New Area Tips and Tactics

[thomasperea1]

This is my first year hunting in Washington and was late getting prepared...  I know the normal tips for scouting and putting in the effort pre-season.

However, a friend and I are planning a Late General Season hunt in a unit we have no experience with.  What would be some tips and tactics when going blind in to a new unit?

Thanks in advanced!

[brokentrail]

If it were me, I would start map scouting with Google Earth and OnX.

[Skyvalhunter]

Western BT or East WT?

[Stein]

Come up with a few different plans and then be fully prepared that none of them work.  If it were me, I would get the roads down, drive the area and then compare with what you saw online before you bail in.  Some roads may be closed, non existent or covered with trucks every 10 yards.

From there, cover ground and be in what you consider good places when the sun comes up and goes down.  Hope for fresh snow, have low expectations and enjoy being outside.

[mburrows]

Use road systems and glass at this point with no on the ground knowledge. Sounds lame but use your vehicle to cover country and binos to glass at each possible point. Cover as much country as possible.

[thomasperea1]

Thanks guys.

We will be on the WS going for Blacktail. 

We have already done some E-scouting and have a couple plans and idea of what were looking for.

Some of the places I wanted to try were higher up in elevation. When do you find that Blacktails will move to lower elevation?  Say if 5k elevation has 3-5" snow would you still go for it up there or try the lower elevations/below the snow line?

[fishnfur]

Never done it but I believe the answer is somewhere around 12 - 18 inches.  If it it less than that, I'd say hunt it.  If it's three feet - then maybe lower.  The good thing about snow is that you only need to cut a few set of tracks to get you into a pretty good area.  It seems like a good option if you haven't scouted.