Hunting Southern BC 101He grandrou

[bwerb]

Hello hunting friends, I'm hoping for some guidance or direction...I'm not asking for your specific area, just some general concepts.

My grandfather was an amazing hunter...awesome Alaskan Moose racks testify to his prowess...but alas he is no longer with us...I am a novice hunter with no mentor. I am a long-time outdoors guy and am hoping some of our members will help with some basic hunting 101 instruction.

I arrived at a promising area prior to sunrise. I head-out with soft footfalls and open eyes. I was in an area with large cut-blocks with older growth and secondary plants on the perifery. I headed-up the cut (and could feel the wind at my back...mistake 1?). I saw enough deer poop to, including...is it stiil steaming?...to start a fertilizer company. I heard multiple rifle shots in the area. I didn't see a single deer. (Grouse and rabbit...yes).

I'm looking for general guidance. Do you walk up the cuts? Do you walk down the cuts? Do you walk to a point, sit and start glassing? Do you sit all day? Do you walk through the recent replant fringes? I must have walked at least 12km up and down through the cut, replants and uncut vallleys...always thinking there must have been deer nearby based on all the recent poop piles but nada.

Help...any and all advice wanted.

[monasheemountainman]

Tip #1 it's called hunting not killing. You won't shoot anything 90% of the time. You won't see anything on many occasions, so don't quit don't over think it. Keep the wind in your favour, when the sun is rising or falling try to keep it behind you, don't skyline yourself and learn from mistakes.

[guest]

Just inside the treeline...... Where you can look into the cut, you will also find main routes in and out of the cut the critters are using, plus you are some what hidden. Walk slow and wait, five steps wait a few minutes 8 steps wait. Etc etc.even slower when fresh sign found. Dads old rule if you think you going slow, slow down even more. Wind always in your favour. No a broken stick is not an ice breaker , although it can be ....... A few together is just bringing more attention to yourself. Try to avoid any though.

[bwerb]

Thanks so much,

I just want to know if I'm in the ballpark of being on the path of hunting or if I'm disqualifying myself out of the gate. Do people walk on the fringes of cutblocks? Should I place myself to walk up or down with the wind? Should I glass from the high ground and wait? Is a cracked branch while hiking a deal breaker? I'm pleased that I've seen game on my hunts (Grouse and rabbit) but no deer so I'm hoping for some "green" "red" direction.

This is an awesome site...so much wisdom.

[Daybreak]

Planning and patience go a long ways. Before dawn the air is usually moving down the slopes. As the sun peaks over the hills it starts to warm the upper air and really pushes the cold air down. This is why you often feel a real coldness just as dawn breaks. Then, once the sun starts to hit the ground the air warms and air movement switches to up the slopes.

If you get to know your areas, you can plan to be positioned for the brief and early down slope air movement and then adjust your path when the air starts to rise. If you are seeing sign then the deer are there. They move slowly and cautiously when not spooked. They will be constantly scanning for danger with their ears and eyes. You need to move slowly too and glass frequently.


Snapping a twig is not game breaking. Animals snap twigs all the time. When you do, it is best to stop immediately and simply wait and listen...say 5 or 10 minutes. This will give an animal time to consider it not to be a threat. You would be surprised what you might see in that 10 minutes. The key is to try to spot the deer before they are aware of you and the only way you will do that is to move slowly, quietly and constantly scan. Try to think and move like a deer.

I consider this to be a tough portion of the season, especially with the warm weather. Every species and sex out there has had enough pressure to be on high alert at all times and nocturnal habits for the bucks. There is no weather or rut to get them moving. They are there, but the chancing of finding anything standing in the open mid day are not good. This will change as the season progresses.

Like suggested, creep along the edges of cuts always looking well ahead of yourself...as far as you can comfortably see and use your binos. You see more deer with binos in a morning than you will in a week with the naked eye. It all takes patience. The deer are in their own house and they live it 24/7/365. Wind does not have to be in your face. A cross wind can be used effectively too.

[two-feet]

If you have a cut block full of sign then one good option would be to sneak in to a good vantage point during the afternoon and wait till last shooting light in a good ambush position. It is the first and last light that they like to move in. Keep at it and you will start to have some rewarding, close encounters with wildlife that non hunters will never get. Good luck!