Topo Maps

[mnwild14]

Does anyone know any good websites or suggestions on using topographic maps and aerial photos to find stand placements. I have the general gist of looking for saddles, benches, and funnels. Are there certain things to look for on the edge of swamps as far was where they might be going in and out? How big of difference would it take on a saddle to affect the deer movement. Maybe I know all I need to know with the exception of just appling what I know. If nothing else maybe I will see about posting a general topo of an area I am looking at and see if others agree with what I am looking for.

But if you know of any good websites or articles that would be great.

[woody1975]

Google Earth has some great aerial pictures and you can get pretty close before it gets really blurry. Other than that, the MN DNR has some topo photos of areas, these are not the greatest, but they are still handy.

DL

[so haaad]

Ask (Contact Us Please) com is a little slower, but some of the air photos are awesome.

[BeerHunter]

Google Earth is great, Just hope it was nice out when they took the picture of your area.

[Scott M]

topozone is really good for topography. Google Earth for aerial views or any other mapping function...mapquest now has some aerial overlays.

[bowhuntr]

If your hunting in Itasca county you can go to the Itasca County website (just type Itasca County, MN in a google search). On the left side click on Maps and then Interactive GIS Maps. This gives you aerial photos, topo maps, etc and you can zoom in on your hunting areas. If you have a color printer, these are excellent maps to stick in your pack.

[mnwild14]

When looking at the topo maps, what sort of things in particular are you looking for? The itasca county site is very nice for my area, but I question what sort of things are best to look for.

[Scott M]

From topo maps, some show marshy areas where deer may bed, natural funnels (where hills cleave for example...many times these are deer trails), or waterbodies you might not have known about that provide a cool drink. Some will also show forested areas. Using topo maps are a tool that is best used during scouting. It's a great way to find those stand sites. Try and get your own paper topo map you can write on. When you scout you can write where you see scrapes or rubs, where you jumped deer, potential good stand sites, where deer beds were found, where pieces of property align

For the beginner I think topo maps work well when combined with aerial photos. You can find the trends you are looking for better in contrasting the two views. Sometimes you can even see those deer trails on the overhead photos. This is for the person who is hunting many miles from home and is basically hunting an area blind.

[Ferny]

Try the MN DNR website main page lower right link to "Free Maps".

dnr,state,mn,us/maps/index,html

Replace the commas with periods

I like the recreation compass for topos and Google Earth or Google Maps for aerial photo's.

Ferny