Great day in thick timber

[scotty30-06]

Well today I checked out a new spot....got in nice and early ...thick dark west coast timber and moss covered ground..was perfect...was in a bow only zone so had my crossbow with me...saw doe and fawn first thing which hot me pumped due to it being my first time in this spot. As I crept along a small creek I had the breeze in my face and everything was perfect for a slow still hunt....saw tons and I mean tons of bear sign amd some buck rubs...after sneeking through some of the spots I had marked on google maps I started to just wonder and explore.....I came around this huge douglas fur and there he was....small spiker staring at me broadside at 25 yards...he must have caught my movemnet either way he knew exactly where and what I was....we both stood motionless ...eyes locked...I waitied for as long as I could and just as I slowly got my eye in the scope of the crossbow...was just in time to see his ass bouncing through the timber..... *exhale*...thinking about what I did wrong and remembering the words of PG66...."he who moves first in thick timber looses".....either way im just getting into using the crossbow for big game so either way I was proud to have got that clise to a blacktail buck...being a young one at that lol.....anyways that was my sunday lol

[HarryToolips]

Very nice, still hunting is lots of fun, those almosts will turn into harvest success soon I'm sure for ya..

[scotty30-06]

Yea could have gone either way...sime deer you can do jumping jacks infront of...and others are gone on your first blink.

[Wild one]

Sounds like you found one of those stupid overlooked spots I tell people to find. If it's the location you spoke of in PM I would guess this could start changing how you look for hunting location

Dont worry about the spike I will place bets the buck that made the rubs is bigger

Go back don't walk sit on the rut sign and call doe bleats/rattle. Invest the time and stay put you should get your buck. If you are sitting odds of being busted drop and you don't push the deer so you can hunt this spot without the fear of pushing the deer out

Good luck

[scotty30-06]

^^I have a treestand im going to be putting up...trail cam is on duty right now...so will check next weekend and see whats up....and going to be setting up few more on a few trail intersections

[Wild one]

With the sign/sightings you have already combined with the likely hood of this location seeing little to no pressure I would say you might be onto something really good. The potential of the area holding a good % of bucks and some quality is there in my opinion

As someone who seeks out this style of locations my advice is limit your impact on the area to avoid spooking/educating these deer. Trail cams are good but don't over do it. Limit how often you check them and don't blanket the area. I know you want to educate yourself on the area but you also want to avoid changing the deers habits or pushing them out

Thick bush small pocket hunting stealth is huge. If done right some locations will produce every year but it often takes time to gain the knowledge of the area to do this. Think long term not just about taking 1 deer

[BStrachan]

Sounds like it was a great day!

[dapesche]

all good adventures to learn from.

I bumped some bedded elk and didn't understand where the bull would be. Though he was already downhill of the heard. I was wrong. Researched it when I got home, and discovered that bulls tend to bed by themselves slightly above the bedded cows. Got into same situation 2 weeks later and knew where to look ... unfortunately the bull was a 6x5 but the 6th was broken...

I'm new to hunting and all these experiences seem to build on themselves.

Stoked that you found a good spot!

[Dour]

Wait a min 6x5 one was broken ????? Don’t mean to hijack but one side had 6 still ???????? That’s a legal 6 point bro or was it’s just a 5x5 and the kicker was snapped off you only need one inch of bone to make it 6 don’t forget !!

[Dour]

Back to the black tail. Yes. Don’t pressure it to much and I can’t wait to see the pics of a buck stuck with a feathered stick in it

[scotty30-06]

Awesome pointers of not blowing the spot out....its hard I wanna go through every inch of the place with a fine tooth comb....but dont want the blow the deer out of the area...goo ideas though using one way in one way out kinda stuff

[Kill-da-wabbit]

I feel for ya! In the timber you can't chase a muley/blacktail over a ridge and wait for them to stop and look back. Sometimes 50yds is an impossible shot! I got caught last year on one foot, pack on, halfway leaning over. I thought my leg was going to give me away because it was shaking so much! It ended with a nice whitey in the freezer. Good to see others out with boots on the ground...

[scotty30-06]

Nice...hahahah wish mine ended the same.....never been one for truck hunting...I have always said that walking (even walking a FSR) you will experience something completely different then when you drive it.....creeping through thick moss covered timber beats truck hunting anyday of the week lol....that being said if your disabled or elderly and still out there hunting ....hell do whatever it takes ....but for myself I prefer to still hunt or too hike to a good spot and glass.....being 100 percent self taught and gping after balcktails is tough...but thanks to people on this site make it easier and keeps confidence up....especially chasing blacktail.

[brian]

but for myself I prefer to still hunt or too hike to a good spot and glass.....being 100 percent self taught and going after balcktails is tough
You are so right about that. I'll give you one pointer after being eyeball to eyeball with quite a few deer. You can actually move quite a bit without spooking them too badly, even at close range. So if you think it is a shooter, then smoothly raise your weapon and take the shot. Just no sudden, jerky, or fast movements. If the deer has committed to trying to figure you out (as in it didn't high tail it immediately) then you often have a minute or so as long as you don't look too threatening. After all it doesn't seem to think you are an immediate threat and is a little confused what to do next. I have made the same mistake in the past where I tried very sllllowwwly raising my weapon only to have it take off before I got a chance to shoot. But I do fully agree with PG66 quote, the one who is seen moving first in the timber usually looses.