Help for a new hunter, please

[Centerfire]

Hi, everyone. I humbly come to you in the need of some help.

I have been hunting for the last 6 or 7 years but have started really trying to up my game this year. Over the years I have bagged a couple of black bears, some small game, and numerous ducks and geese but have yet to bag a deer, elk, or moose, etc. I still consider myself a total newbie, but I'm trying to learn as much as I can. My goal is to drop my first mulie buck. I didn't grow up with any hunters in my family, so I've been trying to learn as much as I can on my own. I try to get out as much as I can, but it can be hard as I live in the dreaded Lower Mainland. I would love to live somewhere in the interior in a log house in quiet place where I could hunt every day, but I was born and raised here and have a career that keeps me here. Trust me, I'd love to get out of Vancouver; it's become a complete gong show down here.:mad: I'm also limited by the fact that my truck is only a two wheel drive, but I'll be buying a quad soon to give me access to more areas especially when the weather gets snowy.

I started out doing a lot of road hunting because that is how a friend of mine hunted when he first took me out hunting, but recently I've been trying to get out of the truck and get out on foot as I keep hearing that it will up my chances of seeing more animals. Plus, I much prefer enjoying nature on foot instead of just sitting in my truck.

I've recently been spending a lot of time in and around the Tulameen FSR area and just last week spent a few days in the FSR's around Tunkwa and Leighton Lakes. But, I'm always looking forward to trying new places.

My question is: how should I be choosing which types areas to hike? Should I just park the truck and head out into the heavy timber? Should I be looking for decommissioned logging roads? Should I be looking for clearings to hike to? I use Google Earth a lot to check out new areas before I go check them out and would love to know what type of features I should be looking for that would be worthy of hiking. How do you choose an area to hike?

Any help would be very much appreciated. I would like to feel confident that I am spending my time out there as productively as possible.

Thanks.

[Pauly]

Hi, everyone. I humbly come to you in the need of some help.

I have been hunting for the last 6 or 7 years but have started really trying to up my game this year. Over the years I have bagged a couple of black bears, some small game, and numerous ducks and geese but have yet to bag a deer, elk, or moose, etc. I still consider myself a total newbie, but I'm trying to learn as much as I can. My goal is to drop my first mulie buck. I didn't grow up with any hunters in my family, so I've been trying to learn as much as I can on my own. I try to get out as much as I can, but it can be hard as I live in the dreaded Lower Mainland. I would love to live somewhere in the interior in a log house in quiet place where I could hunt every day, but I was born and raised here and have a career that keeps me here. Trust me, I'd love to get out of Vancouver; it's become a complete gong show down here.:mad: I'm also limited by the fact that my truck is only a two wheel drive, but I'll be buying a quad soon to give me access to more areas especially when the weather gets snowy. Look for the feed . North facing slopes and draws deer are transitioning to winter feed now.

I started out doing a lot of road hunting because that is how a friend of mine hunted when he first took me out hunting, but recently I've been trying to get out of the truck and get out on foot as I keep hearing that it will up my chances of seeing more animals. Plus, I much prefer enjoying nature on foot instead of just sitting in my truck.

I've recently been spending a lot of time in and around the Tulameen FSR area and just last week spent a few days in the FSR's around Tunkwa and Leighton Lakes. But, I'm always looking forward to trying new places.

My question is: how should I be choosing which types areas to hike? Should I just park the truck and head out into the heavy timber? Should I be looking for decommissioned logging roads? Should I be looking for clearings to hike to? I use Google Earth a lot to check out new areas before I go check them out and would love to know what type of features I should be looking for that would be worthy of hiking. How do you choose an area to hike?

Any help would be very much appreciated. I would like to feel confident that I am spending my time out there as productively as possible.

Thanks. look for north facing slopes with lots of draws and snowberry Bush . Deer are transitioning from summer feed to fall feed. Last of the green will be under cover where the frost has started to dry it out. Put on your boots and walk look for deer droppings tracks rubs ect. Don’t look to hard for deer just cover ground to locate the good spots then slow down if u bump deer in the process all the better at least you’ll know your getting close

[Hugh Mann]

Research what sort of habitat the game your after prefer at the time of year and region you will be hunting. From there, jump on Google Earth and try and find it. Look for potential access points, distances, elevation changes. Hiking is useless if you spend hours wandering around hoping to stumble across something. Personally, I prefer hunting out in the open where I can spot and stalk deer.

