My thought is this, especially when we talk about seeing big legal game the day after the season is pretty simple.
We might be out one weekend, say MD hunting, and it appears our honey hole is a secret.
But yet we still see no game???
Turns out the honey hole aint a secret, and that the area probably gets hit hard day in and day out, some days harder then others.
Which I have seen, cause the game to scoot over the edges of where they normally hang due to all the extra traffic.
Day after season or 2, no hunters, life goes back to normal.
Suddenly you see them.
You almost have to approach MD hunting as "where would I go and hide when things get busy"?
I do.
I have a good idea where the deer like it, but also look at where hunters walk 95% of the time.
Then look for areas that everyone avoids due to terrain, and where the deer go to be left alone, and quite often you find them.
My first step when picking a spot is what can I do to hide from everyone else and second is to pick the best looking habitat in the areas I think no one will go lol
Lillooet is definitely one of those areas with awesome pockets of deer and a bunch of areas that suck
Could be worse ..... last year my son and I pack our truck , walk out of house to go hunting.... buck in opposite driveway staring at us.... and to make matters worse didnt see a buck at all when we were hunting. You are right, and i think they read and know the regulations before we do.
Friend just put up a FB post with a really nice buck, with multi point enjoying his willow tree/bush in the back yard.
Wonder why some get big!!!! way out of range or legal limits to hunt some.
Seems like more and more wild game are getting the "memo"
When your not seeing any it's because of karma, remember that beer can you tossed in the ditch? Remember the last deer you got, took pics with it's tongue hanging out and wearing your hat? You never even released it's spirit with a simple tobacco ceremony? Yup it's Karma, will bite you in the ass every time.
Can confirm. In any whitetail season I saw at best, 12 does. As soon as it ended, fields full of them seeming without a care in the world.
Last week I got my LEH mule doe, and after the gunshot, starting to dress the deer and what comes stepping out of the bush? A 2 point buck. Looks at us, trots over to a bush and starts eating. I'm elbow deep in a dead deer and it takes my partner yelling at it to make it run off.