Ways to hunt the alpine/thick bush.

[luger]

Hey, I live in abbotsford and I would like to start hunting more of region 2. I've notice that most of region 2 is thick bush. I am 100% OK with hiking lots and getting any where I want to go. I hear lots of great stuff about hiking in to the alpine but i get a little confused with how to hunt in such thick bush. Is it really possible to be successful when you can see much more then 50ft in front of you? Just wondering how you know a mountain might be a good choice for a hunt or how to hunt a tough thick mountain.
Thanks

[HarryToolips]

I don't hunt region 2, but I like hunting thick bush:grin:....id say find the areas with intersecting trails and fresh sign and sit sit sit...I'm assuming if you happen to luck out and find a natural opening or two with good forage that would be a good start also..

[charlie_horse]

You scout a spot that you know holds deer and you hike that area SLOW. Like damn slow. If the snail beside you isn't passing you your going too fast. Definitely challenging to hunt it, especially mentally. Look up some of proguide66 threads or YouTube videos for inspiration.

[scotty30-06]

You have to find a hip on the mountain...or like a saddle at the top....stick to old dry river and Creek beds...its a natural pathway there will be a game trail on one side or the other....then start hiking straight up following the creek bed to the top...all animals like the saddle at the top...its almost like a door step to the canyon bottom....hike slow and keep in mind the cold air from the top will be dropping so your scent is going down the mountain....so bears won't smell you coming either....so be careful of that....other then that go have fun

[RackStar]

You have to find a hip on the mountain...or like a saddle at the top....stick to old dry river and Creek beds...its a natural pathway there will be a game trail on one side or the other....then start hiking straight up following the creek bed to the top...all animals like the saddle at the top...its almost like a door step to the canyon bottom....hike slow and keep in mind the cold air from the top will be dropping so your scent is going down the mountain....so bears won't smell you coming either....so be careful of that....other then that go have fun

sounds like Steves video!!
good advice.
Theres THICK BUSH AKA undergrowth
then there's thick timber.
Stick to the thick timber.
Reg 2
check out the blacktail app. Lots of good videos made by pg66.

[monasheemountainman]

Which do you want to hunt lol alpine or thick bush?

[luger]

The alpine in region 2 is thick bush.

[RackStar]

True alpine is not "thick bush"

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Read old balcktail threads from PG66

[SWD]

Look for sign.
When stalking ,no more then 2 steps then stop,scan your surroundings.

Look for horizontal lines,

Use the wind to your advantage be aware of thermals.

Use binocs .Don't skylight yourself.

[markathome]

Just got back from a mini scout mission today with the one of my partners - she's nine and stoked for her .22 when she turns ten.

We parked. Hiked road, then salal, then got into old timber and then cracked the alpine. We left the shack in Squamish at 2:00, and in the alpine by 5:00. The dark old growth timber has always produced best results for me - and the only times I've connected have been mid to late Oct - after first or second snow above 800m and I still hunted slower than molasses going up hill in November.

But I don't trail cam... that's next year's hunting budget. This year's is already spoken for in gas to Tatogga Lake and my LEH tags for Spatisizi.

[scotty30-06]

Well pg66 speaks the truth....that was my bad I should have mentioned where I got those tips from...my apologies not wanting a copy write problem ;p....all joking aside for a self taught guy first chasing bt deer he is worth his weight in gold for info....lot of good stuff from him on youtube and even better stuff once you get the how to hunt app

[Wentrot]

You can read and watch videos all day but in the end the best way to learn is boots on the ground. Pick an area that looks interesting on Google Earth and hike in to take a look. Find a game trail, follow that and see what ya see.

[luger]

Great! Thanks for the advice. It's always good to hear what everyone's doing and what works for them.

[Sniperdan]

I have always found that if I hike at a good pace and not necessarily super quiet I tend to see a lot more deer. In my opinion, if a deer hears you once and then not again he will disappear because he knows something is there but he doesn't know exactly where. However, if he can keep tabs on you he will almost always come around to see what you are (curiosity kills the deer lol). Maybe I just suck at the real slow and quiet which gets me busted. So I just stroll through the woods, I don't make a lot of noise but enough. Also, I find that if I blow softly on an E.L.K Deer talker every once in a while that tends to work too.

[mpotzold]

You can read and watch videos all day but in the end the best way to learn is boots on the ground. Pick an area that looks interesting on Google Earth and hike in to take a look. Find a game trail, follow that and see what ya see.
That is what we/I normally do when hunting in thick bush. If no trail is found stay on the higher ridge. Don't forget 1 or 2 rolls of orange flagging tape.

[Ohwildwon]

If nothing more,
you will get lots of fresh air,
and a good work out, hunting those ghosts...:twisted:

[brian]

Hunting thick stuff, that's where I feel most at home these days. I feel naked out in the openings but the thick bush is like a comfortable blanket. Here are a few tips, the thick bush will not be uniformly thick. Some areas will be easier to hunt than others! Hiking, like others have said can produce a lot of animal sightings, just not as many up close and personal sightings. Blacktails will stay put until you are agonizingly close and then bolt. Sometimes (especially when they are higher than you) they will turn and look back giving you an opportunity. Still hunt if you want to go covert. I keep my binos handy when I still hunt. I take a few steps and scan everything. This helps you to both see game you would have otherwise missed and to slow down. You can mimic other animal sounds if you have to make noise. The woods can be damn noisy at times and the deer are used to these noises. The worst for them is if they hear you and then they don't, or they hear slow careful quiet creeping. I've trailed a doe for quite a while once where I was down in chest high noisy salal and I could just hear her not far off. I was making a few doe bleats every now and then because I sure as hell couldn't be quiet. She was relatively unalarmed when I finally caught up with her. Of course all this is a moot point if they wind you. So remember the thick stuff conceals both you and them. You can use that to your advantage. And confuse the shit out of them if you can't sneak up on them!

[curt]

hunting thick rain forest sucks imo I like to head a few hrs north country is much nicer

[Dannybuoy]

I have always found that if I hike at a good pace and not necessarily super quiet I tend to see a lot more deer. In my opinion, if a deer hears you once and then not again he will disappear because he knows something is there but he doesn't know exactly where. However, if he can keep tabs on you he will almost always come around to see what you are (curiosity kills the deer lol). Maybe I just suck at the real slow and quiet which gets me busted. So I just stroll through the woods, I don't make a lot of noise but enough. Also, I find that if I blow softly on an E.L.K Deer talker every once in a while that tends to work too.

This is what I do also .... cover twice as much ground than moving slow and normally I know the area I am in and know where any deer I spook will run to ... But as someone else pointed out alpine and thick bush are totally different . I would go with the slow moving and glassing often in the alpine .

[brian]

This is what I do also .... cover twice as much ground than moving slow and normally I know the area I am in and know where any deer I spook will run to

Personally I move fast in some areas and slow in others. Sometimes its a gut instinct that I should slow down now, and other times it because I know I am in a very "deery" area. I also prefer to sit still at dusk and dawn and move during the day.