Busy changing occupations this year, no time or $ for a northern bc trip. Got what days I could in around home for deer.
Got lucky on a reg.4 Mulie I frequently spotted last season as a 3 point. First afternoon I hunted in mid sept. he decided to poke his head out the timber during the last minutes of shooting light. Skylined himself at 600yds so I could easily count tines, started feeding his way downhill and offered nice broadside 525yd shot. Was a bit of an ordeal getting him out as I was a 2.5 km hike from the truck with no quad and no way to get truck anywhere near him. Luckily was a frosty night. Pretty tasty young early season Mule deer I must say!
Oct. days off roll around, partners nephew is real keen to get a deer. Have some really good close encounters with mulies but nothing legal. Lots of wt chances but just can't quite seal the deal. Partner tags a little spiker on the last day and the kid is up to his armpits in deer blood. Nice to get the youngsters involved.
Early Nov. I spent up in the high country region.8. Some great days in the snow, lots of doe sightings but no big bucks with them yet. Tracked a nice 3X to his bed about 25yds away, wind in my face sun in his. Great hunt.
Late November and my first day off for the wt rut. Been passing on little wt all year and getting a bit anxious to get some more grub in the freezer. First buck with two points is getting it I tell myself. 3 pm I spot this guy 100 yds through some gawd awful thicket brush. He's rutted up on the prowl for does' but starting to come to his senses. He was getting ready to bolt just as I find a shooting lane prone and let him have it. Freezer filled and not a bad wt, for me anyway.
I did notice an increase in Wolf sign and activity this year. Some places that usually show high numbers of deer seemed to be lower in numbers this season. But other areas that were usually low in numbers also seemed to be up. Perhaps just the deer adapting? I did notice the deer in areas with lots of wolf sign were extremely spooky. Lots of deer sign overall but tough to lay eyes on em is what I found, albeit I only got out a dozen days or so. Overall I'm fairly optimistic for the future in my neck of the woods anyway.
Cheers
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Originally Posted by 358mag
Originally Posted by Sitkaspruce
I'm not a trophy hunter, but I like spending time in the woods too. I'll often pass on deer earlier in the season just to settle for something less to fill the freezer. I've just started to hunt mule deer seriously the last couple seasons, starting to know a bit more about when/where to get em in region 4/8. I'm going to say that since our season closes nov.10 that I'd shoot that buck every time on a day hunt. Here and in my limited experience chasing them they just don't seem to be full swing rut by the time it closes. 
