E-Scouting for Elk with Mark Livesay

Show Notes:

When Mark Livesay started hunting elk, Google Earth wasn’t even a thing. But when it showed up on the scene,Google Earth totally changed the game for him. If you’re going to spend all kinds of money on a tag, your gear, and your hunting trip, you’d better include some preseason e-scouting as a further investment in your hunting strategy. More and more people are applying for tags, and the competition is fierce. People want to try new areas and new states, and e-scouting or cyber-scouting has gotten really intense. 

Mark’s hunting isn’t based around killing the biggest elk. He aims for three elk tags a year in three different states because his passion is hunting new areas all of the time. In the last 30 years, he’s only gone back to the same area three times. And even though you’re going to have more success if you hunt through an area more than once, that’s just not Mark’s way.

In this episode, Mark’s going to give you a rundown on his favorite e-scouting tools, including which ones he prefers to use together because layering them gives a hunter even more data:

• Basemap
• OnX
• Gaia GPS
• Google Earth Pro
• CalTopo

Additionally, Mark uses data that the states themselves put out, which you might see listed as elk management reports, hunt planners, hunt atlases, or motor vehicle use. We talk about how to analyze this sometimes incomplete data to get a better idea of the herd health in an area. 

Check out Mark’s course Treeline Academy for even more details on how e-scout an area before you even pull your tag. Mark is like the Tony Robbins of hunting, and his course is well worth the investment. Use Promo code johnstallone to save 20%

What’s Inside:

• Why he pays attention to the comments section on hunting websites. 
• What are you looking for when you look at the statistics on animals, especially since states may collect incomplete or mediocre data?
• How we analyze the hunting data to figure out the best place to go hunting, and why some states are harder to analyze than others.
• With all of the maps you can layer in Google Earth Pro, Mark says that there is nothing like it for the amount of information and detail you can get.
• Does your state have a hunt planner? Is it even worth it?

Mentioned in this Episode:

Phoenix Shooting Bags Save 20% with code: johnstallone

Days in the Wild

Bushnell.com Save 15% on everything at Bushnell with code: STL02

CalTopo.com

GaiaGPS.com

OnXMaps.com

GoHunt.com

HuntinFool.com

TreelinePursuits.com

@treeline_pursuits

Short Description:

Careful planning is going to improve your chances of bagging the elk you’re after, and Mark Livesay is an absolute powerhouse of planning information. You are not going to believe the value he brings to the hunting world, including all of the tools, websites and resources that he recommends, that will help you show up on the first day of a hunt absolutely prepared to use that tag that you put in for.

Tags:

Cyber scouting, digital scouting, e-scouting, best hunting tools, elk hunting, planning a hunt, digital hunting tools, best states to elk hunt, preseason hunting