For deer hunting, I like to plan for the upcoming season months in advance. Since I live more than 1 hour's drive from the private farm land that I hunt, I cannot just go there any time I choose to scout the area for deer sign.  Because of work and family commitments, I know many of you are in the same situation.

So how do people who juggle work and family adequately prepare for deer season? You can start by using your computer!

The location of the treestand or ground blind is probably the most important factor leading to a successful hunt. The most common placement for a treestand or ground blind is at a junction of open field and treeline corridor where deer feel safe to travel from bedding grounds to feasting grounds. Other important factors such as prevailing winds, natural cover and surrounding terrain also play a role in treestand or ground blind placement.

When scouting a new property or a better hunting location on an existing property, I have found that Google Maps or Google Earth give me the perspective needed for a decision on treestand or ground blind placement.

For anyone unfamiliar with these tools, Google Maps is a free online mapping application and Google Earth is a downloadable mapping application that can be run on your computer while offline. Google Earth has more features and is more versatile than Google Maps, and has the ability to let you save and label exact GPS waypoints that can be shared with other Google Earth users. Additionally, with Google Earth you can rotate the view, instantly adjust daylight to a specific time of day, view a higher resolution map, and use the measuring tool to obtain point to point measurements between land features.

For scouting, the two most important features of Google Maps is the satellite view and terrain view. Satellite view is a full colour birds-eye view of the land, showing fields, trees, buildings and water. Terrain view is a relief map showing elevation using contour lines and shading.

Google Earth also has a satellite view, and instead of terrain view, it has a 3D view, which shows land feature elevations using a 3D relief view of the satellite image. Google Earth also has the ability to overlay other images, including topological maps, aerial maps and infrared maps from the USGS or Natural Resources Canada Map Office.

For scouting in Google Maps, I start off in satellite view so I can see the full colour overhead view of the land. I can zoom in and see the true scale placement of trees, fields, and water surrounding the property. Best of all, I can move the map and look at the land features on the neighbouring properties; this cannot always be done when scouting in person! So, after viewing the adjacent property, I am able to determine a deer travel corridor on the neighbour's property, and where it joins the propery I hunt on. I would never know this information without seeing the land features from the sky.

Then, after investigating all the land features using satellite view, I like to switch to Google Maps terrain view to get an accurate representation of the land's elevation.  Something that looks like a small forest in satellite view may actually be trees on a very steep cliff, and only terrain view shows this. Land features from satellite view, combined with the elevation data from terrain view, reveal potential travel corridors and help choose the location and placement of the treestand or ground blind.

Scouting in Google Earth is quite similar to scouting in Google Maps, except many more tools can be used that enhance the experience. In Google Earth, I start off in satellite view and zoom in on the location. Then I use the 3D tool, which zooms in from a birds-eye view, and rotates the view to a human perspective to show hills and valleys as if I were standing there. Next, I switch back to satellite view and use the measurement tool to calculate the distance from my treestand to the food plot, and from my treestand to different land features so that I get an idea of the distance for my bow shots. I also like to measure the distance from my parking location to the treestand.

Another great scouting feature in Google Earth is the ability to add Push Pins and flag specific locations. This data can be saved and shared with other members of your hunting party. For example, you can put a flag on the map at your base camp, then put flags for each treestand, then calculate the distance between camp and the stands. This data can be sent to your friends who can view it in Google Earth.

Besides scouting for deer season (and turkey, duck / goose, bear, moose and elk), Google Maps and Google Earth are also very useful tools in planning many other outdoors activities including fishing trips, hiking routes and both car camping and backcountry camping.

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