How early do you start scouting?

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

we do not do much for elk these days. We are lucky to have a killer area and we basically hike in, camp and hunt.

[Firedogg]

 I start scouting for next season on the last day of the current one. It's a constant learning process, each time in the woods I pick up something on the critters being watched or some dumb thing I find with myself or my gear.

  This time of year is when I check out different areas I am not as familiar with. I find the game trails, shelves hidden on the hillside in the trees, areas that hold food, good bedding areas, old scrapes from the past fall.

  So it's not just scouting, it's getting out to enjoy the outdoors all year long. Finding and learning something along the way is just a bonus.

[pianoman9701]

I was 9 when I started, but it's never too late. 

[coachcw]

There's a huge difference in productive scouting and blowing elk out. The less intrusive you can be the easier it will be to hunt the herd

[blackveltbowhunter]

It seems like it varys from situation to situation. I try to spend as much time in the woods as possible. Timber farms either state or private are always evolving and changing and animals patterns and habits can change with it. These areas are usually less than few hours away and day trip bike rides, or short weekend trips are the order of the day. When going further out, especially into new area I really like to have a general plan of where game might be and then take a 3 or 4 day weekend and explore. This is more based on the time off at work factor rather than ideal Scouting time. But generally I like to shoot for mid June or later, especially if their may be snow issues.
I never call prior to season, and take a low impact approach to locating animals.

[coachcw]

On a side note how many days does it take most guys to throw there game an out of the  window?

[RadSav]

On a side note how many days does it take most guys to throw there game an out of the  window?

Depends on how many morons are in my spot opening morning!  Can't scout how many idiots know about a spot until opening day.  So...

[xXLojackXx]

On a side note how many days does it take most guys to throw there game an out of the  window?

Stick to my plan every year, get up early and head straight down to the bottoms and wait/call. Ive seen 3 people in my spot in 4 years and havent seen the same person twice. In a popular unit, these elk have very little pressure due to geography.

[Barbarossa13]

Just got my drone in the mail today, so I'm starting tomorrow.    But on a more serious note, I combine family camping trips into scouting trips, usually 3-4 summer.