| Worry and happiness comes over me as I | | | | allowed me to pick my scouting points quickly and |
| stumbled onto hunting permission for 300 acres | | | | not waste valuable time in places that may not |
| just down the road. Happiness because now I | | | | hold many deer. |
| have a totally new piece of property to spend | | | | After about an hour carefully going over what I |
| time hunting on, which will allow me to put less | | | | have seen on the aerial photos, I pick my hunting |
| pressure on the other properties. Worry because | | | | locations based on the wind direction I will be |
| it's October 1st. and I have not set foot on this | | | | hunting and where I believe the deer will be |
| property yet. | | | | coming from. I got to the property about 3:00 |
| With a land plat in-hand, I begin to find the | | | | with my climber on my back and head into what I |
| property using some free aerial photo software | | | | think will be a great place to sit in a tree stand for |
| on the computer. Google Earth, is going to be my | | | | the evening. As I walk across the cornfield and |
| computerized scouting tool. I am able to zoom | | | | into the woods I begin seeing deer tracks, trails |
| right in on the property and find all the cornfields, | | | | and rubs. I continue back into the woods about |
| pinch points, cut-overs and creeks with ease. You | | | | 100 yards to a funnel I located with the aerial |
| couldn't ask for a better way to scout a property | | | | photos and begin looking for a trail and the right |
| in my opinion. I was able to dissect the property | | | | tree. It didn't take long to locate a well-worn trail |
| in a matter of minutes all without putting any | | | | leading to the cornfield and the perfect tree for |
| scent in the woods or alerting any whiteteails to | | | | my climber not 15 yards away. The use of aerial |
| my presence. Granted there is no substitute for | | | | photos makes hunting and scouting alot less work, |
| finding a great rub line leading out of a bedding | | | | and alot more specific... |
| area, but Google Earth (and others as well) | | | | |