how far is far enough?

[TheTwelve]

so saturday i went up to region 3 on the coq 3-13 goto zum peak at 730 am parked the truck and hiked the rest of the way north east along the service road. (the snow was around 4-6 inchs deep along the service road, thats why i parked at zum peak.) we saw many tracks for deer, im still new to this so im not sure what deer it was but it was a deer. they mostly seemed old, our foot prints went twice as deep as the tracks, it was snowing but not that hard. we walked along the service road and through the trees/brush for a good 3 hours before turning around and walking back to the truck as we all forgot our lunch in the truck :/ now all the tracks we saw seemed to be old and the most recent ones looked very fresh but the dense tree line proved that deer have gone through the area unless it can clear 15 foot trees without taken the snow off the branchs. when we were walking through the bush it was very difficult to transverse, and we didnt see how a deer would go through this area of the woods... we got back to the truck around 12-1230.. this were where we desided to head up to murrphy lake area... we drop about 7-10km north, north west of the lake and began to walk through the bush this time and not stick to the service roads... 4 pm rolls around and we havent seen one track in the tree line.. there was a few along the service road but that was it...

now my question is how far in do we have to go, we are all beginner hunters and trying to figure this out, on how people go out for a day and end up always getting something?.. is this normal? or do we have to walk further in? or do we just sit somewhere with a call and hope for the best?

i only have 1-2 more saturdays that i can head up for the day and try again.. before the season ends and im not to keen on going by my self. just looking for some more advice on if i was even far enough into the bush or not, or if the region M.U. i was in was just rare becuase of how late the season is?

new hunter just trying to find as much help as i can get :P

thank you

[Wild one]

There really is no magic distance could be 5ft or 30miles it all depends where the game is

At this time I would worry less about distance and more about what the animals like. Slow down and observe where you find sign and what the habitat you find it in. It takes time to start putting things together and learning an area.

Day trips make it tough unless you are hunting local and can make a lot of day trips to 1 locations.

pay attention to the sign and the habitat you find it in

[Whonnock Boy]

You have to find out where the deer are, or in greater concentrations, which may take several trips to figure out, and change throughout the course of the season. When I am discovering new areas, I drive, glass, and THEN hike. Let the wheels and glass do the work for you before busting your backside all over the hills. Snow on the ground helps tremendously when going into an area green. If there's no tracks, there's no animals. For the most part.... If an area looks interesting, go for a short hike just off the beaten path. A lot of times animals congregate just out of the vision of roads, over little hills, or behind stands of timber. You don't have to go far, and first and last light is prime time. Don't be late, or leave early. Good luck on the remainder of your season.

[russm]

I put 100km on the quad in october one day and got my buck 3 km from the truck heading back at the end of the day, stopped to take a leak and he jumped out from a bush 20 yards away had no clue he was there until he showed himself.

[srupp]

I put 100km on the quad in october one day and got my buck 3 km from the truck heading back at the end of the day, stopped to take a leak and he jumped out from a bush 20 yards away had no clue he was there until he showed himself.

Hmmmm maybe he got nervous when you unzipped to peeeeeeeeeeeee. .no longer knowing your intentions..lol run

Steven

[russm]

Hmmmm maybe he got nervous when you unzipped to peeeeeeeeeeeee. .no longer knowing your intentions..lol run

Steven

Lol i didnt get that far into it, as i was getting off the quad out he came, it was a weird situation, he had his head up high and was kind of trotting back and fourth like he wanted to fight or something, i won that fight lol.

[Mulehahn]

As a general rule, animals don't want to work any harder than they have to. Unless spooked they will usually take the path of least resistance. The same can be said about roads. As a general rule, the easiest route to get to point b is where the road was placed. With that in mind, I find most game trails fairly close (within 20yds depending on cover) to the roads , skid trails, and the like. It will often stay this way unless the area sees a bunch of pressure then they may move on.

But that being said, you must take into account what an animal needs. At this time of year they will be focused on breeding but soon that will be winding down and they will focusing on food. They will be moving down the mountains into areas where there is less snow and more browse. Usually part way up the mountain/hill as drifts can be deep in the valleys. Trees and other plants also have a preferred elevation. Many roads travel up the mountain (a vertical access) but the animals will be staying at the elevation where there preferred browse is located (a Horizontal access). Where the two meet you have your hunting grounds.

Often you will see no tracks in the snow on the road, then you will see a bunch in a short area, then you will see none again. Go back to the area with the tracks take a look around where the tracks cross. Take photos for later. What makes this area different then 100 yards up or down the road? It may just be a natural funnel but often that is the type of terrain the animals prefer. Even if there are no deer there now, drive on a bit and look for a similar area and glass again. Repeat. It will come and you can just sense an area should hold deer or not!

[TheTwelve]

As a general rule, animals don't want to work any harder than they have to. Unless spooked they will usually take the path of least resistance. The same can be said about roads. As a general rule, the easiest route to get to point b is where the road was placed. With that in mind, I find most game trails fairly close (within 20yds depending on cover) to the roads , skid trails, and the like. It will often stay this way unless the area sees a bunch of pressure then they may move on.

