Being a U.S. Marine, I often find myself in unfamiliar parts of the country during hunting or camping season, and therefore, I’m forced to think of alternate methods to quickly learn the lay of the land. I could spent countless hours scouting my perspective areas and disrupting possible deer patterns just a few days before season, or I could use free programs like Google Earth to find that perfect spot, while not disturbing any future hunting or camping areas prior to my arrival. But how does one go about scouting if not on foot? Simple, let Google Earth do the walking!

Have you ever scouted a perspective hunting or camping area on foot, only to realize that you didn’t really see or discover those hilltop pastures, clearings, or watering holes etc.? If course you have, it’s happened to us all. But with the advent of free programs like Google Earth, one doesn’t need to miss those “sweet spots” anymore. For example, in the below image from Google Earth, one can clearly see open fields, deep hollows (hollers), and watering holes, all of which may have been missed if scouting on foot in the surrounding woods. Armed with this new information, one can now plan the best areas to hunt or camp. But is there an easier way to get there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simply go to http://earth.google.com/le.com/ and download Google Earth to your computer.

Let’s face it folks, we humans are a lot like wildlife, in that we will take the easiest route if we know it’s there. Therefore, have you ever thought about the best way to enter your hunting or camping area? Look at the above image again and see if anything stands out? What about the road to the North? Or maybe even the one to the South? Look closer and you will see that the roads work their way into both the Northern and Southern fields, which then gives one the ability to attack in multiple directions, which means the entire area is accessible via pick-up, and if the road is too rough, an ATV (my preferred method), or on foot. Multiple clearings, multiple watering-holes, and multiple areas for cover, sure seems like a sweet spot to me. And to think it may have been missed if scouting on foot alone.

Armed with this new knowledge and information of one’s possible hunting or camping area, one can now better plan for a successful hunting or camping trip. All one needs to do now is simply print their Google Earth Image and mark the best possible area for their hunting or camping locations, to include tree stands, hunting gear and blinds, etc. It should now be clear that by utilizing Google Earth, one can increase their odds of finding those “sweet spots”, and maybe even that big buck. Hmmm, I wonder if the fishing is any good in those watering-holes.

Note- If you don’t own the land, by a responsible and respectable outdoorsman and first ask the owner for permission to enter.