Wanting to get Good at Glassing

[Becker]

I don't have to "warm up"!!!! Always good right outta the gate. When you're good you're good. Bwahahahaha. JK. Couldn't resist

[Wrk2Hnt]

As some guys stated........sometimes they aren't in the best looking spot. I grew up glassing and still have days I can't find a thing. Some days you look so hard you start imagining deer in the thick stuff that turns out to be a cactus that looked like the edge of a deers ear. First I pick apart what looks the best. Thick cuts on the shade line, depressions that have just a little more shade etc. I always glass the shady spots before anywhere the sun is touching. What seems to hold true every time is most animals I find are on the bottom 1/3 of the hill no matter what time of year and how cold it is (I hunt the desert mostly). But when I'm glassing I'm looking for parts of animals and not the whole thing. Once you are use to looking for bits a pieces of critters the ones in plain sight just jump out at you. Obviously good glass helps, but my first few years I had a $40 pair of Bushnell binoculars that now seem to have tinted lenses and muddy glass. On a sturdy tripod I still found a lot of critters. Even now I still like to get out places close to home that I'm not putting in for just to glass and keep at it. Some days you look extra hard and see nothing then find a covey at quail 1000yds away and realize if there was a deer or pig around those hills you would have seen it. Just keep at it and glass. When you do find what you are looking for its more fun sometimes to just sit and watch what they do and learn more about them without a tag in hand.

[Wrk2Hnt]

Forgot to mention....... same as a few other guys.......glass all day. Sometimes you will catch a deer/ pig/ elk.....right as he is getting up to move 2ft to the other side of a bush. Sometimes they get up and feed for a few minutes. All day is a great time to glass. There is also a lot of stuff you can't see that might put then just barely out of sight laying but in the open standing........you just have to look at it and say "if I where an animal what path would I take?". For the most part they don't just wander the hills. They have certain paths they take 90% of the time.

[n2horns]

Duane Adams has glassing sessions. Not sure if he still does them.

[MuggyMan]

Thanks everyone for the responses and all the great information. Maximus, I found the older thread on glassing and the post by Coach. Definitely good stuff. Thanks. Adam, I will try giving you a call, thanks. Becker, thanks for the feedback. I also have some friends I hunt with. Adrian is young and he sat with me for 7 hours glassing from one spot while scouting, so he is game for whatever I throw at him. Allen, on the other hand, doesn't like/doesn't have a lot of patience for sitting for more than an hour or two in one spot to glass. Anyone have hunting partners like this? How do you hunt together?

[azshtr]

Thanks everyone for the responses and all the great information. Maximus, I found the older thread on glassing and the post by Coach. Definitely good stuff. Thanks. Adam, I will try giving you a call, thanks. Becker, thanks for the feedback. I also have some friends I hunt with. Adrian is young and he sat with me for 7 hours glassing from one spot while scouting, so he is game for whatever I throw at him. Allen, on the other hand, doesn't like/doesn't have a lot of patience for sitting for more than an hour or two in one spot to glass. Anyone have hunting partners like this? How do you hunt together?

Radios with ear plugs work great. If partner wants to wander across the ridge to glass it actually helps. Being able to chat and keep tabs is awesome. Having eyes on a buck you are working and can guide you is priceless. IMHO.

[Whitesheep]

Great thread. One thing not mentioned that helps me slow down when glassing is to silently name objects in the grid I am currently looking at. For example when holding on a grid section I scan that section with my eyes holding the optic still and internally identify each rock, plant type, bird species, bug, etc. This requires that I stop to think and this slows me down. Once everything in that grid is named I move to the next grid. It can take a long time to cover a hillside this way and I often do it several times. When I finally silently say "pig," "deer," "bear," it really wakes me up. Before I start this slow grid approach, usually with a spotting scope, I grid scan the entire hillside or clearing I can see with binoculars so I don't miss something obvious right off.

 

Even with this method I can go days or entire hunts not seeing any game, or if I do it is of the wrong type. So, as they say just keep at it. The best hunters are the ones who hunt longest.

[PelaPapas]

Thanks everyone for the responses and all the great information. Maximus, I found the older thread on glassing and the post by Coach. Definitely good stuff. Thanks. Adam, I will try giving you a call, thanks. Becker, thanks for the feedback. I also have some friends I hunt with. Adrian is young and he sat with me for 7 hours glassing from one spot while scouting, so he is game for whatever I throw at him. Allen, on the other hand, doesn't like/doesn't have a lot of patience for sitting for more than an hour or two in one spot to glass. Anyone have hunting partners like this? How do you hunt together?

 

Hahaha I know what you are talking about. Have had some people that have hunted with me in the past and seems like they get tired of glassing after 30min-1hr. Which is fine with me. We have a rule when heading out in a group... "You spot it, you shot it". So if they don't want to glass, their gonna miss out.

[johnnie blaze]

Just pretend you're trying to find Waldo

[OpticNerd]

Some great info here guys. Out of all the tips and info posted if all you did was what Pine Donkey and Becker said over time you'd become a better glasser. Pretty sure this has been said already but I feel it should be said again and that is just because you don't see deer doesn't mean they are not there. I feel this is very important to remember when glassing and it helps keep you in a positive state of mind. For me staying mentally positive is almost as important as my optics and glassing technique. I try to remind myself the more I'm looking through the glass the greater my chances are that I'll find deer.

[azshtr]

Some great info here guys. Out of all the tips and info posted if all you did was what Pine Donkey and Becker said over time you'd become a better glasser. Pretty sure this has been said already but I feel it should be said again and that is just because you don't see deer doesn't mean they are not there. I feel this is very important to remember when glassing and it helps keep you in a positive state of mind. For me staying mentally positive is almost as important as my optics and glassing technique. I try to remind myself the more I'm looking through the glass the greater my chances are that I'll find deer.

 

X2. If your in good country with sign, they are most likely there. Every time I finally take a long walk through the country I just glassed I am amazed at the cuts, deep washes and ravines out of visual range from where I was glassing. It takes persistence, timing and luck. However the harder you try the luckier you get.