Failed/Discouraged Hunters Seeking Help

[Merino]

Hi HuntingBC folks,

I am a first generation hunter with no family hunting heritage or previous experience. This is my 4th year hunting (started back around 2018 ) and so far I’ve had zero success harvesting any big game. I typically hunt in a group of 3. All of us have no previous hunting experience and are self-taught via reading posts on here/books/internet articles and watching videos. We on average take about 3-4 trips a year ranging from about 5-7 days long. Based on the advice posted here, we always drive 3+ hours out of town (we’re located in the Lower Mainland) and have hunted areas around Princeton, Merritt, and Boston Bar/Lytton.

For spring bear, we usually hunt around the end of May/early June. We’ve seen a couple of bears on the drive into camp but have never had a shot opportunity on one. I think I’ve read every bear related thread on this forum looking for advice: we glass greened up south facing slopes, glass areas with fresh poop, walk old/deactivated FSRs, still hunt through timber - but have never seen a bear. A lot of posts mention they love sunny days which we’ve hunted plenty of too.
When there is an abundance of green grass, how do you narrow down what areas to watch. It seems like a bear could eat in one spot then travel several KMs away never to return.
What do you do when you find fresh-ish poop? Find a spot to glass that area from, leave the area and check it later, try to follow/track where it went? How do you determine if it’s an active feeding area and if it’s likely it’ll come back?

For mule deer hunting in the fall we’ve just never seen a buck. We usually take these trips during the pre and peak rut around the end of Oct to mid Nov. On these hunts we glass cut blocks throughout the day and always at first/last light. Are we just looking in the wrong spots? Should we be looking for specific foods or habitat? How do you know when to move on from an area and what makes a cut block more likely to hold animals?


Sorry for the long winded post and plethora of questions. I’m sure a lot of this has been answered before but it’s hard to translate book knowledge into real world hands on experience. Having said that, we’ve tried as much as possible to learn on our own and be self-sufficient over the last 4 years. I understand hunting is not easy, especially without having a mentor to teach you/tell you what you're doing right and wrong, but getting skunked 4 years in a row is very discouraging. I’m definitely not asking for you to share your honey holes or secret spots - I want to become good enough to find my own. All help and advice is welcome. Cheers

[Rob Chipman]

What part of the LML are you in?

[Merino]

What part of the LML are you in?

Hi Rob, myself and hunting group are all from the Vancouver area.

[caddisguy]

RE which hills to glass...

We tend to hunt thicker stuff so glassing isn't much of a thing.

We poke in and out of isolated grassy pockets that aren't exposed to roads or even wide open terrain. Roads and open areas are a tad spooky for critters.

Look for those little nooks and crannies where a bear doesn't have to worry about being seen from 100 yards away or something driving by.

Hidden pockets of grass like little strips tucked between some old growth and the side of a mountain, entrance(s) enclosed by some brush, little creek action going, some place they are good and safe eating, napping, staying cool, etc

But which grass? The ones the most fresh hits, like someone took a weed whacker to a good number of patches and the squared off tips haven't turned brown, less than 1mm of whitish edge. Vanishing dandelion tops and fresh torn up rotten stumps is another one to be looking out for at this time... fresh broken saplings with hair (boar scent markers) are gold now too.

We hunt bears in R2 exclusively and find April is the magic month but good until first week of May. After that there's enough grass around, plus boars are covering distance looking for sows, not hanging out in any given pocket for as long, makes it a bit more random and tougher going.

Nothing beats finding that first good grass in April and every bear from every mountain on either side of the valley is consolidated onto those first few good pockets. You can have well over a dozen bears hiding out around that first pocket even if it's not much bigger than a backyard.

3 is also a bit of a crowd to be hunting with unless you are splitting up a good ways apart, like a few kms at least. I mean it's still doable, but it is a lot of extra scent and sound. Bears shy from crowds a lot more than they do an individual. We see more bears solo than creeping around together.

As for deer, these R2 BT's took us years to figure out, but for any deer, hit the timber around those slashes, places with lots of old mans beard, lichen and such, check around for trails cut out through the mossy floor, now good chance you are in business. It's the saddles and benches in the timber up above and around those cuts that will be of more interest than the cut itself. If you're going to watch the cut, best to do it from inside the timber.

