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Thread: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,515

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Bears is not my specialty.
    Bit what I have noticed, in the fall, not spring, they just wander constantly while feeding.
    Even if you find fresh scat, the bear could already be a couple of km down the road by the next day.
    Maybe those that hunt them in the spring can add way more info.
    Maybe in the spring, they hover more in the same area?
    Summer/ fall you have berries, and they grow all over, this the bears move so much.
    Maybe in the spring, the fresh grass is more clustered early on, thus they hang in the area.
    But again, I am not really a bear hunter.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Abbotsford
    Posts
    97

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Your story sounds very similar to mine, I started hunting about 20 years ago now with a buddy. neither of us had any hunting heritage in our families and we had to learn on our own. We started around Princeton merritt areas as well. For the first 3 years we didn't see a buck and finally in the fall of our 4th year we shot a bear. The next year we shot our first buck and every single year since then I have shot at least a muley buck every year. We now hunt moose regularly as well farther north. Don't be discouraged by lack of success in the early years, just take lesson's from every trip out and eventually you will start connecting and you'll figure out the 'secrets' to success.
    The satisfaction you will enjoy from learning on your own will be totally worth the effort. Don't give up!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    6,437

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    discouraged maybe but failed NO! Each trip to the woods is about learning...you want to learn your prey (where they are in the day, at night, or seasonally...where they travel between) ..once you reach that level of knowledge about the animal, it just seems easier after that...

    the things that I learned very early on are: to slow down, to be as quiet as possible, keep your heartrate down to a lower volume than the background noise heheheh, stop frequently and do a full look around (even behind you), always be aware of the wind direction and how time of day and terrain can affect the wind....

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Langley
    Posts
    6,032

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Quote Originally Posted by Bugle M In View Post
    Bears is not my specialty.
    Bit what I have noticed, in the fall, not spring, they just wander constantly while feeding.
    Even if you find fresh scat, the bear could already be a couple of km down the road by the next day.
    Maybe those that hunt them in the spring can add way more info.
    Maybe in the spring, they hover more in the same area?
    Summer/ fall you have berries, and they grow all over, this the bears move so much.
    Maybe in the spring, the fresh grass is more clustered early on, thus they hang in the area.
    But again, I am not really a bear hunter.
    That is my take for spring bear hunting, particularly early spring. They hold pretty close to those pockets that get the first grass and dandelions and often feed in the same spot for hours on end a couple times a day.

    Once food is abundant and spread out, sows start going into heat, bears are a little more spread out and random, just cruise around, eat some grass and dandelions here, rip the bark off some stumps and eat some grubs there, wander off into the timber and knock down a yellow jacket nest somewhere else.

    Best odds for getting into a lot of bears is that first half of spring when they are concentrated if you know the spots. Second half of spring when they are moving more, odds for chance encounters are better.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Central Interior of our beautiful british columbia.
    Posts
    6,340

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Drive a bit further north, hunt region 5. Dusk is a doozy of a time up here for bears, but saying that both our bears this year were shot between noon, and 1 pm. They were feeding on grass/dandelions, so that is always a good thing to look for. Deer, in region 5 where I hunt them are in the timber. So much private land close by, I set up ambushes in the timber for them. Watch travel corridors, and learn their patterns. Over everything else though, explore, watch for tracks, poop, anything that looks critterish? Cover ground methodically, and watch your wind. I like to hunt with the wind in my face, so approach juicy spots with the wind in your face. Anyways, it is never a waste of time to get away from the city, so enjoy your time in nature, ya never know how long we will have it to enjoy!! Moosinaround
    "A good day hunting is mud on your truck or blood on your hands"

    “Some people go to church and think about hunting……………others go hunting and think about God!”

    It's actually called the 375 "ouch and ouch"!!

    "Not asking for any spots or anything like that............................................"

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,515

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Yup, when hunting md, do move slow, and quiet but you never be able to move quiet enough when the day is dead calm.
    I don’t track right behind fresh tracks any more, unless trying to find the area deer linger in and get to learn the area they use through out the day.
    If I cut tracks that have potential and know the area, I guesstimate where they are headed and might be hanging, do a loop around and move in from the optimal wind direction.
    I find md come down at night and move up in the morning, so if I cut tracks, they usually are going upwards, and thus my loop is upwards and around and then back over to where they might have ended up.
    Worked to perfection this past November.
    Still have to post up that story!

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    6,437

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    same with WT...I have a spot I like to go to that has 2 routes up from the farm fields where they seem to go eat all night...in my experience no matter which way they come up, the doe s always seem to go into a quiet little rolling area in the hills above the farm but the bucks tend to go up higher to the next level up (until the rut)....if they don't go by my ambush location I know where to go look for them...
    Quote Originally Posted by Bugle M In View Post
    Yup, when hunting md, do move slow, and quiet but you never be able to move quiet enough when the day is dead calm.
    I don’t track right behind fresh tracks any more, unless trying to find the area deer linger in and get to learn the area they use through out the day.
    If I cut tracks that have potential and know the area, I guesstimate where they are headed and might be hanging, do a loop around and move in from the optimal wind direction.
    I find md come down at night and move up in the morning, so if I cut tracks, they usually are going upwards, and thus my loop is upwards and around and then back over to where they might have ended up.
    Worked to perfection this past November.
    Still have to post up that story!
    Last edited by wideopenthrottle; 06-03-2022 at 01:33 PM.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Have you tried to send PM to Jelvis for advice?

    Yes, self taught is a struggle. From my own personal self-taught experience: it's all about location.

    Some spots look like they should hold game, but they just don't.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Horsefly BC
    Posts
    2,253

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    When you see scat observe the diameter of it. Less than 1 1/2" move along.
    If you check out an area google earth it with the latest photo date, just click on the date in the lower left hand corner and click on the last photo date available. You can see swamps and grassy areas. South facing cut blocks a few years old are good too. It took me a few years to connect but have been doing it regularly from then on. Happy hunting.
    The challenge of retirement is how to spend time without spending money.
    The worst day slinging lead is still better than the best day working.
    Look around is there someone you can introduce to shooting because that’s the only way we will buck the anti gun trend sweeping Canada! "tigrr 2006"


  10. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Posts
    54

    Re: Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

    Find a green alpine meadow sit on the edge of it with a bit of cover where you can see a good percentage of the area spend the later half of the day there try using a preadator call sometimes that will work but usually they will wander out for a good feeding in the last couple of hours of daylight

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