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codyhuntsaz

Glassing Direction

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Somebody clear this up for me… Here’s what I was taught… In the mornings for Coues deer glass the south and east facing slopes, so you would be looking north and west in the mornings. You hear people say and when listening to podcasts after about the first hour or so of light you should be glassing north facing and west facing slopes. I never quite understood the west facing slopes because it’s getting beaten on by the sun most of the rest of the day. Lately listening to the Jay Scott Outdoors podcast he says glass south and east slopes in the morning then after the first hour or so glass the north and east facing slopes the rest of the day. That makes more sense to me because the north and east will have the most shade. Recently he had Duane Adams on and I’ve heard him say before to glass the north and west facing slopes later in the day. I’ve also heard guys say that it’s good to always glass with the sun in your face… That would mean in the morning I would be glassing west facing slopes (contradictory)  and in the evening east facing slopes. What do you guys do?

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The last time I told some one what side of a hill to glass and when, an hour later we were skinning a buck on the wrong side of the hill. 

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Just watched a buck early this morning on South facing slope. About 1/2 hour later he moved to North side and then came back to south and bedded.

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Weve found deer everywhere all times of the day...never give up on any direction.  As soon as you think you've got them figured out they will surprise you.

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I agree with the South facing slopes and I think that is a good starting place but more and more I seem to see deer in the same places that have nothing to do with the sun position.  Food, water, vantage point, other deer, staying away from coyotes and people, among other things seem to be more important.  So sun position is a big factor but not the only one 

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8 minutes ago, rcdinaz said:

I agree with the South facing slopes and I think that is a good starting place but more and more I seem to see deer in the same places that have nothing to do with the sun position.  Food, water, vantage point, other deer, staying away from coyotes and people, among other things seem to be more important.  So sun position is a big factor but not the only one 

Yup. I'm by no means an expert but I've learned the hard way by trying to glass in the "right" places according to the sun only to have one standing right where the rule book says they won't be. Once I started putting these factors first and then using the sun finding deer began to make more sense. I start by looking for cover and escape routes and try to get a vantage point from there regardless of whether or not I have the sun at my back or in my face. The only exception to that is when it is colder than usual and it's early in the morning. In that case I'll try to find an area at least near good cover but focus on where the sun is shining.

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I had a Glassing lesson from Duwane, (highly recommend) and his main point was watch the slopes at sunrise that get the sun light. The are really easy to spot during that first hour since they contrast is higher.

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15 hours ago, codyhuntsaz said:

Somebody clear this up for me… Here’s what I was taught… In the mornings for Coues deer glass the south and east facing slopes, so you would be looking north and west in the mornings. You hear people say and when listening to podcasts after about the first hour or so of light you should be glassing north facing and west facing slopes. I never quite understood the west facing slopes because it’s getting beaten on by the sun most of the rest of the day. Lately listening to the Jay Scott Outdoors podcast he says glass south and east slopes in the morning then after the first hour or so glass the north and east facing slopes the rest of the day. That makes more sense to me because the north and east will have the most shade. Recently he had Duane Adams on and I’ve heard him say before to glass the north and west facing slopes later in the day. I’ve also heard guys say that it’s good to always glass with the sun in your face… That would mean in the morning I would be glassing west facing slopes (contradictory)  and in the evening east facing slopes. What do you guys do?

You have it correct, according to what Duwane suggests. Here's the pertinent info from our book, HOW TO HUNT COUES DEER:

 

COPYRIGHT BY TONY MANDILE & DUWANE ADAMS

HUNTING SKILLS
The three important skills for success are locating deer, getting within range and shooting prowess. Let’s start with the locating part. 

When Jack O’Connor hunted Coues deer during the 1920s and ‘30s, it was pretty much a still-hunting technique. A hunter would slowly move along the ridges and hopefully find a stationary buck within gun range. Much of the time, though, the hunter was shooting at spooked, running deer as they bounced through the trees or headed up the opposite ridge. That left little time to study a buck’s antlers, and it likely resulted in many misses and more than a few wounded bucks. 

Much has changed over the last few decades. Now, veteran Coues deer hunters spend more time looking through binoculars, and they see the deer before the deer sees them.  Duwane has honed his glassing skill into an art and often jokes about his method. "I spend so much time in the woods, I can get worn out covering several miles every day. Besides, most of my hunters would die if they had to climb up and down the hills all day. So for many years now, I’ve let my eyes do the walking and call it my “three B” method. The first two Bs represent my binoculars and backside. The last stands for the brains for figuring out how to use the first two,” he said.

If Duwane hasn’t hunted an area before, he likes to scout it prior to the season and locate several possible glassing spots overlooking prime whitetail hangouts. Sometimes those places will be small, isolated basins, and at other times it might be a mile-long canyon with a wide-sweeping panorama of a ridge.

Deer are easier to spot when they're moving early or late, but glassing is an excellent way to spot bedded bucks any time of day, as well. If you do find a bedded buck, the stalk is frequently easier than going after one that's feeding because the bedded deer normally stays in one place for while. 

One key aspect to good glassing is patience, according to Duwane. “Too many guys try to cover the terrain quickly and probably miss more deer than they see. Just slow down. Every time you move that tripod head, spend at least five to 10 minutes picking the new view apart. Thoroughly search under and behind every tree and investigate anything that remotely resembles a deer or a part of deer. Especially keep your eyes open for the sun glinting off an object; it could be horns or a deer’s back,” he said. 

Devising a consistent system is a good idea, too. If Duwane is glassing a ridge, he starts at the top and either at the right or left end. Once he completely checks his first view, he pans the tripod head just far enough to get a new view that slightly overlaps the area he had just looked at. He continues doing the same thing until he reaches the opposite end of the ridge from the one he started at. Then it’s time to vertically lower the binoculars a tad so the very top of the field of view overlaps the first horizontal zone by a bit. He then repeats the panning process across the length of the ridge. By making multiple horizontal passes, he eventually makes his way from top to the bottom. Then he does it again. 

Focus is another critical factor. Depending on the distance to the area you’re glassing and the power of your binoculars, you might have to refocus quite a bit to compensate for the slope angle as you move from the top to the bottom. This holds especially true with high-power binoculars and short distances. 

 Duwane suggests glassing slopes that face south, east and southeast early in the day, then switching to the north, west and northwest slopes later on. That way the sun isn’t shinning into your binoculars. Instead, the sunlight hits the area you’re glassing.

 Once you find a buck, it’s time to kill it. Occasionally, a shot is possible without moving from your glassing location. More than likely, though, you will have to get closer, perhaps within that range where you feel confident your shot will hit the target. This situation is one benefit of glassing deer at a distance. The hunter has the advantage because he has seen the deer first and not the other way around. Keeping that advantage should be the goal of your stalk. 

Whenever possible, stay out of the deer’s sight by using natural terrain features such as hills, arroyos and dense brush or trees. If you can’t stalk directly toward the deer, circle around and approach your quarry from the opposite side. This is a good option if your buck is near the top of a ridge that doesn’t have a lot of vegetation on it. If there are too many trees, though, an unobstructed downhill shot might be tough. 

 

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