Hunting Forum

I just got the Tremble Outdoors Navigator (Pro) for Android, and am downloading the last set of maps (I think)
for the areas I expect to be hunting on the Eglin AFB public land.  (Btw, if you want to use your Android, or that
other one, for GPS and maps, the Tremble app is really nice---I found out about it in the Deals and Discounts
pages:  page 6 of 6, next to last entry at this time.  The pro version is $4.99, and for what this thing offers, I
was happy---even on my budget---to pay it.)

Ok, so here's my question:  how do I USE these maps for hunting deer (and hogs, turkeys, etc.)?  What am
I looking for?

Thanks,
   --jim

The question is a lot easier to ask than to answer. This is a fair write up on how to read topos.

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/...ic-map.htm

Posted By Steve on 20 Sep 2012 08:40 PM
The question is a lot easier to ask than to answer. This is a fair write up on how to read topos.

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/...ic-map.htm

That was definitely helpful as far as reading the map, but what I was really looking for is what indicators show that
an area is more likely to have deer, hogs, and/or turkeys moving through an area.  I know to look for watering holes,
etc., but what else?  I know to look for choke points, but what around those choke points make them more likely for
deer (etc.) to move through them?

Thanks,
   --jim

That kind of info isn't on the maps. That's where scouting comes in. The topos only give you a clue as to the land layout, they you have to put time in to see what's actually going on there.

Posted By Steve on 20 Sep 2012 09:17 PM
That kind of info isn't on the maps. That's where scouting comes in. The topos only give you a clue as to the land layout, they you have to put time in to see what's actually going on there.

Ah, ok.  I was under the impression that they gave some hints as to where the best spots are for recon outings.
Never mind, then.  :-)

Thanks,
   --jim

If they do, I don't know about 'em Jim. ;-)

Posted By Steve on 20 Sep 2012 09:32 PM
If they do, I don't know about 'em Jim. ;-)

Much to my surprise, I found a number of links on Google.  I just finished reading this one: 
http://bowsite.com/bowsite/features...ter/topos/   and am moving on to the next one
(http://huntingdeerguide.com/hunting-deer-guide/topographic-maps/).  I figured this would not be a
typical Google type topic, though I'm not sure WHY I thought that.....

Later,
    --jim

I take it you're looking for that marker on topo maps that says "hunt here". Well it's not there. Your closest bet would be to study the contour lines to look for steep slopes and passes to meadows and fields. Look for bordering tree lines. And get out and scout the area you intend to hunt.

Posted By grandpops on 21 Sep 2012 05:17 AM
I take it you're looking for that marker on topo maps that says "hunt here". Well it's not there. Your closest bet would be to study the contour lines to look for steep slopes and passes to meadows and fields. Look for bordering tree lines. And get out and scout the area you intend to hunt.

Right.  That's exactly what I was asking about.   And no, it obviously doesn't say "hunt here" ... but it DOES say
"definitely LOOK here."  I knew that much...and I've already had plans for the last month, once I'm able to get my
permit for the Eglin public land (on the 25th), to be out gathering intelligence on areas where the deer are (and don't
appear to be) moving, checking as many areas as I can, going out a LOT between then and late November when
the gun season opens for a couple of days (then re-opens in mid-December through late January).   (Oh, and in
doing so, I'll be determining which areas I intend to hunt, not the other way around.)

I was also asking if there are similar hints as to where hogs (and maybe even turkeys) might be.

Thanks,
   --jim

Old Indian say, "Hawgs and Turkl Burds are where you find them"

I was going to give you a primer on Orienteering but looks like you got that part figured out. I been using a compass and hard copy topo maps for 50 years....still don't have a GPS but I got maps....and a compass! Have been bewildered a couplethree times but not lost....knew what State I was in and what mountain I was on!!!!

Posted By TOM IN TENNESSEE on 21 Sep 2012 01:48 PM
Old Indian say, "Hawgs and Turkl Burds are where you find them"

I was going to give you a primer on Orienteering but looks like you got that part figured out. I been using a compass and hard copy topo maps for 50 years....still don't have a GPS but I got maps....and a compass! Have been bewildered a couplethree times but not lost....knew what State I was in and what mountain I was on!!!!

I don't know ... I think I could still use that primer!  :-)   Seriously....  Prime away....  :-)

Thanks,
   --jim

Not being a wisenhimer but if you can find a map reading course around you somewhere that would help. Topos in conjunction with a good compass and a little knowledge are worth their weight in gold. I do use my GPS and carry extra batteries, but I always check my topo and compass periodically as well just 'cause I trust me more than the GPS... at least in the woods.

Me too Steve!
But one of the most fugged up I got....a little bewildered but nowhere near lost...was first time I hunted in Idaho....had me a topo of where we were hunting and my trusty compaas. Me and a good bud who new maps and compasses at least as well as I picked out a "lead" to go out first morning....we go a little ways and it is falling off quickly, not at all what the map showed....we were butt and head scrathing, then bud said, "Damm, look at declination!"...We are from TN were you can ignore declination----not in the Selway-Bitterroot!!! We were way off course! It was like 45 degrees!

