We had a week long Region 8 October hunt and I have some questions.....frustrated

Three ways to up your chances of success. Hunt the rut,Hunt the rut, Hunt the rut,

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Originally Posted by quadrakid

Three ways to up your chances of success. Hunt the rut,Hunt the rut, Hunt the rut,

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Bingo bingo bingo

I used to hunt with a group of guys and we did not have much success. But I really look back fondly on those times. In fact I am thinking of putting together a trip again so I can go out there and hunt with them and not be successful just to relive some of those old days. If I want to bring home the meat I will hunt 10 minutes from my home. So I say, yeah don’t sweat it that you came home empty handed. You just had a week out in the bush hunting hard with people you love. Doesn’t get much better in life. I mean I feel for you guys and I know that frustration so well. Hunting is a tough road and it’s made tougher by hearing about other people’s successes that seem so easy for them. Thing is hunting is easy when it all goes right. But when it goes wrong it is a grind!!! Experience and knowledge will come with plenty of hours out in the bush. Yeah you guys did not come home with meat, but that doesn’t mean the trip had no value. So what when wrong with your hunt??? Who could say. Learn more, get out more and enjoy every minute of it... even the very very very sucky bits.

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Originally Posted by Ron.C

Ive had my share of hunts like this and blamed many on the weather, moon, hunting pressure........ Now if I go for a week or more and by midway I am not seeing game, I change things up. Try a new area, try a different technique. ......

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Yep, I went through that as well. As you say, I decided to change my technique. Picked up a recurve, which forced me to hunt very differently. And within a short period of time, the success started to come. Haven't used a rifle since.

we all fail but if you try to adjust and learn from it will make you a better hunter in the long run

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Originally Posted by GEF

Two feet of snow ,7000 feet ,counted over 60 deer, bucks and does in 3 hours.They don't leave the alpine in early snow .They hang around in the sub alpine timber and romp in the snow on the south slopes.Don't tell anyone but the mature bucks only come down for the rut and return to the sub alpine timber after to avoid predators ,human and canine.
https://i.imgur.com/WYejG0P.jpg?1

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Not region 3 deer. Your talking region 8 where the deer can migrate down to wintering area in a matter of hours. This is a piece of the puzzle you left out.also deer dont need snow to push them down there are other factors.

For many, its an issue of not seeing because they are not looking and glassing effectively. It takes time to properly pick apart a tree line or a cut block to identify everything.

Many hunters just look for a deer, instead of looking for a tail, or a back, or a tine, or an ear. Driving into a cut and spotting a bedded buck up at the top 300 or even 100 yards away takes effort
with good glassing technique and maybe even a cheap spotting scope on a tripod

GEF spotted 60 deer in the snow maybe, think of what that looks like without snow, not so easy.

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Originally Posted by dino

Not region 3 deer. Your talking region 8 where the deer can migrate down to wintering area in a matter of hours. This is a piece of the puzzle you left out.also deer dont need snow to push them down there are other factors.

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Will bucks ever head back up to high country after heading down to wintering grounds if the snow melts?

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Originally Posted by dino

Not region 3 deer. Your talking region 8 where the deer can migrate down to wintering area in a matter of hours. This is a piece of the puzzle you left out.also deer dont need snow to push them down there are other factors.

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I hunt region 3 the same way!Deer can come and go from the alpine or subalpine as they please .Point is snow doesn't push them down.
Yes you have to look harder with out snow but that is where good optic's and patience come in .Spend the whole day with a spotter and binos ,grid the area .

I am sure this is NOT the answer you're looking for.. but I've been in your shoes many times. I now call myself a "hiker with a rifle". First and foremost my goal is to enjoy myself in the woods. If I go hunting, don't see anything, and return happy from the weekend -- it's a success.

If you've seen all those animals, I'm thinking you're doing TONS right, and it's just a matter of following the above advice to tweak things.