If you were to recommend the tips for choosing the perfect spot for hunting, what would make your list? Let’s see ours below.
Finding the perfect hunting spot is as elusive as the game you’re trying to hunt. No one wanders to a random spot and lies waiting for any hapless animal that will walk into his trap.
There are rules guiding the hunting area regardless of how wild and random it looks. Only proper planning will get you the best spot to take down your prey.
Follow the tips below to up your hunting game.
10 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Spot for Hunting
Start Your Scoping Early
Scoping is basically scouting, and you should start it early. For example, if you’re planning to hunt when it’s fall, you should start scoping in early March. At this time, the spring foliage is yet to fully bloom, and the woods are already looking like they would when it’s fall. You are also given a chance to see animal signs from the previous fall, such as scats, tracks, and beddings.
Scoping early allows you to predict the movements of games as the season changes. You have a more precise idea of where you can find the games you’re hunting. Starting early will give you enough time to plan and prepare.
Practice E-scouting
E-scouting uses virtual tools like GPS and Google Earth to have an overview of where you’re hunting. It’s highly recommended to possess general knowledge of where you’re hunting.
E-scouting offers you a realistic survey of the area. They are more helpful than maps, no doubt, as they provide images and a lot of information. Surely, you can’t compare crude maps to satellite feeds.
By using any of these online tools, you can pinpoint where to find food, water, potential covers, and accessibility options before getting to the area. These tools will also enable you to narrow your search according to what you want.
Look Out for Animal Signs
The major reason you’re scouting an area is to figure out the animal presence in the area. Putting your boots on the ground comes after the initial scoping and e-scouting. Signs to look for include feces, tracks, rub lines, bedding sites, and beaten-down trails.
Remember that the freshness of a sign hints at how close you are to your game. The fresher the tracks, the closer your prize. However, this requires putting your detective skills to good use. It isn’t an easy job, so don’t get your hopes unnecessarily high. Always look out for water bodies; they are the best spots to check for animals in the wild. Animals always come for a drink.
Avoid Toxic Plants
Toxic plants can harm you if you contact them, or God forbid, eat them. Do away with poison oak, poison ivy, nettles, and thorny bushes.
Remember that you have to check for these plants before setting up your blind or camp. You have to be able to get in and out of your settlement with the least noise possible. Having thorny bushes in your way will prevent that.
Consider the Direction of the Wind
The predominant direction of the wind of the area is very important. Staying against the wind will blow your scent miles away, and trust animals to pick up how you smell. You’ve already lost a game without even knowing if the wind informs it of your scent before you get there.
Consider Shooting Lines
Whatever your weapon is, whether a rifle or a bow and arrow, you should have an unhindered line of sight in every direction. A good place to pick for shooting lanes is an area with few leaves and branches. The spot should be about 6-7 feet above the ground.
Always Choose Minimum Impact
Do your best to select a spot that requires the littlest effort possible. You don’t have to remove plenty of branches and vegetation to find the perfect spot, unless there’s no other spot. Try as best as you can to preserve the typical (natural) look of the area you’re settling for.
Animals will not fall into a trap set up in an unnatural-looking spot. Leave the vegetation and branches. In fact, they can help you camouflage properly from games.
Consider Personal Comfort and Your Gear
When making a choice, you want a place that allows you enough comfort because hunting requires a lot of patience and waiting. Waiting involves a lot of kneeling, sitting, and standing, and it’s best that you can do all these with convenience. An uptight spot will not do you a lot of good.
Also, you have to choose a spot that will let you set up your equipment. After all, you are not hunting with your bare hands.
Set Up Blind Two Weeks Ahead
Closely related to making a minimum impact, setting up your hunting blind weeks ahead will make animals accustomed to it, and they’d even become comfortable in its presence. The longer animals have to adjust to your setup site, the freer they become around it, making hunting easier for you.
This will ensure that the spot you’ve selected is made perfect
Select a Safe Spot
Your safety has to be a priority throughout your time in the woods. It is by no means an easy sport anyway. Avoid spots with dangers that you can’t cope with.
Rolling boulders and stones are a common cause of death to hunters lying in wait for games. Falling tree branches can be disastrous too. Also, do not set up your blind in a spot where there are animals you can’t engage.
You can’t hunt lions with the gear you’d use for deer. I advise a loaded gun at all times. That gives you an advantage over them all.
Concluding the Tips for Choosing the Perfect Spot for Hunting
Hunting requires practice. It is not a sport you just become an expert at. You must repeatedly practice alongside keeping to the abovementioned tips for choosing the perfect spot for hunting. You should start at the simplest sites and with other hunters. Don’t throw yourself right in the thick of the battle as an amateur.