Glassing the flats?

[ruthunter]

No greater challenge than glassing and hunting the flats of the sonoran desert. Best way to do this is to have a friend you can trust and or family member that knows how to guide you in on an animal once you find him. Getting as high as you possibly can is the key and radios are almost a must.

[CouesKilla]

Glassing the flats and actually hunting them is 2 different things. Pretty tough to do by yourself but there are a few guys that do and can actually get it done. You have to get high enough to actually see into the country. The back of a truck even on a ladder isn't nearly high enough. There are so few deer per square mile in the desert flats that it would be pure luck to stumble onto them in a truck. To effectively do it you need at least two guys with hand signals or radios and a good range finder. All that desert looks the same but there are areas the deer like better than others. And... All animals need water.

I have tried this a few times when I have spotted big deer in the flats from a higher glassing point. Even with a guide and radio it is tough. I more often then not get in on the deer before I realize it. Classic case of moving too fast. I try to creep about 20 yards at a time, stop and glass through the limbs looking for leg movement for 10 minutes and repeat. In the brushy flats they can walk by you at 100 yards and you wont even see them. I have learned to use a orange hat when I do have someone guiding me in. You are being so sneaky and the guide often looses your position. I do believe that is where the big ones live though. Little hunting pressure and they can run there a$$ off when spooked. At the end of the day sitting at trails into water is the best bet if you have the patience.

[azslim]

a wind checker puff bottle works good, if you are the spotter have the hunter do a wind check and you can see the puff of powder, also helps you walking the hunter in because the wind where you are may be different than where the hunter is

[longbowpilot]

Glassing the flats and actually hunting them is 2 different things. Pretty tough to do by yourself but there are a few guys that do and can actually get it done. You have to get high enough to actually see into the country. The back of a truck even on a ladder isn't nearly high enough. There are so few deer per square mile in the desert flats that it would be pure luck to stumble onto them in a truck. To effectively do it you need at least two guys with hand signals or radios and a good range finder. All that desert looks the same but there are areas the deer like better than others. And... All animals need water.

I have tried this a few times when I have spotted big deer in the flats from a higher glassing point. Even with a guide and radio it is tough. I more often then not get in on the deer before I realize it. Classic case of moving too fast. I try to creep about 20 yards at a time, stop and glass through the limbs looking for leg movement for 10 minutes and repeat. In the brushy flats they can walk by you at 100 yards and you wont even see them. I have learned to use a orange hat when I do have someone guiding me in. You are being so sneaky and the guide often looses your position. I do believe that is where the big ones live though. Little hunting pressure and they can run there a$$ off when spooked. At the end of the day sitting at trails into water is the best bet if you have the patience.

 

 

I will most likely be hunting on my own most the time. Its looking like sitting in a blind on some water will be my best chance like you said. Especially with a bow. Thanks for all the input everybody. I've done plenty of stand hunting growing up in Virginia, still trying to learn western style hunting.

[creed]

Some of these guys, AzSlim, ruthunter, donniedent know what they are talking about. They are all pretty fair desert mule deer hunters. They have been there. I would add this........If you are hunting alone the flats will drive you nuts. I would suggest finding rolling hill country with a good permanent water source. I hunt alone more often than not and unless I have a partner don't spend much time hunting flats.

[donniedent]

the desert and the deer that live there will get in your blood. Its probably not a hunt your going to tag out on every year especially with archery equipment but you will fall in love with it. I hunted coues deer this year and while it was a blast, Jan archery muley is still my favorite hunt. There a fairly small group of guys that hunt those deer year in and year out and I've never met better people. Either that or that's just where all the booby hatch rejects like to hang out. I are one for sure. You might get some advice on places to go but I would strongly suggest striking out on your own and going with your gut. 99% of the spots guys will point you to are hunted to death. Be a pathfinder and you will find little honey holes people drive past. Good luck to you on your new adventure and keep us posted. Theres a wealth of knowledge to be found in the heads of a few of the guys that have posted and you might pick up a tid bit or 2.

[Elkhunter1]

One technique not mentioned is one that I have used with my brothers with good success. If there has been a good all nite rain then hit the flats, walk a grid pattern about 50 yards apart until you cross fresh tracks. Follow them slowly until you glass him up, then the game is on!!

[billrquimby]

Glassing is a great way to hunt deer, but there are lots of places where there is no place to glass from. Virtually flat country with thick mesquite and palo verde "forests" around the Papago Reservation and the long, brush-filled washes near Florence and the flat greasewood country north of the Santa Rita Experimental Range come to mind. Many such places are where big bucks hang out. and the only way to hunt them is to walk slowly, stop often, and study every shadow, every bush, and every thing that "doesn't belong" there.

 

Bill Quimby