Posted By TOM IN TENNESSEE on 21 Sep 2012 05:02 PM
We are from TN were you can ignore declination----not in the Selway-Bitterroot!!! We were way off course! It was like 45 degrees!

HUH???  That's clearly not the area of Tennessee that half of my family is from.....  That'd be up in the Smoky Mountains,
including Rogersville, Surgoinsville, Mount Carmel, Cherokee Lake (got some great photos from Cherokee Lake), etc.
Beautiful country.  Too cold for this Gulf Coast guy, though.  Around here, anything North of I-10 is the Arctic.  :-)    Oh,
and winter is right around the corner here---last night's low was in the upper 50s!  Of course, it's 79 outside right now,
but.....  About a month from now, it'll still be about the same at night, and in the 60s during the day.  Best time of the
year if you ask most people from this area (the other best time of the year would be at 0000 hrs on 1 December, when
the Atlantic hurricane season officially ends (storms past this point are rare, but they do still occur).

Later,
   --jim

Hey GTb! Close enuff...Chattanooga area....been to every place you mentioned and probably hunted some of same teritory....declination is pretty well under 10 degrees which gets you in close enuff proximity if you know how to read a map.
Don't want me no part of that two season, hurricane prone state you live in!

Posted By TOM IN TENNESSEE on 27 Sep 2012 03:06 PM
Hey GTb! Close enuff...Chattanooga area....been to every place you mentioned and probably hunted some of same teritory....declination is pretty well under 10 degrees which gets you in close enuff proximity if you know how to read a map.
Don't want me no part of that two season, hurricane prone state you live in!

Hey...watch your language...don't use the 'H' word.....

Later,
   --jim

Just to wrap this thread up, Tuesday and yesterday, I went out to the Robert's Pond area on the Eglin AFB range.  Tuesday
didn't go so well.  First, I took a wrong turn (which turned out, Tuesday night, to be a good thing), and got WAY out of the
legal hunting area...good thing I wasn't hunting.  So I got directions and turned back around, finally found the gate I was
looking for, and started to drive down that road (very tightly packed beach sand ... or at least, it started that way).  After
a short distance on that tightly packed beach sand, it wasn't so tightly packed.  In fact, my little Honda Civic Si was
stuck...and I do mean STUCK.  I'll skip the massive frustration in-between (nobody in a GOV is allowed to pull me out,
being told I'd have to call a tow truck that I couldn't even afford, and so on) and just get to my way out.  I got help from
a very helpful guy in a big 4x4 with tires that stood higher than my car (or close to it).  By his mannerisms, I'm 99%
sure this guy was active duty (he wasn't just willing to help, he was extremely happy to be able to help, very polite,
etc.).  He had a full tow cable (with that horizontal bar that hooks to his truck) and, with me in my car, in reverse
while he was pulling, I was out and clear in a few seconds.

Now, I mentioned that the initial wrong turn ended up being a good thing.  While I was in one area after the wrong
turn (still well within legal hunting areas) I found a BIG pile of fresh deer droppings on the road.  Good sign....  I
shot a lot of photos with both my 35mm (normal 50mm lens) and my 12-year-old Nikon (3.8 MP, no telephoto).
With my eyes, I saw what looked like they might (*MIGHT*) be deer bedded down.  When I got home, and blew
the digital images up (400% zoom), the fuzzy images seemed to confirm that they might be deer.  Yesterday
morning, I confirmed that they were not.....  But while I thought they were, they eliminated the frustration from
getting stuck, etc., and recharged my intent to get out and hunt.  So, yesterday, I was right back out there
checking that area and any others I could access from the clay (or whatever that red-orange stuff is) roads,
avoiding all sand roads.

That's where everything turned around.  I'd listed several areas I wanted to check out, based on a combination
of a topo map and Google Earth (terrain map).  I checked the area from Tuesday, and the now old pile of deer
droppings was there, along with a *LOT* of deer tracks crossing the road (which, in sand and that clay stuff
on a busy road, don't last very long).  The tracks went from very small (clearly fawns) to medium to large, and
even a few that were both HUGE and VERY DEEP, indicating a big buck.  And they were all over the place.
I also met the same couple I'd met the day before, and as we were talking about the tracks I'd seen, they
confirmed that that area was a very good one.