Good luck out there

[notyalc]

Just have to keep on going. It took me almost 6 seasons before I connected with my first cut tag. Go out and don’t expect to get anything, just relax, have fun and enjoy the time away. Once I got that into that mind frame things got great and I’ve been successful every year since then. The way I feel now is that if you get stressed out while hunting and it’s no longer fun, then you may as well just pack your gear up and go home. Be patient, your opportunity will come.

[brian]

It took me six or seven seasons of chasing blacktails in the Chilliwack valley before connecting. I know your pain and frustration.


How do you know when to move on from an area and what makes a cut block more likely to hold animals?
this is always a tough question. There is a grass is greener phenomena no matter where you are. Obviously fresh sign is a dead give away that the animals are there. But that doesn’t mean they will be there when you are. What makes a cut block hold more deer? Usually it is a combination of food availability, proximity to good bedding areas, and security. Getting to know these areas and how to hunt them takes time.

So I have a few questions for you. How often are you hunting in a season? How far from home are the hunting grounds? How often do you get out to scout these areas? Do your areas see a lot of hunting pressure during the season? There are more questions, but this is a good place to start.

[Bugle M In]

Cut blocks are not my favourite spot to hunt.
We say in cut blocks when I was young with deer sign in the snow but rarely saw much, so I know exactly what you are talking about.
They can be there, they can certainly wander thru them in a b line etc.
But going in and hunting them on timber around the rut has changed completely how much more success I found.
My thought is, if you have a bunch of days strung together, that you go during or around the rut.
Pray for snow, as the fresh sign will certainly help you figure out new areas better.
Cut blocks tend to get more active at night it seems vs in timber during daylight.
And the further you can drive, because you have 5 days at a time, will also get you into areas with less continuous pressure.
Clise to the Lm, like Merritt or aboston bar or Princeton tend to have a lot of 1 day hunters, so the game is always on high alert and pushed back more times than not.
Even on further away trips it can get busy, but I still feel you will see more.
Finf fresh sign that cross crosses over many days, in a general area and you won’t be far from spotting deer in timber.
Inside the fringes if cut blocks can produce better also.
And yes, just driving thru them can produce rather than sitting all day.
Evenings in blocks seem better as well.

[HarryToolips]

Good advice all around thus far...usually, but not always, the farther from hunting pressure you get the better your odds with big game, and as mentioned above, finding the fresh sign is key... with bears in the spring focus on the green up with dandelion and clover, deactivated roads are great spots as well as certain parts of cut blocks...I don't hunt R2 so I can't help ya with blacktail...

[caddisguy]

Just to toss in another example. One of our secondary pockets (we like to find 3-4 good pockets within 3km as the crow flies) ... it's maybe 100 yards from a mainline, total seasonal camper super highway, vehicles ripping by 50-80km/hour at all hours.

Looks like impenetrable reprod, like it must be miles of fir tree clusters forever.

Nope. Smash through 100 yards of fir clusters and it's a dang field of grass in a flat valley bottom. No evidence a human has poked in there in 20 years. I cant count how many bears we've had on trailcam eating and falling asleep in there.

Poke around and find a bunch of places like that. There are plenty to go around. If you were a bear and didn't want to hang out in an open area or within sight of a road, some place you could just eat and nap, never to be seen or disturbed, where would you go? Find the places that solve for that and you got it.

If you're finding areas with grass plus scat you're probably not far off, but those obvious places make more for night time grazing. Probably not far off, just gotta find those more secluded nooks and crannies near by.

With regard to "sunny days", temps are a big variable there. If it's above 20C, probably won't see much aside from dawn and dusk. Those days that are like 15C, sunny off and on, light sprinkle, like days you'd expect to see a rainbow, that's good stuff right there, anything could happen any time of day. Over 20C they like to snooze in mossy shade and will look like a shadow.

[Treed]

Try to find cutblocks where the roads are not drivable. Areas where the cut blocks are at the edge major slope breaks. Don’t hunt the cutblocks though, hunt the edges. When you hunt, all areas are not equal. It’s like fishing. Find the hatch and find the fish. In this case, find the sign and then slow hunt it. Look for cutblocks with the tasty veg. Look for browse sign all the time. If you see it or fresh pellets, slow down. Slow down. Slow down. Did I say slow down? Glass even in the timber. Don’t hunt in doubles. You are so much more visible and loud and smelly in twos. Always hunt the wind. Know the daily thermals. Change your plans to match the wind. Don’t be lazy about he wind. Deer never stop testing it. Remember above all, the reason you are hunting is to hunt. The experience and the moment are the reason. The kill will come when you least expect it. It and the aftermath are the least fun parts, at least I my mind. But I hunt alone and have never killed and animal with someone to help, which is why, for me, the suck starts then. Once it’s in the truck, it’s easy peasy.

