remember though that that's where the deer are at that time of day. No doubt about it. Most hunters are unsuccessful because they're glassing areas where there are no deer (south facing slopes in the afternoon). This is because glassing the south facing slopes is easy. There's not much growth and it's just not difficult.

While glassing the north facing slopes, use the grid pattern and pick the hillside apart. Look in areas that would be hosting deer such as shadows, shade of trees, etc. Typically deer are not in the open once the sun is up. Think of it this way, God gave the deer a warm winter parka to keep them warm in temperatures into the negatives. If you were wearing a huge winter parka, would you want to be somewhere where the sun is directly hitting you? NO! Same with the deer.

Finally, the one thing that was really shocking to me when I first started located deer on the north facing slopes in the afternoon is this: From what I've seen, deer don't bed down for long periods of time, and not all deer are bedded down in the afternoon not moving. When glassing North facing slopes, I'd say the majority of deer I find are bedded down, then will get up and walk to the shade of the next tree, then bed down there for another 15 minutes, then get up and do it again. They'll just walk around in the shade of the trees throughout the day, randomly bedding down, munching on some grass, etc. The one constant I have found is that they are always in the shade. ALWAYS!

Finally, it's important that you have the correct angle at the shadows. Try to get straight on with the shadow, have them going from the treetops to directly toward you. As the sun moves throughout the day, adjust to the shadows. This will give you the best opportunity to find the deer in the shadows. Also, one thing I think a little differently than most is this; if you've picked apart a hillside for some time (say you've covered it 2-3 times) and found no deer, you probably won't find them if you try again. The binoculars don't lie. It's best to try a different angle at the same hillside to give you a different perspective, or simply move to a different hill.

I hope this helps give you a bit of a different perspective.

[Mattman215]

I have shot my last 2 deer bedded. A good tripod some binoculars and a spotter. Find shade get comfy and glass all day they are on every hillside if your in their home turf.