I'm going to hunt some new areas this fall. Most areas are 200-300 miles from where I live. I have a friend who is trying to get a pilots license and needs to log as many hours as he can before he moves next month. He is itching for excuses to go flying, especially when someone would pay for the gas (ie, me).

Because of the distancea trip by flying would not only take way less time but also come out a bit cheaper than driving the truck. Have you ever scouted in a small plane like this? I know the game dept uses planes for 'areal surveys' of the elk herds, but I don't know if that necessarily means it makes for better scouting. The big benefits would be the time saved in traveling there and back, plus the aerial view. The downside would be that I couldn't spend a few hours per hillside and really get some deep glassing done. I know about MSN/Google maps but sometimes you can't get into detail on the clearcuts and the dating of the photos can also be problematic. Any ideas? Should I jump on this stellar opportunity or just drive over there and scout like good ol' fashion way? Thanks

If I could afford to fly and scout a new area, I'd do it in a heart beat. In just a matter of a few minutes over the area, you'll be able to see a lot that you wouldn't otherwise see. Seeing an over view of an area would be a great start to figuring out a game plan. Will it take the place of scouting on the ground, no but it will aid in being more educated about the lay of the land, and knowing and seeingthe lay of the land is a big help in hunting big game.

The fact that they are new areas, starting off in the plane would give a huge head start. Photos and good notes!Plane first, Plain last. Good luck!

I love to fly and scout ,A goodbuddy has his own plane ,lucky for me.Flying over alaska in a small plane was a highlight of my hunting tripe.Had an alaska state trooper land on my camp to do a check,I told him how much I enveyed him being able to fly over such great habitat every day.For some reason caribou are hard to spot from the air but moose ,black and grizzly bearsstand out.I've even seen wolfs and moose sheds from the air.


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Scout the old fashion way. Let your buddy get more hours under his belt some other way.

FLY! Good luck.