When you get discouraged and feel useless, keep positive and focussed. It’s in those moments, when you have your head down that you are most likely to miss a good animal. Good luck!

[Bugle M In]

Bears is not my specialty.
Bit what I have noticed, in the fall, not spring, they just wander constantly while feeding.
Even if you find fresh scat, the bear could already be a couple of km down the road by the next day.
Maybe those that hunt them in the spring can add way more info.
Maybe in the spring, they hover more in the same area?
Summer/ fall you have berries, and they grow all over, this the bears move so much.
Maybe in the spring, the fresh grass is more clustered early on, thus they hang in the area.
But again, I am not really a bear hunter.

[brig]

Your story sounds very similar to mine, I started hunting about 20 years ago now with a buddy. neither of us had any hunting heritage in our families and we had to learn on our own. We started around Princeton merritt areas as well. For the first 3 years we didn't see a buck and finally in the fall of our 4th year we shot a bear. The next year we shot our first buck and every single year since then I have shot at least a muley buck every year. We now hunt moose regularly as well farther north. Don't be discouraged by lack of success in the early years, just take lesson's from every trip out and eventually you will start connecting and you'll figure out the 'secrets' to success.
The satisfaction you will enjoy from learning on your own will be totally worth the effort. Don't give up!

[wideopenthrottle]

discouraged maybe but failed NO! Each trip to the woods is about learning...you want to learn your prey (where they are in the day, at night, or seasonally...where they travel between) ..once you reach that level of knowledge about the animal, it just seems easier after that...

the things that I learned very early on are: to slow down, to be as quiet as possible, keep your heartrate down to a lower volume than the background noise heheheh, stop frequently and do a full look around (even behind you), always be aware of the wind direction and how time of day and terrain can affect the wind....

[caddisguy]

Bears is not my specialty.
Bit what I have noticed, in the fall, not spring, they just wander constantly while feeding.
Even if you find fresh scat, the bear could already be a couple of km down the road by the next day.
Maybe those that hunt them in the spring can add way more info.
Maybe in the spring, they hover more in the same area?
Summer/ fall you have berries, and they grow all over, this the bears move so much.
Maybe in the spring, the fresh grass is more clustered early on, thus they hang in the area.
But again, I am not really a bear hunter.

That is my take for spring bear hunting, particularly early spring. They hold pretty close to those pockets that get the first grass and dandelions and often feed in the same spot for hours on end a couple times a day.

Once food is abundant and spread out, sows start going into heat, bears are a little more spread out and random, just cruise around, eat some grass and dandelions here, rip the bark off some stumps and eat some grubs there, wander off into the timber and knock down a yellow jacket nest somewhere else.

Best odds for getting into a lot of bears is that first half of spring when they are concentrated if you know the spots. Second half of spring when they are moving more, odds for chance encounters are better.

[moosinaround]

Drive a bit further north, hunt region 5. Dusk is a doozy of a time up here for bears, but saying that both our bears this year were shot between noon, and 1 pm. They were feeding on grass/dandelions, so that is always a good thing to look for. Deer, in region 5 where I hunt them are in the timber. So much private land close by, I set up ambushes in the timber for them. Watch travel corridors, and learn their patterns. Over everything else though, explore, watch for tracks, poop, anything that looks critterish? Cover ground methodically, and watch your wind. I like to hunt with the wind in my face, so approach juicy spots with the wind in your face. Anyways, it is never a waste of time to get away from the city, so enjoy your time in nature, ya never know how long we will have it to enjoy!! Moosinaround

[Bugle M In]

Yup, when hunting md, do move slow, and quiet but you never be able to move quiet enough when the day is dead calm.
I don’t track right behind fresh tracks any more, unless trying to find the area deer linger in and get to learn the area they use through out the day.
If I cut tracks that have potential and know the area, I guesstimate where they are headed and might be hanging, do a loop around and move in from the optimal wind direction.
I find md come down at night and move up in the morning, so if I cut tracks, they usually are going upwards, and thus my loop is upwards and around and then back over to where they might have ended up.
Worked to perfection this past November.
Still have to post up that story!

