SET YOURSELF UP FOR BIG GAME SUCCESS

“Moral of my story is get out to your hunting grounds early. Stay all day and put in the time and work. Pack plenty of water, take a lunch and delicious snacks,” counsels Dave Anderson, here glassing from a comfortable position. (DAVE ANDERSON)

Set Yourself Up For Success

With fall seasons right around the corner, here’s how a former guide prepares to hunt big game and the all-day strategy he follows.

By Dave Anderson

Hunting season is just around the corner, so now is the time to really start thinking about things you can do to not only prepare but also set yourself apart from others to succeed at notching tags this upcoming season.

Hunting camp means something different to each of us. As much as I dearly love the camaraderie with family and friends, in addition to the good food, my focus and what consumes my mind is notching a tag and being successful on a hunt. My ultimate goal is to fill my tag so I can provide my family with the cleanest protein available.

I have a busy life that seems to get busier every year, so having months to scout and check out new areas gets tougher. I have gone blindly into a hunting unit and still found success. It is our job to be a detective and find the clues that will end up with a deer or elk in our crosshairs or bow sight.

THERE ARE MANY tools that we can utilize to help us to be successful, especially when we have limited time to scout. We are so lucky these days to have Google Earth, onX maps, Basemap and Gohunt to look at new areas. These tools allow you to get a feel for the landscape, terrain, forest cover or lack thereof and land ownershp, among other elements, without having boots on the ground.

Focus on seeing parts of deer or elk, as it’s less likely you’ll see an entire animal, at least in areas with thicker cover. The dark eye and nose and light gray throat patch on this mule deer gave it away to the editor during a 2019 hunt. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

I personally love onX maps and use it as my main hunting app on my phone. My favorite part is that it shows you lines and game management units, as well as public access and landowner names. This is huge. There are so many chunks of public land that people pass up since they are not clearly marked, so having apps like onX is great not only for checking out new areas, but even when you are out hiking around and trying to decipher public versus private land. It lets you know for sure that you are on a public parcel, whether that be Forest Service, BLM or state.

AS MUCH AS I love to stay up late and have a great time with my family and friends, I try to get to bed early during my hunts. Sleep is a premium when you are out hiking all day. That’s right, I said all day. Very seldom will you see my truck back in camp during the day.

My alarm clock goes off early, sometimes as early as 3:30 a.m. Most of the time I will be one of the first trucks to pull out of camp. I want to be in the area that I plan to hunt early. Sometimes I may just sit in the truck and enjoy my coffee, but more times than not I strap on a headlamp and start hiking in the dark.

IT IS CRUCIAL to get to a good vantage point where you can utilize your

most important tool – optics. When it comes to binoculars, I carry a Leupold Santiam BX5 in 10x42. Sometimes I’ll carry my spotting scope and sometimes I don’t. It all depends on how much weight I want to carry or if I think the spotter will be beneficial. Being at a decent vantage point at first light is a huge advantage. You can pick up movement and find something to make a move on quickly.

Staying put for an hour after first light is not a bad move, especially if you are hunting in a high-pressure area. You will often see game busted out by other hunters. You can use other hunters in an area to act like a bird dog.

Another tip is to move in small distances and glass 5 feet one way or the other. Each time you move you get a different vantage point. You are searching in a grid pattern. The smallest thing can give away an animal. Look for ears, antlers, eyes, hide, light butt patch or any small movement. AFTER I GET what I want out of an area, I am on the move, always conscious of my wind. You will always see a wind puffer in my bino harness. Just as with tuna fishing, when the wind is in your face, you are in the right place. I will work dark timber, where deer or elk bed midday.

One of the best things you can do is take a step and glass; do this at turtle speed. Remember to be conscious of where your feet are landing, walk on the outsides of your feet and stay as quiet as a church mouse. Each time you take a step glass the entire area ahead of you and out to the sides. You would be amazed at how many times you will walk up on an animal laying in its bed not having a clue you are there. When I used to guide in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, my clients would think I was nuts taking my sweet time and glassing so much. Of course, that was until we had a deer or elk on the ground. ANOTHER TIP TO be successful – hunt all day! I cannot tell you how many times we have taken game at 1 in the afternoon. My wife shot her mule deer last year at 1:30 p.m.

My good friend thought I was joking when he asked what my plan was for the afternoon. I let him know we were taking care of Kristina’s buck and I would see him at camp. He replied with a “Laugh out Loud – Whatever!” The look on his face was priceless when I dropped the tailgate of the truck.

And don’t be afraid to go back to an area you harvested an animal the day before. The group of deer my wife got her buck with had a couple other legal bucks. I told my buddy to get there early the next morning and walk up the ridge in the dark. Sure enough, I got a text an hour after shooting light that he had a buck down!

Moral of my story is get out to your hunting grounds early. Stay all

While many hunters are back in camp for the day by noon, staying out or even heading back afield well before last light can pay dividends. Kristina Anderson, the author’s wife, harvested this nice buck in early afternoon last season. (DAVE ANDERSON)

day and put in the time and work. Pack plenty of water, take a lunch and delicious snacks. Oh, and do not be afraid to take a midday snooze. Mountain naps are the absolute best, and it is always good to recharge those batteries.

More deer and elk have been shot on the mountain than back in camp. There is a bit of luck involved with all this stuff, but these small details have helped me be successful in notching quite a few tags.

I can also tell you that there is almost always a reward when hard work is involved. Get in the steep and nasty, but be mindful of your fitness level, as you can easily get yourself into trouble if you get into a situation that you are not prepared to get out of, especially if you have a 200-pluspound animal on the ground.

Best of luck to you all this upcoming season. I am chomping at the bit to get out there and put some boots on the ground! NS