If you haven't already, invest in a GPS or InReach, especially if you're hunting solo, with good backroads maps. I've been in some situations that would've been a very bad time without one.

[Taylor329]

One thing to keep in mind when looking at Google maps or Google earth, is that the logging slashes you see are probably more grown in than they appear, and new ones have been cut too. The satellite images generally aren't updated often so take what you see with a grain of salt. It's a great tool for looking at road structure, habitat, terrain type, etc.. Also try looking at Bing maps too, I find that their images are a bit more recent, so you can cross reference between the programs to get a good idea of what you're looking at.

My favorite thing to do in Google earth or Google maps is to click on the little orange guy in the bottom corner, once you click him all the roads get highlighted blue so you can select a 360 street view. But it ALSO highlights some little blue dots in some areas. Those dots are where people have taken a 360 degree photo and loaded it into Google, you can click those dots and have a reeeeeally good view of the area, and how dense the brush is.

[twoSevenO]

Those areas all get hunted hard. They still hold game, but you have to know when and where. When i started i used to get told "princeton has a ton of deer". Then i would go, see a bunch in town, and nothing in the woods. I just didn't hunt the right spots around princeton, or at the right time. Also, i realized when people say "princeton" that often meant anywhere from manning to tulameen and keremeos.

sounds like you're onn the right track but need to invest a bit more time hiking and looking for sign. Keep hiking the bigger patches of forest in between all the FSRs especially if everyone else is road hunting. It should be pretty quick to get enough sign to know whether it warrants going back or not.

everyone that is self-taught fails at finding spots thhat hold game. Sometimes they look like they should but they don't.. it's just the way it is. I've done 7 hour hikes into the alpine to not find anything.

It gets easier. But you have to keep at it. That's the hard part. But it does get easier :)

[Centerfire]

Thank you all very much for the information. I really appreciate it.

Pauly, you mentioned that I should look for north facing slopes. Wouldn't deer be hanging out on south facing slopes to get exposure to the warmth of the sun? Thanks.

Hugh Mann, I have a copy of "Mule Deer Country" but unfortunately haven't read much of it yet. I'll make a point of reading from cover to cover. And, yes I carry an Inreach Explorer+ with me whenever I hunt because I almost always hunt solo. I wouldn't feel safe without it. Thanks.

Taylor329, I too noticed how the images on Google Earth can be very misleading due to the fact that the images are sometimes very old. I'll check out Bing maps. Thanks for the suggestion.

twoSevenO, I would love to find some places to hunt that are devoid of other hunters. Any pointers as to how I can find some quieter hunting spots? Should I be heading farther north? Also, I'll start looking for game trails that head into the forest areas between the FSR's to see if I can find some bedded down deer. Thanks. I agree that I have some preconceived notions of what prime deer spots look like that are probably very wrong. I've driven by areas that made me think "that looks like prime deer land" or "I could totally imagine deer hanging out in there". But, of course I never see deer in those spots.:razz:

Thanks again, everyone.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

[weatherby_man]

I dont know all the tricks but when I use Google Earth I use it mainly to look for areas I think may hold deer if I am unfamiliar with that area, look for areas that have what deer (and all mammals) need, water-food-shelter/cover. You can always find good looking paces just off the beaten path and away from the road hunters, and usually the hikes using GPS arent that bad or too long,, esp in 3. Although, the blowdown in some of those areas and around tunkwa and leighton are very challenging. Find a few good looking spots that may be along a line that you can do in a few hours and hit them off one by one, look for trails and sign and if you see that you're likely guna see game. You have to sort of figure it out as you go once you're onto to sign and deery looking spots. Are you near a cutblock, do you want to wait and glass that or try and bump a bedded buck, its all part of the fun. Its a lifelong journey, dont rush. For me, some of my best days are just really nice hikes :)....

[Centerfire]

Thanks, Weatherby.

I constantly have to remind myself to stop putting so much pressure on myself to "succeed" when I'm out hunting. Because I'm solo hunting for days at a time, there can be a lot of chatter that goes on in my head. And some times it can turn very self critical. I have to try to remember to relax and just appreciate where I am.

