Where did all the whitetails go

[RyoTHC]

just spent 40 hours over the last 5 days in my blind past on 2 smaller bucks no road hunter here. I don’t hunt just for the meat I enjoy the challenge and the experience in the woods. Maybe you could give us all some of your great tips on Whitetail hunting!!!

Nah I think I’m at my quota this season for helping other people fill their tags. There are 5 members on this forum who have 7 white tail in their freezer thanks to me either taking them out and showing them the ropes or damn near giving them GPS coordinates to some nice herds.

im sorry your 8 hours a day were wasted in an crappy spot, maybe by day two or three you should have moved and realized the deer just aren’t where you are hunting.

also don’t pass on anything day one you’d be happy with on the last day.

[Walking Buffalo]

just spent 40 hours over the last 5 days in my blind past on 2 smaller bucks no road hunter here. I don’t hunt just for the meat I enjoy the challenge and the experience in the woods. Maybe you could give us all some of your great tips on Whitetail hunting!!!

My tip would be to move your blind.

[RyoTHC]

My tip would be to move your blind.

see, ask nicely and you shall receive. Hopefully this hot tip leads you to your buck

[jac]

My tip would be to move your blind.

thanks for the tips i sat in 3 spots seen about 25 deer 2 bucks. Not my first rodeo

[Walking Buffalo]

Bigben,

Please post the petition.
Thanks.

[Wild one]

I doubt the strong WT populations in 3/8/4/7B are effected much by the doe season. Yes there is flights in BC where they stop counting WT but this does not apply for majority of the province but for region 8 you bet this has happened. Tons of areas in BC are very low density WT populations as well and many MUs rarely see counts.

Yes most BC hunters are way behind with WT tactics compared to those areas in North America where WT is the top species targeted. This is a big factor to most being unsuccessful on WT in BC now that you are hunting pressured deer they get smart. Not going to pick a$$ because there is multiple ways to get it done but yes most BC hunters need to adapt to target WT.

Have fun boys switching to another location for the afternoon wind change

[wideopenthrottle]

my WT hunting consists of setting up before first light in a spot I know they could be moving through to get to their bedding areas. If they move past I get one...if they take a different route I still have a pretty good idea where they went and I go get one....silent stalking is the key for me...I count steps (max is 30 even on a road and I get down to as few as 1 step at a time) and always stop and do a full look and listen. they hear well so you need to be able to see farther than they can hear if you really want to succeed.

I am not saying you shouldn't sit in a blind or call and rattle but super ninja stealth mode has always worked well for me

[Wild one]

my WT hunting consists of setting up before first light in a spot I know they could be moving through to get to their bedding areas. If they move past I get one...if they take a different route I still have a pretty good idea where they went and I go get one....silent stalking is the key for me...I count steps (max is 30 even on a road and I get down to as few as 1 step at a time) and always stop and do a full look and listen. they hear well so you need to be able to see farther than they can hear if you really want to succeed.

I am not saying you shouldn't sit in a blind or call and rattle but super ninja stealth mode has always worked well for me

Conditions your hunting in are everything when it comes to what works

Now take your style of hunting and apply it to where I am hunting today your tactics won’t work. The area is miles of bush, swamp, and Muskeg. Most of the bush visibility on the ground is less than 10yards so good luck hunting from the ground. Still hunting not happening with 6 inches of crunchy snow in the bush. Deer are avoiding the 2 pipelines because they have been pounded.

You can sit on a pipeline and pray, drive around and dream, walk through the bush scaring the crap out of everything do to crunchy snow, sit under a tree or blind and hope a deer steps out within the 10yard visibility, and last option get in a stand where shooting lanes vary from 10-40yards

Most guys in BC will drive around or sit on the pipeline the deer avoid during daylight hours. Guys here do it too and get skunked

So you adapt or drive for miles looking for conditions that fit your style of hunting and hope there is good deer numbers

[tyreguy]

RyoTHC - Read the original post as the reference is to the Kootenay populations.
I hunted the Koots for the 16th straight year and we definitely saw less animals than any previous year but we got bucks. I haven't shot a doe since 2015 and i have many hunting partners who also stopped a few years back, but yet i still took 2 deer this year with a (manly) 3pt MD and 4pt WT
That being said we saw less wolf sign than previous. Saw good elk numbers with some herds with 100% calf recruitment and other herds with 0% calves which represents some of the predator issues.
Couple of years back was a deep snow winter which took its toll on the deer, couple that with a peak in preds and a generous GOS it takes its toll.
I personally prefer a LEH so the areas of excess volume can be managed rather than a GOS where its a shoot fest - nothing wrong with hunting in general open seasons but then the balance gets out in some areas its best to react early rather than later point fingers at everyone else.
Seems its time to react.

sign away and I’ll gladly keep blasting 3 WT a season including 1-2 does depending on how much tasty table fare I want. Mmmm

first tag I fill every year is a WT doe. That’s the money right there.

I guess I’m not as manly as a lot of the hunters here.

it’s hilarious that the people not shooting WT or even finding them call for a season change. Maybe you guys just don’t know how to hunt white tail? It’s not a fluke myself and my hunting partner took FIVE white tail out this season for the freezer, I personally saw dozens of WT every single putting.

But boo hoo I wasn’t able to road hunt them numbers must be down.

[sammer]

At our local head recovery spot, I think the numbers were around 600ish heads submitted. Of that around 160ish were yearlings. (heard this second hand from a reliable source)
I've noticed a huge drop in WT sighting this year compared to last.
I've been hunting the same area for a couple years now. Last year I would see 20ish does with fawns in a weekend. This year I might see 1-2 pair a day.
Last year during doe season I saw a large group camp near my area that had 20ish deer hanging on the multiple poles they had setup.
Although I like having a doe in the freezer, I'm not against ending doe season. At least for a few years to let numbers recover.

Don't even get me started on elk numbers in the Koots.

Sam