Printable View
I am looking to start scouting for my very first hunting season. Thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone has some tips to being effective in my scouts (this time of year or otherwise). I originally had picked some areas to scout in 2-6,7 but after reading some input here sounds like I am better off going further north. I am willing to put in the time and work so if anybody has some pointers or a rough area to start in 2-9,10,11 I am all ears.
Thanks in advance!
Steep, thick, country. There are few deer, and lots of hunters. Gotta get out and explore it. LOTS of country. No ones gonna give you a honey hole but if you work your way up the Hurley pass before it hits the boarders with region 3.
Thats a good starting point there’s deer on ever mountain but they’re not gonna be in an easy to access spot usually gotta climb up creek beds to the sub alpine.
Lots of country, lots of roads, but most honestly you’re only gonna see deer with boot leather, unless you’re really lucky you bump the rare one off the road. I mean rare. The deer are hammered by predators and pressure but they’re there in pockets. Steep pockets. And there’s a large migration from upper lillooet river to Pemberton, hunting really heats up closer to town after thanksgiving and even more so into November, right up till last day of the season. I only hunt Squamish after the Pemberton season shuts down. Closer to town there are more people out and about, but it gets crazy busy even in Pemberton. Just find some steep stuff start climbing. Get away from the crowds and off the roads. Find the game trails and figure out where the fresh sign is. Get good boots you will fall and trip and hurt yourself, so be ready for that. It will be slick once it’s rains and it seems to be dumping right now. So lots of mud around. There’s not much flat land anywhere, and most of its private or less productive. I’d pick two mountains with roads halfway up and then climb the creekbeds.
Pro guide 66 and his how to hunt vids are really good. I think just finding a couple spots and find sign. Fresh sign. Trail cameras help but finding a few different spots and rotating on em. Keep looking for fresh sign. The deer will migrate around and there trails will seem to go on forever. So keep a game plan everyday, and tell someone you trust where you’re going and when you’ll be back.
Early season and summer most the big bucks are up top in the alpine. It’s beautiful country up there, I seem to find them nocturnal unless it’s rainy or fogged in.
I have good success in the snow creepily walking over grown roads and fresh tracks, lots of bumping deer just bedded down in the thick stuff. But the slower you walk the more you won’t spook. Keep your head up and keep a good bearing on where you are. Knowing a few spots well is better then scouting miles in the truck all over the region IMO. It’s always a fun game, knowing there’s deer where your hunting and intercepting them. Rut is the best time, find the does and stay with them. Something will pop out. Mid November is prime rut.
Early season I find tough but the beauty will keep you out there. Just find I’m always a step or two behind them until November hits. Snow is a huge advantage as is any foul weather, bad weather is good blacktail hunting. Lots of fun figuring it all out. Takes years to even find does sometimes so don’t get discouraged. Keep your eyes peeled for glossy poop. Find lots of fresh glossy poop and stick around and you will find the deer. They’re ghosts like but they are around and are best spotted first light ad last light and bed during the day. There are exceptions to this, more so in the rut.
The whites of there rump is usually there only thing giving them away and by that time they’re usually running away. But if your quiet, slow and vigilant enough you can make out silouetes of ears, antlers, backlines and movement are all things to key in on as you stare into the thickest steepest jungle you can find. I’ve also found moderate success working cut blocks but more so the fringes of them. There not cut block lovers as much as Kamloops Mule deer, but they can be found on the fringe and timber around it.
Good luck. I love blacktail hunting but man it’s hard work on the body and the mind! Gotta love it
Thank you very much my friend. Hitting the country tomorrow to spend some time getting familiar!
I had an antlerless LEH draw for 2-11 last year, and went out scouting in the summer. I picked a couple of the main FSR's and just went cruising for a day. Drove as far up the old logging switchbacks as I could and looked for cutblocks with good timber nearby. Came back in October and got a 2 point buck on my second day.
I saw a few road hunters cruising around, but no one else was actually getting their boots dirty and getting into the woods. We saw some other deer while we were up there, so I can confirm it wasn't just luck. It was a ton of work humping up and down the mountainside, but it was totally worth it. Would do again.
Some really good tips there Daryl and shadow. We spent a lot of time hiking around that area looking for bears in the spring, caught a few deer on trail cams and bumped a doe but they're definitely not making themselves obvious in the open.
I find it an interesting difference from my experiences on the island - we routinely see groups of does out in the open in large clear cuts (though they do blend in pretty well). My guess would be the island deer face heavier predation, but maybe that's incorrect?
Curious if anyone has explored the area a little further north, specifically the southwestern part of Region 3 (3-32, 3-33 etc)? We'll be heading up during the summer and early fall looking for a bear and also in preparation for a buddy's antlerless tag in November. I see there's lots of Indian Reserve land around, so mainly just wondering if access/road blocks have been as issue of late due to COVID?
let me know if you need a scouting buddy, always looking for a good hike.
It is a brave or foolish man that cuts his hunting teeth on blacktail deer. I was definitely one of the foolish ones. I spent a few years around Squamish doing my best but it wasn't until I started travelling further afield (Region 5 or 3) that I put down my first mule deer.
It takes time and boot leather no matter what but it takes less time and less boot leather if you are in a place with decent sight lines and good numbers of your target species.
Tons of information on the forum on those zones, do some digging in the archives here and you'll get lots of specific information. Much more than I could retype here. Send me a DM if you have specific questions and I can help you where I can. There are many many many does in the regrowing cutblocks in the drier, interior parts of those zones. Should be a first day kill if you spend some time scouting.Quote:
Originally Posted by WetLeopard
For the most part, if you're passing thru band lands and not stopping, you'll be fine. Lots of signs and roadblocks up but they mostly seem to be concerned with people spending time in town. Been waved thru when I say I'm headed into the bush. There's so much terrain in that zone that any Covid-based restrictions will have minimal impact on your chances of success.
Thanks granola_eater. I like that transition zone from coastal forest to drier interior terrain a lot, so definitely looking forward to exploring around that region.