Whiteys region 3

[Dorarem]

OMG, so upset right now. spent 3 days and havent seen any white tailed at all. same situation was in october... is there any white tailed deer deer around kamloops? Can someone point me please or give any suggestion? will be so appriciated. Checked greensone rd, lac le june area, logan and tunkwa lake. only mule deer spikers and does.. does are everywhere. HELP please guys. still have my tag for whitey

[Rob]

Lol. 3 days? If you find a spot keep it quiet Welcome to the club I live here as well and still trying to figure them out. Different tactics I guess.

[shortrange]

Different tactics I guess.

Merritt, Logan Lake, Tunkwa, too many hunters. I tried putting a salt lick on one remote spot where there was a water source last year. Maybe 100 metres from an old logging road. Two weeks later it was gone. Try some parts of Region 3 away from the highways. If you have to walk in you will not be competing with 90 percent of the hunters.

[Seymourarm]

[QUOTE=Dorarem;1840167]OMG, so upset right now. spent 3 days and havent seen any white tailed at all. same situation was in october... is there any white tailed deer deer around kamloops? Can someone point me please or give any suggestion? will be so appriciated. Checked greensone rd, lac le june area, logan and tunkwa lake. only mule deer spikers and does.. does are everywhere. HELP please guys. still have my tag for whitey[/QUOTEwell at least you seeing the Muleys. that is the goal of the anterless, and any buck WT hunt.

[SR80]

They're a lot harder to kill than mulies. Just because you don't see em doesn't mean they aren't there.

[RackStar]

Hunted hard that area,
get far from the road.
Like said above the whitetails are majorly allergic to lead. They are harder to hunt then mulies. Very very fast and spooky. And do some foot work and trail cameras. Find your white tail pocket and tell NO ONE. And tbh the best way to hunt them is from a tree stand I think. They are smart deer.

[russm86]

Hiked/hunted 5km loop yesterday afternoon in an area I know holds white tails and muleys (though more muleys later as they winter there). Didn't see a single mule deer until the drive out in the dark. Saw one white-tail, I think a buck, but jumped him bedded at 50 yards and he went like lightening even though we were pretty well out of sight and down wind, hardly even got the rifle off the shoulder never mind any glass on him to see for sure.

[dougan]

OMG, so upset right now. spent 3 days and havent seen any white tailed at all. same situation was in october... is there any white tailed deer deer around kamloops? Can someone point me please or give any suggestion? will be so appriciated. Checked greensone rd, lac le june area, logan and tunkwa lake. only mule deer spikers and does.. does are everywhere. HELP please guys. still have my tag for whiteyyou must turn in your man card at once for using {OMG so upset} you meen to say this would give a dogs ass heartburn or something else !!!! Rite?

[Caribou_lou]

^ have to agree. You still have lots of time left to hunt them. It will cool and snow will fall. The deer will start moving.

[Wild one]

Good chance if you are seeing lots of mule deer your hunting the wrong habitat

[Wild one]

My best luck for wt in BC is hunting low elevation thick semi flat areas or thick ravines close to agriculture helps

A white tail is a sprinter they like to use the ability to run into thick cover rather than use steep terrain to escape like mule deer

[sdurango41]

They are there. You just have to sit and wait and barely breath as they seem to see every movement. They are a tough animal to hunt. The rut kicks in in late November so the chances of getting one increase to 50/50!! Good luck

[Glenny]

Good chance if you are seeing lots of mule deer your hunting the wrong habitat

Bang on. The pockets of whities I hunt are nowhere near Muley habitat. And you do need to find them and wait for them. Got a WT Doe last week after getting busted by them while walking. Sat and waitedtill sun down and she came out at 20 yards.Down she went.

[cmarrie]

I understand you're a young, new person who is interested in being a hunter, but I think you've been playing too much Cabelas Big Game Hunter and have an unrealsitc or unhealthy view of what hunting is all about. All the threads you've started are questions centred around the same basic premise, "I have 3 days to hunt and I bought these tags, someone tell me where to fill them". Take a breath. It's called hunting, not killing. Lots of whitetail info on here, just have to sift through the threads. Like many have said in other threads...for whitetail- head east of Kamloops. East by about 2-3 hours.

[whognu]

[QUOTE I understand you're a young, new person who is interested in being a hunter, but I think you've been playing too much Cabelas Big Game Hunter and have an unrealsitc or unhealthy view of what hunting is all about. All the threads you've started are questions centred around the same basic premise, "I have 3 days to hunt and I bought these tags, someone tell me where to fill them". Take a breath. It's called hunting, not killing. Lots of whitetail info on here, just have to sift through the threads. Like many have said in other threads...for whitetail- head east of Kamloops. East by about 2-3 hours.[/QUOTE]

what he said

amen

[Fella]

If you want to be successful you have to put the work in and you can't expect to be successful your first time out. It took a few years of hunting before I connected on my first buck and it's not abnormal to go years without shooting anything. My advice to you is don't expect people to tell you where to go if you aren't willing to do your own homework first.

