Critique and advice, first year hunting

[bwerb]

Hello hunting friends, I'm looking for any and all advice and comments regarding my first year hunting. Here is what my last weekend looked like...am I on the right path?

I was in 3-19, I drove-up on Friday night and camped (-7 brrr) overnight. Got up and was out on the hunt well before sunrise. The first thing I saw on the cut-block was three Moose...got a photo...middle one was spike-fork bull...checked the regulations (hunt buddy)...dang...a week plus a day off...headed away from them up the cut, saw another Moose on the ridge above me crossing between pockets of trees. Kept walking up and around the cut. Crossed into a new cut, started to see copious amounts of deer droppings. Age was everything from a few weeks to a few days. All different sizes...few larger droppings (Moose?). I hit one pocket clearing just off the cut and the droppings looked to be fresh...like few minutes ago fresh...they were not in a pile but in a line about 25 feet long...images of the deer pooping while it ran from me.

I retreated from this pocket to take up an observation point about 100 meters away at the base of a few lone trees in the middle of the cut where I could see the opening and could see a much greater amount of the treeline all around. I sat there for about 2 hours glassing (middle of the day) so I didn't expect to see much but wanted to give it a chance to see any movement.

I got up, walked down another part of the cut around the treeline and found a new opening into a really old logging clearing. Followed it in and found a really old logging road...it was completely mossed and grassed over with multiple fallen trees across the road. I followed the road, saw minimal signs on the sides of the road and no sign at all on the road. Walked about a km up the road, saw a group of fallen trees across the road, as I was looking at it, saw shadow and motion on the other side of the tree...did the complete "Fudd vs. Bugs" popped my head up, looked at the Mule Deer looking at me, dropped down...popped up, dropped down, flipped the legs on the bi-pod open, popped the scope caps open and dropped prone while scoping the open area at the end of the downed tree.

Nada...deer didn't appear.

After stalking-up to the tree, I spent the next while looking for the Mulie but they were gone.

I found so much sign in the area it was silly. Including piles of dirt which had obviously just been created (are they digging out the roots of plants?)...the dirt was so fresh you could blow on it and the dirt would move, unlike the older stuff I'd seen earlier which was crusty and half frozen.

So...I realized I'd missed this opportunity but had found an area in which at least one Mulie seemed to be active.

I retreated back to my 100 meter position in the middle of the cut I'd mentioned earlier. Saw my 5th Moose of the day heading into the cut for dinner as the sun started heading down.

Next morning. I headed out before sunrise to get back to the old logging road to see if I could find the Mulie I'd seen. Saw a deer trail heading off the logging road and followed it...wow...fresh deer poop everywhere. It was almost like parkland with the spaces between the trees and the grass everywhere. I went really slow and repeatedly dropped down to look around at ground level underneath the needle canopy...nada...saw nothing...did this for a couple hours as I hit the place where I saw the Mule deer the day before but didn't see anything.

I saw poop every few feet in multiple sizes and it seemed quite fresh (dark, shiny and not frozen from the night before).

Is this a good plan for hunting? Is this a place I should return to? Should I have headed out earlier and found an observation point/blind?

I'm absolutely loving the hunt. The land and views are amazing...but I'd love to fill my freezer for my young family.

Any guidance is much appreciated...thinking about heading back for the Spike Bull when the season opens...is this stupid?

Love the knowledge on this forum and am looking forward to any and all replies.

[Daybreak]

Go back, figure out your wind and move extremely slow. If your sign reading is accurate, the deer are there. You have to convince your mind that they are there and act accordingly. Too easy to not see anything after the first few pockets or openings and assume they are no deer. They are there.

[Rayne]

Fresh deer droppings are green. Black and shiny could be a few weeks. But sounds like your in a good spot. And yes go back for the immy and take me with

[Daybreak]

Not always green, depends on what they are eating. Heavy lichen and they will be darker. Not hard to tell if they have crusted over and to what degree.

[srupp]

Hmmm your doing fine young man..persistence does pay off.wind direction and thermals..hot air rises are important..pretent you need 2 new knees and have recently had a hip replacement..yes THAT slow.low light..last 45 minutes are magic for deer and black bears..firdt 45 minutes of dawn for deer moose..and grizzlies.
Good luck..you will do just fine.
Cheers
Srupp

[bwerb]

Stupid question...what do you do when the ground is "crunchy" due to the freeze and every step you take is audible as everything crunches as you step on it?

[Bugle M In]

Crunchy ground/ Snow, has always been a hunters nemesis.
Deer use their sense of smell and hearing, way more than their sight.
To be honest, when it's that crunchy, you have 2 choices.
Sit, and keep the wind in the direction away from where you hope to spot game.
Or, Road Hunt!.
Cache Creek/Clinton is brutal for crunchy/icy snow, and the hunting is almost impossible than, if you try to "Still" hunt.
I have sat in a spot, while my hunting partners traipsed thru the forest below me, anywhere from 200 to 700 yrds
below me, and all they see is there own footprints, while I see the deer screaming by.
Now the area you are hunting sounds good, and the deer should be there , so get to know those cut blocks etc, and
learn how to enter them, "depending" on the wind direction.
Smell is everything, so if you can plan a route in which you can hunt the entire area all day, and keep the wind in your face,
or atleast away from the direction you are walking to, than I think those fresh signs your seeing might turn into hooves
standing in them.
Also, explore to find their bedding areas, so that on those crunchy days, you might sit somewhere between their feed areas and
beds....
Sounds like you found a good area, and if you find rubs, even from years past, you probably can't go wrong.
good luck

[Looking_4_Jerky]

As others have said, it sounds just fine. In fact, it sounds like the area has enough animals that you could easily get by just hunting that pocket of 4-5 cuts and the areas in between them, and you should.

As for the moose, I'd say it depends how precious your time is. From my observations they can be fairly nomadic, and may potentially be a long way from where you saw him by this Sunday. Additionally, other hunters, whether they know he's there or not, will be stiff competition when moose opens.

Having said all that, you will fail to win 100% of the contests you don't put your name in for. Being out there is the primary and most important aspect of good things happening.

[howa1500]

You're doing great, listen to everything said above and remember you also need a bit of luck.

[Weatherby Fan]

Yup sounds like a great spot, keep it to yourself to or it will b like a 7/11 slurpy stand on a hot day !