# da glassin practice



## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

Had to fight autocorrect for dat subject line!

My first two spot and stalk hunts I practiced a fair amount on the rifle range in case I couldn't get close. Hit the gym. Practiced backpacking in the cold and rain to get used to keeping warm and dry with my gear. All was right and good.

But...I never touched my bino before the trip. Now there's got to be a reason hunting guides are famous for their uncanny spotting ability and at least some of the reason is practice. 

This year I'm looking up videos on glassing. Got some practice in demo testing my new binos and got out again yesterday. Using waterways to get distance.

So what are we all doing for practice? Where? Any tips for glassing success since this is pretty much the key to finding game in a good area?


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Adjust binos per manufacturer instructions first../ (fit them to your eyes condition).
A steady rest /position is next.
Practice helps , but eye fatigue varies with multiple conditions and quality of binos.

I don't locate game with binos. I confirm game and evaluate.
If glassing long range I'd rather a spotting scope. On a tripod.

A good guides success is often the result of extended experience.
Maybe I /you could spot game as well too, with experience....But I'd be passing time glassing more likely , while the guide does their thing.


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

shaffe48b said:


> Had to fight autocorrect for dat subject line!
> 
> My first two spot and stalk hunts I practiced a fair amount on the rifle range in case I couldn't get close. Hit the gym. Practiced backpacking in the cold and rain to get used to keeping warm and dry with my gear. All was right and good.
> 
> ...


What hunt are you planning for?

Starting in July I like to drive the back roads for the last hour or two of light, and glass any deer I see. A lot of times I am hunting solo so it is important to practice taking my binos off of the tripod quickly and refinding the deer with my spotter. This is really easy to do glassing a field, but by yourself in the mountains it can get tricky relocating the animal after switching to the spotter. I also almost always have my binos on my chest while doing anything outside. It becomes more natural to quickly raise, focus, and identify whatever your looking at.


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

I have never seen a guide without top quality glass. FM


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

I'm hunting black bear in the spring on low hillsides. Hills are thick with brush and the game hard to spot.

Obviously I'll never top a guide who is out there all the time in the same terrain with the same game. They can probably spot with a naked eye what we would struggle to get with binos. But going diy there's a huge benefit to getting better. I was probably underprepared in this area in years past.


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## anagranite (Oct 23, 2010)

I glass a ton when I'm out west, to the extent that my eye will be sore from touching the binoculars. 

Start with "hot spots" or anything you think might be an animal. Then break the area down into a grid. Search each quadrant but do a once over before you move. 

I have leupold binos 8x40 (bowhunting thick cover) 10x50 (everything) and 15x56 (open country out west). I just bought a spotting scope this year. I had one before but it was just another piece of equipment to carry. I found that I didn't use it enough to justify carrying extra weight. The reason I bought another one is because I tend to find high ground and not move around as much as i did when i was younger, plus it was 60% off at Gander Outdoors.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

One thing I struggle to replicate is the hillsides so it is hard to practice the verticle scanning. It is easiest to move the tripod legs in but this leads to less stability in the
wind. I will most likely be in a river bottom glassing up onto a foothill. This is bad putting me at lower elevation but I may or may not be able to get elevation on the other side of the river valley without moving over a mile out.

I have a 9x45 bino and while everything is relative I would say within 1000 yards it's suitable for picking up parts of animals and small movements in the brush. Past that you are looking for big black splotches and whole critters. Even handholding my old binos I spotted a bear in the open 1.5 miles across a valley.

I have a 15-30 compact gold ring spotter I will probably bring if I still feel it's worth it in May. On my ultra light tripod it is useless in wind due to the magnification shakes.


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## 7mmsendero (Dec 2, 2010)

Double check your focus every time you go out. 

I’m not sure how much practice helps. Experience is kind of a big deal, guides have it and they better the ground your paying them to hunt on. They probably know where to look too, they’ve been there. 

On spotted a lot with binoculars on hunts, all DIY. I would glass for a few seconds, then look up. Didn’t want to miss the big picture. Saw lots of game doing that, including the antlers of a bedded 5x5 back in 2005. Thought it was a tree, but after 3 days of glassing the same mountain it didn’t seem right. I kept going back to it over the next hour and the damn thing moved. 2 hours later I got him in his bed.


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## alaska86 (Sep 29, 2010)

As Forest Meister said, quality glass to look through. You should be able to glass all day without eye strain once you have them adjusted properly. Then use a spotting scope for a better look. No sense in walking all over the country for a better look at something if you don’t need to. You’ll just stink up the turf.


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## kracker (Jan 25, 2013)

When using your bino's, grab the bill of your hat with your fingers and pin your bino's to it. This will help to stabilize your bino's and help with eye fatigue.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

alaska86 said:


> No sense in walking all over the country for a better look at something if you don’t need to. You’ll just stink up the turf.


That's an issue I struggle to get a good read on. In the lower 48 hunters regularly walk around bear areas looking for sign to hunt. In alaska this appears to be considered by some as no go especially for browns but blacks as well.

One thing that ticked me off last time is the pilot dropped me off 500 yards straight upwind from where we saw the bears. Then a river wasnt wadable so I was only able to camp 1000 yards away with valley thermals taking my camp scent up in down. In the end I shot a bear right where I had belly crawled up a creek bank. Guess they just got used to my stink.

This time I will likely bring a small raft to camp on the opposite side of the river from my hunting area...