[swampthing]

Whitys are staring to overrun Kamloops. That's why you are allowed to shoot 2 now. Get out and cull a couple out of there before they overrun more muley habitat. Try the Coq hwy just south of town. Good bucks shoot there every year by good hunters.

[tinhorse]

Whitetails are like rats, sneaky buggers that have learned to stay hidden and well away from danger. You know they are there, but just can't seem to find them to shoot....Sit and wait on good vantage points overlooking open timber and cuts with good food sources and magically they will appear out of no where. Be Patient!

[Rob]

Not uncommon for me to go into areas I know hold whitetails and not see bugger all. trick is not to write the spot off

[HarryToolips]

they're a lot harder to kill than mulies. Just because you don't see em doesn't mean they aren't there.

x2.....................

[Looking_4_Jerky]

I'd say there is a lot of good info right in this thread.

The first issue is that you're looking for WT around Kamloops. Don't get me wrong. They are here, but very few places have densities like the OK or Koots, where one would realistically expect to see them every time out if doing things properly. Granted that I don't hunt much of Region 3 south of Merritt or east of Salmon Arm, but in the rest of region 3, I don't know of any spots where I can expect to see WT every time out. I know and hunt areas here where there are WT, and probably one out of maybe 3 trips I'll actually see some if conditions are right. Then one out of probably 5-6+ days I'll see a buck. People will tell you about how the WT are overrunning Kamloops, and I think (no offense to them), but they are exaggerating a bit. Yes, there are more than have traditionally been around here, but densities are still not high. Only high enough for guys/gals to reliably connect if they put in A LOT of time and effort on cams, setting up salt/feed sites, scout lots, hunt lots, learn areas well. And not to be a downer, but those guys are not going to put in all that work and then just tell you how to go grab a deer there, when it took them years to figure out how/where to do that themselves.

My best advice:

Stand-hunt. Right now try rattling. You don't have to get off the road too far as long as there is a decent visibility barrier between you and the road. Pay attention to wind.

Best of luck.

[Wild one]

If you really want your a WT I will give the best advice possible and odds are it is going to take more than 3 days just to figure them out enough to set up a good hunt.

As many here keep saying WT are spooky but they have a huge flaw. They are the easiest species of deer to pattern. Wt do not roam near as much as mule deer. If you locate WT they are most often within 5miles from where you last seen them and they return to the same locations a lot. They stick to game trails a lot more than mule deer as well. The problem is figuring out where they travel durring daylight hours

I posted some things to look for already but I will add to it. In areas with thick semi flat bush look for cattle guards. You will see a fence heading off either side of the road. Often the bush is cleared along one or both sides of the bush. WT travel these fence lines a lot since it is easy going. These are some of the easiest WT locations to find in a new area.

Along rivers is good also around ponds and lakes. Not uncommon for me to take a little boat cross a lake. Lakes with small meadows away from the roads are best. Meadow is best if it is dry not swampy

In areas that have a lot of steep terrain big ravines with flat bottoms. Low elevation not up high. Wt are often in the bottom of the ravine

More than anything find deer sign lots of it. Follow the sign and it will show you where the deer like to travel areas with intersecting trails increase your odds.

Rubs and scrapes will starting showing up as the rut starts. Wt respond to calling better than other deer species I rattle and use doe bleats

Ditch any thought of long range shots hunting WT the way I do it is close range you will be lucky to see over 50yards. Get in the bush and sit all day is best. You must have faith in your location and stick to it. Don't get up and walk around stay still. Do this alone not with a buddy the deer will be really close when you see them so talking and farting are bad. At times it can take multiple days to even see deer in a location other times 5 min you never know

Biggest thing is getting out in the bush and finding your pockets

Dont get frustrated animals are not stupid and not behind every tree. Each species is different and it takes time to figure them out. I have met guys who can hammer mule deer but struggle to find WT in areas I see them all the time. They are not bad hunters but instead don't understand WT

put in your dues and pay attention to habitat you see animals in and the sign they leave behind. In time you will see patterns and things become clear

[Bugle M In]

go to Cherryville country if you want better odds at a white tail....that's where I would go.

[jconn]

go to Cherryville country if you want better odds at a white tail....that's where I would go.

