Jimmy, I may be the exception but I continuely scout regardless if new or familar terrain. Reason being isgame patterns change for a variety of reason in my area: could be land changes:development/fires/etc, food or water source changes, breeding, weather, pressure, etc. While it may only take a day or two to get the jist I always keep looking for a spot with in a spot and have taken a good majority of my animals in places other than where I first began or thought would bring success. I scout much more than I hunt every year and when I hunt I am often scouting at the same time, sinceI have to be in their space Imight as well use it to my advantage.

Obviously when dealing with a short window one must play the odds to his favor but I have never been affraid to make things happens either by working myself further than I may have anticipated. When I am going to be hunting area with limited knowledge I spent time looking over topo maps and if possible pre-season scouting trips. If not I basically plan on needing 2-3 days to figure the lay of the land, game and essential elements, then go their.

Even if I do pre-season scouting, I always bank on time spent scouting while hunting to pinpoint any changes that may have occurred.