[wideopenthrottle]

same with WT...I have a spot I like to go to that has 2 routes up from the farm fields where they seem to go eat all night...in my experience no matter which way they come up, the doe s always seem to go into a quiet little rolling area in the hills above the farm but the bucks tend to go up higher to the next level up (until the rut)....if they don't go by my ambush location I know where to go look for them...
Yup, when hunting md, do move slow, and quiet but you never be able to move quiet enough when the day is dead calm.
I don’t track right behind fresh tracks any more, unless trying to find the area deer linger in and get to learn the area they use through out the day.
If I cut tracks that have potential and know the area, I guesstimate where they are headed and might be hanging, do a loop around and move in from the optimal wind direction.
I find md come down at night and move up in the morning, so if I cut tracks, they usually are going upwards, and thus my loop is upwards and around and then back over to where they might have ended up.
Worked to perfection this past November.
Still have to post up that story!

[twoSevenO]

Have you tried to send PM to Jelvis for advice?

Yes, self taught is a struggle. From my own personal self-taught experience: it's all about location.

Some spots look like they should hold game, but they just don't.

[tigrr]

When you see scat observe the diameter of it. Less than 1 1/2" move along.
If you check out an area google earth it with the latest photo date, just click on the date in the lower left hand corner and click on the last photo date available. You can see swamps and grassy areas. South facing cut blocks a few years old are good too. It took me a few years to connect but have been doing it regularly from then on. Happy hunting.

[Noreasny]

Find a green alpine meadow sit on the edge of it with a bit of cover where you can see a good percentage of the area spend the later half of the day there try using a preadator call sometimes that will work but usually they will wander out for a good feeding in the last couple of hours of daylight

[PressurePoint]

This is where living in the LMD can be difficult and hunting as a hobby becomes time consuming. 3 hours from the lmd? Would you consider driving 13 hours from the LMD? Now you’re getting into country that holds a plethora of game. More game, more chances. I live on the island and I go up north several times a year and driving 13 hours is the cost of doing business. But every year I get my moose (not anymore I guess) and other ungulates. White tail, muley etc.

driving 3 hours out of the lmd may seem far but it really isn’t. All said in done, in the long run, you’ll send more
Time driving around getting skunked than if you spent the extra time driving further north. Head to Prince George (which from the lmd is only like 8 hours) get up around Mackenzie and the world is your oyster

[huntingfamily]

Fuel costs for driving are really going to impact a lot of us this year...

[Merino]

Wow I'm blown away by all the responses from everyone, thanks everyone for taking the time to share.


@caddisguy
Would you recommend sticking with R2 for spring bear? Are bear numbers pretty high this close to the city? Typically only one of us in the group has a tag so we do need to stick together which is why we opt to sit and glass instead of trying to bush-whack as a group. Thanks for the advice on feeding locations, that seems relevant regardless of where you hunt.



So I have a few questions for you. How often are you hunting in a season? How far from home are the hunting grounds? How often do you get out to scout these areas? Do your areas see a lot of hunting pressure during the season? There are more questions, but this is a good place to start.
Typically 1-2 trips in both the spring and fall. 3+ hours away from home (lower mainland). No pre-scouting (not enough vacation time for this unfortunately). Very little pressure during spring bear season, fairly moderate pressure during the fall.



Always hunt the wind. Know the daily thermals. Change your plans to match the wind. Don’t be lazy about he wind. Deer never stop testing it.
This is super tricky for us and something I forgot to mention in my post. We constantly use wind checkers but the wind never seems to be consistent. We start a hike in with it blowing in our face but walk for 5 minutes and re-check and now it's changed and at our back. How are you supposed to manage it when it changes in a seemingly unpredictable way?



Have you tried to send PM to Jelvis for advice?
No I have not, but I have read a lot of his advice across many posts on here.


@PressurePoint
Interesting point. We didn't want to commit to locations even further away as we felt we'd just get skunked while spending more on fuel. In our mind, higher animal numbers don't necessarily translate to higher success rates if we don't have the skill/experience to find them.


In general, for muleys it sounds like a lot of you still hunt/opt to hunt in the timber. Is our strategy of glassing open areas/cut blocks not really effective in the habitats around BC?