Thanks for the info.

[Salty]

pm sent .

[Maglic]

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

All advises given are very sound.
2 things I can add, as new hunter as well (my second year hunting in bc), do not feel limited having 2-wheel drive if you are willing to walk or you are hunting region 3.
90% of roads I have been on around Logan Lake, Merritt, Princeton, Rock Creek do not need it. FSRs are very good, unless yuoget significant snow, but in that case carry chains.

Second one is that having some snow on the ground helps a lot. That is how I found areas/spots with the deer last year while driving FSRs. Finally connected this September on one of those and got my first mule deer , 4 pointers.

Walk slow, glass and enjoy.

[Centerfire]

Thanks, Maglic.

That's sound advice regarding the chains. I actually do have a set for my truck but recently bought slightly larger tires for my truck and haven't tried them out on them to see if they will fit. I'll get on that.

[fozzy]

Once you start seeing Does, especially big groups of Does hunt that area.
if you find an area with decent sign sit and watch it till dark. Places with lots of pressure the deer are nocturnal and won’t be out in the open during the day.
Find a likely clearing or edge of a cut block away from the roads and watch that. Think about going where most people are too lazy to go, it’s pockets like that where the deer will feel safe.

[Centerfire]

Thank you for the help, fozzy.

I'm in pretty good shape, so I don't mind busting my hump to get to an area that sees less hunting pressure. I will try what you suggested.

Thanks again.

[HarryToolips]

I dont know all the tricks but when I use Google Earth I use it mainly to look for areas I think may hold deer if I am unfamiliar with that area, look for areas that have what deer (and all mammals) need, water-food-shelter/cover. You can always find good looking paces just off the beaten path and away from the road hunters, and usually the hikes using GPS arent that bad or too long,, esp in 3. Although, the blowdown in some of those areas and around tunkwa and leighton are very challenging. Find a few good looking spots that may be along a line that you can do in a few hours and hit them off one by one, look for trails and sign and if you see that you're likely guna see game. You have to sort of figure it out as you go once you're onto to sign and deery looking spots. Are you near a cutblock, do you want to wait and glass that or try and bump a bedded buck, its all part of the fun. Its a lifelong journey, dont rush. For me, some of my best days are just really nice hikes :)....
Take his advice and you'll do alright....

[Centerfire]

Thanks, Harry. Love the name, by the way. :wink:

[Wild one]

Getting out of the truck is good but aimlessly hiking trying to cover ground is not. Hiking and covering ground is for scouting to find areas to hunt. Still hunting, ambush, calling or glassing to set up a stalk is productive though

Pick a species and research it’s needs, preference in habitat and it’s habits and focus on that species. Knowledge wins and spreading yourself thin lows the learning curve. This goes for traveling everywhere pick areas and get to know them. It’s about knowing the pockets within an area. Odds are you can pick any MU and there is a hunter who is always successful there and other who always fail.

too tired to type long day at work but simply put slow down. Pay attention to sign it can be more valuable then seeing animals in the long run when learning an area, get to know the animal you want to hunt, and think small when looking about hunting spots it’s not about km’s

[Centerfire]

Thanks, Wild one! I appreciate the advice.

[HarryToolips]

Thanks, Harry. Love the name, by the way. :wink:
You bet bud...play the wind, play the sign...

[AllDay]

I started hunting a couple years with a bow (before I got my PAL). I have gotten a couple black tails in the short time I have hunted. First ever time hunting I shot a blacktail with the bow. When I switched over to a rifle, I stopped seeing as much game because I started hunting differently. Once I started hunting with my rifle like I did with my bow, I started seeing game again.

Point is, get out of the truck and hike into areas where you think you will see game. Hike in like you have a bow in your hands and the only shot you will get is if you are super quiet and sneak up on a deer. Whenever I hunt like this, I see a lot more deer than I do most days smashing roads and putting on major miles.

Also, high pressure areas are sometimes nice when you hunt like this because all the people on atvs, dirt bikes, trucks push the deer into the smaller pockets of bush.

Just some of my experience as a new hunter that has severed me well for getting a couple black tails in the last couple of years. I am still learning a lot though.

Best of luck!

[Centerfire]

Thanks, AllDay.