Deer hunting/scouting with TOPO Maps Help!
 

I've been looking at this topo map of the area I hunt in Louisiana but very hard to tell where the best places are to hunt. It's a WMA, seems generally flat bottom to me. Just wondering if any of you can help identify a few good scouting areas from looking at this topo map. Thanks. All of the green is part of the wma. The link to the map is below.

http://ooc.maps.arcgis.com/explorer/

The link is just to a general website, no map. Best thing to do would be to cut and paste it on here as an image.

a topo is part of the picture to mapping out a property. just a part. I have to see the land as it is with the ability to see outside of the land.

For example a place I've hunted and mapped had a poor acorn year, food was some where but not on that land, there were crops outside of the land to the south, that's whee the deer went. A topo would've never told me that plus there's private info a topo doesn't reveal, like someones driveway that doesn't like people driving down it.

Even after I do all the mapping I take gps in had along with the map I've created and walk the property marking all the sign in the gps. With that I return to the software, plug in the points and a real picture of deer movement is revealed. I've gone back years later using the created map and been as successful as I'd hope. Knew right where to go and got setup long before first light.

One software I use allows the addition of pictures, I don't have to try and remember what to look for, I can see it any time I want right where it was as a waypoint on the map.

Topo's had their day, but today offers way more in mapping than a topo ever could.

I haven't quite put it together, but I'm making a mapping library for my kids and their kids to use. As long as the lands there the info will be good enough to get a person in the thick of it..

I use Google Earth and a GPS...if you zoom in far enough, Google Earth goes into terrain following mode...like flying over the area in a helicopter...you can actually "see" the contours of the terrain...zoom back out when you find an area (like a saddle or bench) that you would like to investigate, get the latitude/longitude and input it in a GPS...then go and actually scout...take notes / pictures...you can create flags in Google Earth (and save them on your computer) that you can make notes on...

I have used this method for several years for hunting Fort Knox military base...though scouting is very limited...it still gives me some guidance as to where to go for an early set-up before dark on opening day...