Then I moved on to two more areas I'd planned to check, and one more that was just a "hey, I'm here, let's
have a look" thing.  Everywhere I checked, I found either large piles of deer droppings and/or large quantities
of deer tracks of, again, all sizes from tiny to huge and very deep.  One area had to be removed from my
list, as it didn't have any location within it that was beyond the minimum of 200 yards from the road, but
that was actually a second "what the hell, I'll check this one while I'm here" area.  I now have several areas
that are clearly good spots.  All of the tracks (except the ones in the clay/whatever road at that first area)
were in beach sand, and with our beach sand, most definitely won't last very long, so they were all
pretty fresh.  I'm pretty sure this is going to be a very good year.   :-)

Btw, these areas were all near (or on) areas that the topo map indicates are "submerged wooded marsh or swamp)
(and the Eglin Range map shows it as a swamp).  But based on checking the area out, only one even had anything
that I could refer to as wet, and that was a creek in the middle of  a lot of dry land.  Nothing like what I think of
when I hear/read the word, "swamp"....

Oh, and in the area with the most tracks, I also found a lot of acorns, and in the area right next to it
(in a city, you'd call it a block or two away), the droppings I found had bits of acorn sticking out of them.

If it's this good now, with the Early Archery season starting Saturday, I can't WAIT to see what the rut
is like in February ("Late Archery/Muzzleloader" season).  :-)

The early (4-day) general gun//deer season starts on 21Nov through 25Nov.  I WILL be out there.  :-)

Later,
   --jim

The maps don't show you where to hunt, but if you know about what kind of habitats animals utilize, the maps show you the most likely spots to scout. Maps do not replace scouting. As far as how to read a topo map, it's fairly simple:

1. The lines show elevation gradients. Every topo map is different so you'll have to find the legend, key, or reference telling you what each gradient represents. Each line may represent 10 feet or 50 elevation difference, depending on the map.

2. The closer the lines are together, the steeper the incline, like a ridge. Conversely, the farther apart, the shallower and flatter (a plain).

3. If you see a place where the lines form a sharp point (kind of like an arrow), and they point in the same direction, remember the arrows point uphill. Most likely that area is a creek or draw (excellent places for wildlife to funnel through).

It would be much easier to show you on a map, but I think it's a good explanation.

Thanks, but, uhhh, read my previous post here (18Oct at whatever time it was ... 03xx and PM don't mix...0300 is AM, so
the times for posts aren't fixed yet (known problem when I reported it).  Using the Eglin AFB range map, a topo map (MyTopo)
and Google Earth (terrain map), I picked out several spots to do some intelligence gathering (or recon, or scouting, whatever
you prefer to call it).  Last Tuesday, after going the wrong way and driving right up to a great-looking spot (fresh deer
droppings in the middle of the road, and one or two tracks in the road (red clay, middle of a main road----not going to last
very long AT ALL), I marked it as spot #1.  Then I went back to the first area I'd intended to check....and got stuck in the
side road into that area...it was all beach sand.  After getting a tow from a friendly and helpful passerby with a 4x4 and a
convenient tow cable, I went home, tail between my legs...until I started looking at photos I shot in area #1.  So Wednesday
morning, I was back out at spot #1, and found a LARGE number of tracks, all clean, so in that sand, obviously very fresh.
The tracks were crossing the road, and were all sizes, from very small (fawn) to medium (doe or small buck) to HUGE and
DEEP (clearly a good-sized buck).  More photos, then off to the area where I'd gotten stuck.  This time, I hiked in....and as
I reached the legal distance from the road, I started seeing about 4 or 5 TIMES the number of tracks that I'd seen at
spot #1, again all sizes, all walking down the beach sand road.  I also found lots of acorns (food).  Instant spot #2.

Oh, btw, before stopping at what became spot #2, I drove by another side road, and thought, hey, I'm here, why not?
Its gate was closed (temporarily off-limits), so I could only check the area on the road side of the gate, but it had 3 or 4
piles of very fresh deer droppings (big chunks, with acorns sticking out of each).  I later labelled this as spot #3.

Btw, spot #1 was one I had considered previously, but removed from consideration when I found out the topo map
symbols said it was a swamp.  But when I stumbled across it by driving the wrong way, I realized that, at least at
this time of year, it's just dry land around a creek, with lots of deer sign all over the road.  Find a spot in the
woods around that creek bed, and it should produce plenty of chances.  :-)  Spot #2 was one of the key ones I'd
meant to check (the others were too far for me to hike into, and the roads were all beach sand, which, after the
first day, I'd declared off-limits for my car, and were all removed from the list without even looking at them).
For those, maybe another year, if/when I get my post-cancer #1 (by six years so far) energy levels up significantly.

Later,
   --jim

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread but I have a few questions too.

1) how small of an area can you usually pinpoint as a scouting location with the maps(Does it help narrow down thousands of acres to 10, 50, 100 acre possibilities or can it be more specific than that?). My family has access to several small parcels of private land that I know from physically scouting, but when I look at them on maps I don't see any distinguishing characteristics.

2) My main hunting land is FLAT farm country where the only woods are usually swamps. This means that the contour part of the maps don't change at all. I have been trying to use Google maps to follow tree lines and the like, but may be looking at too narrow of chunks of land. Should following the woods line and that type of thing be useful and I am just looking at too small of an area or am I doing it right, and just need to keep practicing and physically scouting.

Thanks everyone