But that being said, you must take into account what an animal needs. At this time of year they will be focused on breeding but soon that will be winding down and they will focusing on food. They will be moving down the mountains into areas where there is less snow and more browse. Usually part way up the mountain/hill as drifts can be deep in the valleys. Trees and other plants also have a preferred elevation. Many roads travel up the mountain (a vertical access) but the animals will be staying at the elevation where there preferred browse is located (a Horizontal access). Where the two meet you have your hunting grounds.

Often you will see no tracks in the snow on the road, then you will see a bunch in a short area, then you will see none again. Go back to the area with the tracks take a look around where the tracks cross. Take photos for later. What makes this area different then 100 yards up or down the road? It may just be a natural funnel but often that is the type of terrain the animals prefer. Even if there are no deer there now, drive on a bit and look for a similar area and glass again. Repeat. It will come and you can just sense an area should hold deer or not!

the first area tracks were mostly moving along the road.. however there were some spots where tracks were going in all directions, but these were the older tracks almost covered by the snow

[RiverOtter]

Another little tidbit to keep in mind is, while roads are generally easier walking, they also gather more snow, as there is no canopy to catch it. Right next to the road is often dense bush/regen, as the roadway allows more sunlight exposure. What I'm getting at is this, if there is mature timber near the road, it is worth while beating your way through the gross stuff and getting into the mature timber to look for sign, as the easiest foot travel is often found there.

[Big Lew]

Another little tidbit to keep in mind is, while roads are generally easier walking, they also gather more snow, as there is no canopy to catch it. Right next to the road is often dense bush/regen, as the roadway allows more sunlight exposure. What I'm getting at is this, if there is mature timber near the road, it is worth while beating your way through the gross stuff and getting into the mature timber to look for sign, as the easiest foot travel is often found there.

Quite true! Also, if the tracks are reasonably fresh while coming and going in different directions,
that's good. If the tracks are going the same direction and aren't very fresh, that's bad.

[albravo2]

You have to find out where the deer are, or in greater concentrations, which may take several trips to figure out, and change throughout the course of the season. When I am discovering new areas, I drive, glass, and THEN hike. Let the wheels and glass do the work for you before busting your backside all over the hills. Snow on the ground helps tremendously when going into an area green. If there's no tracks, there's no animals. For the most part.... If an area looks interesting, go for a short hike just off the beaten path. A lot of times animals congregate just out of the vision of roads, over little hills, or behind stands of timber. You don't have to go far, and first and last light is prime time. Don't be late, or leave early. Good luck on the remainder of your season.

What he said!

[Kami]

Hunting is more often than not, a lesson in futility. There is no magic. You have to put in the time. You can suck for years and give it a huge amount of time and effort. Driving all over the place. Hiking huge distances.
Glassing so long your eyes are wonky at the end of the day. Endless 5 am mornings trudging through snow, wind and cold. All for no 4 pt buck. There are no easy solutions. It is a crap shoot. You can improve your odds
by working hard on a certain area. But then you'll get kicked in the nuts in prime rutting season and see nothing there. Hunting is not easy. Yet some days you pull up in your truck and shoot one right from off the hood. 50 yards from the truck. Then it seems easy. Hang in there, keep at it. It can take years or it can take days to land a 4 pt buck. It's like the lottery. Luck is needed.

[Ohwildwon]

And the learning curve begins!...
Highly recommend pushing yourself out the door on your own..
You will get to the top of the curve a lot quicker, and learn a lot about yourself along the way...

[Rob]

be consistent in the area you are hunting. I can go to areas where I know hold deer and not see much but the next time may be different, but i will go back. Seeing a ton of tracks in two day old snow could just mean some does and younger ones are moving around lots. if you can tell by the tracks that some are bucks then its a good place to pay attention to. I think most new hunters that are not connecting need to realize that it isn't text book, and its easy to go a year or two or even more and not connect with a legal buck for experienced hunters. find a spot that isnt seeing much pressure, (vehicles driving down the road to me isnt pressure). Most peeps are not getting out and hiking the timber to see what is going on in there. Learn to read what is going on..tracks, defined paths, old/new rubs, deer crap, old sheds..One spot I hunt holds great sign and there is a road 150 meters away. the deer know this but people arent in the woods, they just drive along. the deer/bucks are likely just inside the timber watching this.

[HarryToolips]

^^^^^what he said...don't have to get far off the road to find good area, just find the fresh sign....

[whitespringer]

Hunting is not a video game with immediate gratification. Throw out all preconceived notions of what you think should happen and enjoy the hunt. Take notice of all the small deatails along the way. A good hunt is not bloody hands

[TheTwelve]

thanks for all the advice! i only have 2 more saturdays left in my season, i think im just being to impatient... well i know what my free time will be doing is studying and learning tracks and everything related! hahah

thanks

[250 sav]

Most of the tracks following the road are made at night, the areas they turn off the road or enter the road are usually areas that have something for them like food. Water or cover. That's where I would start

[brian]

Far enough is where the deer are.

[okas]

on the hy way just after the mine cut off is a deep cut and a big culvert they pound thew there after a heavy snow BOW ONLY

[adriaticum]

You'll know it when you start looking for your license.