Good deer around 3-18/3-19

[Rjwarren]

This is my first season hunting and I have to say I haven't been having the best of luck. I have tried everything from drive hunting, to hiking, to sitting on the treeline and glassing for deer, all to no avail. I've tried to Backroads mapbook and google mapped the shit out of it to try and find some half decent areas to try and check. Needless to say I haven't seen any bucks, no matter what time of day I go out. Being very new to hunting I don't exactly have the fine tuned skills that an experienced hunter might have. Does anybody have tips that might help me become more effective when hunting? Im not looking for anyone to give up their coveted secrets or honey holes, just looking for a good place to start

Post edited from previous

[itsy bitsy xj]

hahaha...You're kidding right?

[bc_buckshot]

No deer in those regions and its all private ranches....best to try up the sea to sky or island... If all fails theres the vancouver game farm open to new hunters mid october

[HarryToolips]

There's deer pretty much everywhere in BC, just gotta put the time in and do some scouting....buy a backroads Map book and head out with your tags..main thing is you'll learn lots..

[FortBoy]

I agree with Harry, but make sure you read and understand the regs before you start heading out friend

[digger dogger]

Deer, (bucks) get wary, and some go nocturnal, when hunting pressure gets high.
Get out, and put some miles on your boots, and i guarantee you'll find a buck, in either of the MU's you've mentioned.

[brian]

Give him a break, he said he's new.

I don't know anything in region 3 to help give you a starting point but if you are out and seeing does, then the bucks are around too. They just tend to be more focused on the hours between sunrise and sunset and are harder to get eye balls on. If you aren't seeing anything then you need to look for sign. Deer do not use areas evenly, they live in pockets and have preferred areas of use that they will sped most of their time in. If you scout out an area and see fresh scat, tracks, trail use, browse, or rubs then you know the deer are using the area. Hunt the sign, learn the terrain and then find the deer. To be honest someone could give you GPS coordinates to the location of a buck, but it won't do you any good if you don't know how to hunt the area.

Now another note, you will do much better if you ask specific questions rather than the general where to find deer type questions. Go out, learn terrain, get confused and come back and post questions about what confuses you. You'll get much better quality of answers than some of the other ones posted here.

[srthomas75]

Well said. Brian
On another note. I'm going there in a month. I've not hunted there before but plan on "wasting time" checking out what is around us. If something looks promising then we will focus a bit more etc... Sometimes just around the corner from you is prime territory.

[Rjwarren]

Fair enough. I have edited to post to reflect what I was actually trying to get at. I wasn't necessarily asking for someone to say "the deer are _____", but just for some tips to be a little more effective and to maybe know what to look for.

[Islanderr]

Backroad map books is a must, and bc hunting buddy app is pretty damn cool to!


Welcome to the hunting world, I am also new to the sport, happy hunting out there and be safe

islanderr

[brian]

Its a tough start especially if you don't have anyone showing you the ropes. The trick to getting onto deer to hunt is finding the pockets. You can go through the terrain and see nothing for miles. Very little or no sign. You'll think the area is a deer desert, then all the sudden bam... its sign-appolooza. You'll be knee deep in sign thinking the area is hot, then wander out another couple hundred yards and back to nothing. The same can hold true for certain elevations on a mountain. You'll get onto a ton of activity in a specific elevation range but not so much above or below it. Or you may see a ton of sign in an area but never see a deer around there while the sun is shining. Or the sign is prodigious but old and the deer have shifted their habits and ranges with the season. The land becomes a puzzle that you have to put together piece by piece. This is where summer scouting pays off.

[digger dogger]

As you drive through most of reg 3, when you can see drainages with pockets of trees going up the middle of them.
Make sure its crown land, get out and walk up, or walk down,
One side of of the drainage and you will likely jump deer in those pockets of trees. (Wind dictates, up or down, and which side to walk on.

[Asco]

I had similar experience. The best answer is find someone who hunts and ask to tag along. Old guys are awesome. Hunters tend to be into helping other people become hunters. Start conversations and ask people if they hunt. You will learn loads in no time. Reading and googling is fine, but are no substitute for real hunting education, which comes from live people. 3-18 3-19 are ankle deep in deer.

[hoochie]

Do you have a decent set of Binos?
The thing that works best for me is at sunrise and around 6PM.
Watch the tree lines. Check and double check what you think might be a tree stump. sometimes its the rear end of a deer.
watch for tail flicking, or any color that seems to look different. Grey, brown or white... pay attention to those colors.

My wife and I have taken deer at first light, last light and mid day... right before noon. Our strategy is find where the animals are, or where they have been, and walk in to those areas and wait. Sit and use your binos, and keep scanning.