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

shaffe48b said:


> That's an issue I struggle to get a good read on. In the lower 48 hunters regularly walk around bear areas looking for sign to hunt. In alaska this appears to be considered by some as no go especially for browns but blacks as well.
> 
> One thing that ticked me off last time is the pilot dropped me off 500 yards straight upwind from where we saw the bears. Then a river wasnt wadable so I was only able to camp 1000 yards away with valley thermals taking my camp scent up in down. In the end I shot a bear right where I had belly crawled up a creek bank. Guess they just got used to my stink.
> 
> This time I will likely bring a small raft to camp on the opposite side of the river from my hunting area...


Post what raft you buy and how you like it. I’m going to buy the klymit lite water because of the price.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

steelyspeed said:


> Post what raft you buy and how you like it. I’m going to buy the klymit lite water because of the price.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


 exactly what I'm considering. The rivers im crossing are only 40 yards or less wide and not many rocks if similar to what I saw before. So low weight is good doesnt have to be a white water rafter.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

I have kokopelli packraft. You can pick a rouge for about 500 bucks. I have a nirvanna that paid under 600 for. Worked great in North West Alaska and plan on taking it to Kuiu island if I get drawn


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

I'd suggest hiking and bird watching while you are getting in shape. These trails are near A2 and are pretty good as long as you watch for the mountain bikers.
http://www.michigandnr.com/Publications/PDFS/RecreationCamping/Pinckney_BikingHiking_trails.pdf

http://www.michigandnr.com/Publicat...mping/Waterloo_Pinckney_Trail_MapPinckney.pdf

Good luck out there!


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

brushbuster said:


> I have kokopelli packraft. You can pick a rouge for about 500 bucks. I have a nirvanna that paid under 600 for. Worked great in North West Alaska and plan on taking it to Kuiu island if I get drawn


Hah. Yeah I'm not going down river on the klymit. Just crossing a 30-40 yard river and im sure getting swept 100 yards down river while Im at it. Ill have to put my raft in my list of things to practice with and test.


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## alaska86 (Sep 29, 2010)

In Alaska, finding a place to land can change day by day if landing near a river. And when hunting an area along a river, it’s a good idea to put a stick in the ground at the waters edge so you can keep track of the water level. Maybe try to find a spot out of the wind while glassing to help with the movement of your spotting scope, unless theirs a bug problem. 
While glassing across a valley or river, the wind could be blowing in different directions between where you are and where the bear is. Try to check out the vegetation for direction of wind movement at different distances through your binoculars or spotting scope to help you come up with a game plan prior to committing yourself on a stalk.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

Alaska86, the funnest part of my campsite last time is based on the map it was in the middle of the river. One of the reasons I want other options with a raft this time to get to safer ground. 

The next time I might ask the pilot the wisdom to go to 500-1000 ft higher elevation. I know at least one of his spots is. The alders were greened out last time which is why I had a hard time seeing anything. Maybe if I was higher where it was just starting to green up it would be better for visibility.


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## alaska86 (Sep 29, 2010)

That could cause a person to scratch their head. Another thing to consider is making sure you can safely cross the river with a load. I used to work with a guy that went down to southeast Alaska ( from the Fairbanks area ) with a couple of his buddies on a brown bear hunt. They were camped just off a river, but didn’t have a boat. They were lounging around camp one morning and noticed a good sized boar across the river. He shot it thinking he could some how cross it by tying some air mattresses together and retrieve it. Well, his plan didn’t work. What a waste !!


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

I will have to test the raft if I get it. Claims it holds 350 lbs. But im prepared to ferry it over one quarter at a time. Or just bring a little heavier raft.


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

brushbuster said:


> South east Alaska is primarily draw hunt areas for black bear. I don't think there is any over the counter tags for south east except where areas are under draw quotas. They have a term for that but can't think of it at the moment.


Registration hunt?


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

Oh got it. Yeah that's my problem exactly getting applied 18 mo ahead for a spring hubt and wondering if I really want to go to se anyways or to pin myself down that far out.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

shaffe48b said:


> Oh got it. Yeah that's my problem exactly getting applied 18 mo ahead for a spring hubt and wondering if I really want to go to se anyways or to pin myself down that far out.


The Kuiu hunt starts this fall and end ends next June. Pow is a little different. So if I draw I could hunt this fall, but I'll hunt in the spring.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

brushbuster said:


> The Kuiu hunt starts this fall and end ends next June. Pow is a little different. So if I draw I could hunt this fall, but I'll hunt in the spring.


I swear I saw somewhere the hunts are separate for pow.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

steelyspeed said:


> Registration hunt?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


Under subscribed draw hunts. Basically a draw hunt that didn't meet it's quota, you purchase remaining permits over the counter until quota is met. Only one per customer.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

shaffe48b said:


> I swear I saw somewhere the hunts are separate for pow.


They are. That's why I say pow is different than Kuiu. Pow is unit 2 and Kuiu is unit 3 Kuiu. Kupreonoff is also in unit 3 but that is a different hunt number than Kuiu. Pow hunt numbers are different depending on fall or spring hunt. Kuiu only has one hunt number. It's sounds confusing but if you look at the permit supplement page on the fish and game website you will see the different hunt numbers assigned to each unit.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

brushbuster said:


> Under subscribed draw hunts. Basically a draw hunt that didn't meet it's quota, you purchase remaining permits over the counter until quota is met. Only one per customer.


There is a couple of those but, generally those areas have lower densities and access and logistics isn't favorable


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Kupreonoff island in unit 3 has a higher draw success. It also has a higher number of permits available,but also gets more pressure because of easier access.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Kupreonoff also has a brown bear population, where POW and Kuiu is only inhabited by black bears


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

I just want a chance at a big coastal blackie using spot and stalk methods


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Draw results are in. Im going to kuiu. SWEET


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## anagranite (Oct 23, 2010)

brushbuster said:


> Draw results are in. Im going to kuiu. SWEET


Congrats, I hope you have a fun and successful hunt.


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