Looking at the cadastral fabric layer on the DataBC Google Earth plugin, it looks like Cherryville is almost all private land. Any idea where (roughly) around that area someone could head out and find crown land to hunt?

[Bugle M In]

north side, above private land, west or east of it.

[Bugle M In]

Actually, this advice is free.....pay attention where other's are parked or hunting on the long weekend.
That will give you ideas for future hunts.
Some driving around is required, but eventually you get the lay of the land:wink:

[RackStar]

white tails in region 3 are a myth...
just like the sasquatch...
the only white tail in reg 3 is in my freezer...
must look elsewhere....

[walks with deer]

Whitetails once you shoot one you can do it every year once I see one I hunt the pisd out if that spot until I see another and harvest it..
There is no time to think with most whiteys I shoot the secound I see.

[Dirt Road King]

always found them easier to hunt when the snow flies. never shot one when snow wasnt on the ground..

[guest]

If you really want your a WT I will give the best advice possible and odds are it is going to take more than 3 days just to figure them out enough to set up a good hunt.

As many here keep saying WT are spooky but they have a huge flaw. They are the easiest species of deer to pattern. Wt do not roam near as much as mule deer. If you locate WT they are most often within 5miles from where you last seen them and they return to the same locations a lot. They stick to game trails a lot more than mule deer as well. The problem is figuring out where they travel durring daylight hours

I posted some things to look for already but I will add to it. In areas with thick semi flat bush look for cattle guards. You will see a fence heading off either side of the road. Often the bush is cleared along one or both sides of the bush. WT travel these fence lines a lot since it is easy going. These are some of the easiest WT locations to find in a new area.

Along rivers is good also around ponds and lakes. Not uncommon for me to take a little boat cross a lake. Lakes with small meadows away from the roads are best. Meadow is best if it is dry not swampy

In areas that have a lot of steep terrain big ravines with flat bottoms. Low elevation not up high. Wt are often in the bottom of the ravine

More than anything find deer sign lots of it. Follow the sign and it will show you where the deer like to travel areas with intersecting trails increase your odds.

Rubs and scrapes will starting showing up as the rut starts. Wt respond to calling better than other deer species I rattle and use doe bleats

Ditch any thought of long range shots hunting WT the way I do it is close range you will be lucky to see over 50yards. Get in the bush and sit all day is best. You must have faith in your location and stick to it. Don't get up and walk around stay still. Do this alone not with a buddy the deer will be really close when you see them so talking and farting are bad. At times it can take multiple days to even see deer in a location other times 5 min you never know

Biggest thing is getting out in the bush and finding your pockets

Dont get frustrated animals are not stupid and not behind every tree. Each species is different and it takes time to figure them out. I have met guys who can hammer mule deer but struggle to find WT in areas I see them all the time. They are not bad hunters but instead don't understand WT

put in your dues and pay attention to habitat you see animals in and the sign they leave behind. In time you will see patterns and things become clear


great suggestions W O ! Bingo. These above rules are gold and DO work. Patience patience

[J-F]

You get one chance.

I was out today on a private property where I have seen both whitetails and mules over the last years. I saw a little WT buck, by the time I had made sure he was a whitetail, he had trotted away. Never came back when I called, and couldn't find himwhen I still-hunted where he went.

After that, I bumped into a few mule deer does and fawns... of course!

Most of the time, the WT will be in different areas than the muleys, but not always. And they tend to stay on private farm land, from what I have observed.

[Wild one]

Agree at times you find both in the same area most often one species is in higher numbers than the other when you find this

Wt do like to hand out in agriculture but lots live no where near it. Never hunted wt on private land in BC

[boxhitch]

Fortunately for us Region 8 hunters, it is pretty easy to find good WT hunting in reg 3 that is close to home.
3-12 would be my first choice, but others have worked too.;)

[boxhitch]

Wt do like to hand out in agriculture but lots live no where near it. agreed, Not much private at 1100-1600 masl

Anyone can find deer when driving the backcountry within an hour of dawn or dusk. Might not be shooting light but its all about location.
Pay attention to sightings in the headlights

[Wild one]

agreed, Not much private at 1100-1600 masl

Anyone can find deer when driving the backcountry within an hour of dawn or dusk. Might not be shooting light but its all about location.
Pay attention to sightings in the headlights


This^^ is a good option to find a starting point on locating pockets for WT. In the past only seeing Wt bucks in my headlights is what caused me to go digging around the thick stuff for them. Have not done this in years but it is how I started understanding them

Heads up if you do it with a spotlight no weapons in the truck it is easier than trying to explain that you are just scouting when you don't have a rifle. Trust me been there done that even if you are doing nothing wrong you look really guilty lol