Living in British Columbia I am blessed with the opportunity to hunt a variety of different species, climates, and areas every year. In a typical year I will do at least one 7-14 day hunt in an area I have never hunted before. Hunting new areas is challenging, particularly without any local intel. Here are some strategies to employ when hunting a novel area for the first time.
Disadvantage of New Areas
Frankly, hunting an area for the first time puts you at a disadvantage. You don’t know the access routes, animal habits in the area, and typical wind conditions. There is an undeniable benefit of hunting the same areas multiple times and being intimately familiar with a unit. However, there is an element of adventure to hunting a new spot and success is still attainable with the right tactics.
Access
Firstly, before I ever step foot in the area it is important to try to figure out access. E-scouting helps to determine the terrain type and what road networks may exist in the unit. Online forums also provide information on what access may look like for an area. However, it is challenging to know the condition of roads and trails from satellite images alone.
Another great resource is maps of varying ages. Roads that exist on older maps and don’t on newer maps often indicate overgrown or deactivated roads. Oftentimes, motorized access is impossible. However, the road grade will still exist and the fact that a road was once built there indicates that it is the path of least resistance to get into an area on foot.
When going to a new area, I like to keep my options open. In order to ensure I can effectively cover country, I tend to bring a lot of transport options and adapt once I’m there. ATVs, chainsaws, backpacking equipment, and packrafts ensure that a bridge washing out or a road being deactivated doesn’t ruin a hunt.
Locating Hunting Areas
Next, once in the new area the first order of business is to find where the animals are hanging out. Over the first 2-3 days my focus is locating sign and glassing up animals. This means covering ground, and lots of it. ATVs, glassing knobs, and pickups let you search quickly. Equally as important, learning your access routes and typical wind behaviour in the productive spots is done during this period.
During the first few days, I’ll also avoid hunting the same spot more than one morning/evening. The reason is it is easy to fixate on the first decent area you find. Unless you happen upon the best spot in the unit the first day, forcing yourself to keep covering ground will ensure you find all the best spots before committing to a plan.
Be Flexible
As an aside, it is important to remain flexible during these first few days. Often, the first place that you put camp is not the best place to hunt the unit from. It feels painful to ‘waste’ an afternoon moving camp instead of hunting. However, over the course of the hunt cutting down on travel time helps you get enough sleep and is usually worth the investment. Don’t fall in love with a spot because it is close to camp and don’t be afraid to move to where the animals are.
Focusing In
Once you have located the animals and are confident you’ve found the best spots in the unit, it’s time to hunker down. Be persistent, and have confidence that you’ve done the work over the first few days to maximize your chances of success. Whereas during the first 3 days of the hunt it is important not to commit, now is the time to be persistent on the spots you’ve identified.
Closing Thoughts
In conclusion, hunting new areas is challenging and success rates are lower than in familiar locations. However, by e-scouting diligently, covering ground early in the hunt, and committing after you have boots on the ground knowledge, you can give yourself the best opportunity to go home heavy. While tackling the unknown is daunting, the adventure and challenge of learning a new area and finding success is unparalleled.