[Bugle M In]

Yes, it is all about location and timing, as you need both.
Being from the LM my whole life, and not really having any friends from the interior to get intel from, I totally understand the OP’s difficulties.
It can be hard to get the time to travel further, when the travel eats up a big chunk of time in itself, and you only have a weekend.
And you throw in the costs, and it is no where like back in the 80’s.
Game numbers not being like they used to, and it gets tough.
I still am amazed when I hear someone saying they just came back from Princeton, as I hear that all the time, but, I understand it fully as I mentioned previously.
If I could, remove the costs and have the extra time to travel, I most likely would be looking at R5.
Taking in account the 10 day closure on MD, but I think it is the best bet.
Having said that, I haven’t been up there in years!!!!
So, even I wouldn’t know where to really start?
And again, that extra time and money makes it hard to go back repeatedly snd often enough to learn an area!
Spmetimes you stumble on it, other times you can flounder repeatedly.
R3 is a gong show during the R5 closure now, and I have seen it’s affects first hand with decades of experience on a particular area.
So I can certainly say, an area that see a lot of traffic, regardless of if it’s a hot spot for deer, will see declines and less sightings and success.
But I get how hard it can be for a newb from the LM.
Even those that have plenty of deer hunting how to knowledge, can really struggle finding a new and productive area without either local intel, it tons of time and money.
Never forget that, don’t beat yourself up on that, and find the beauty in the nature you find yourself in while hunting.


Most importantly, don’t forget to have as many laughs as you can with either your friends or family!!!!
Those moments go way beyond the hunt/kill and are what you truly remember as you age.
Best of luck and I hope you get a few pm’s to help you get into a better hunting zone.

[cameron0518]

There is a ridiculous amount of posts on here asking for help but I must say that yours was actually very thought out and well written. That is probably why there have been better and more responses, so good on you. My opinion is that if you are seeing bear scat that is even a week old, you are doing just fine in looking for an area. Bears are not hard to find overall. Glassing cut blocks is my preferred method. As for deer, if you are seeing does, there will be bucks. Be patient, wait, pay attention to what info the does might let slip with their body language. As for time of year to get your first buck, IMO is an easy one, get out there when the season first opens. Good luck

[twoSevenO]

There is a ridiculous amount of posts on here asking for help but I must say that yours was actually very thought out and well written. That is probably why there have been better and more responses, so good on you. My opinion is that if you are seeing bear scat that is even a week old, you are doing just fine in looking for an area. Bears are not hard to find overall. Glassing cut blocks is my preferred method. As for deer, if you are seeing does, there will be bucks. Be patient, wait, pay attention to what info the does might let slip with their body language. As for time of year to get your first buck, IMO is an easy one, get out there when the season first opens. Good luck

Not nearly as many as back in 2008/9/10

I stopped using this site for a while because of it. People would literally just have this in a post "Plz guys HELP! October is almost over and freezer is empty and my kids need to eat!! Help!"
I would be embarassed to post that kind of stuff.

[HappyJack]

@PressurePoint
Interesting point. We didn't want to commit to locations even further away as we felt we'd just get skunked while spending more on fuel. In our mind, higher animal numbers don't necessarily translate to higher success rates if we don't have the skill/experience to find them.


In general, for muleys it sounds like a lot of you still hunt/opt to hunt in the timber. Is our strategy of glassing open areas/cut blocks not really effective in the habitats around BC?


The more game around the more likely you are to connect. We always hunt the sign, if there is no sign the game isn't there, they all leave tracks. As for mule deer we usually hunt them from ground blinds in places we know they like to move. In R5 the deer along the Fraser River will be going uphill in the mornings and downhill in the evenings. In R7 we hunt the first 10 days of October in a spot they migrate through [35+ years in the same campsite] the deer there are almost all headed southeast.

What I find with most new hunters is they don't watch the wind....and they run all over the place moving from spot to spot chasing unicorns. My advice is watch the wind and slow down, big game will spot you moving before you spot them 99 times out of 100. With changing wind conditions we found hunting from ladder stands helps, if you are high enough up most of the time your scent won't reach them even if they are right downwind from you.

[Bugle M In]

It’s amazing how well deer use the wind and also their hearing.
I have watched deee be bedded, and I will be watching them for 1/2 hour.
Then suddenly, they all look one direction, looking alerted, and the at some point, get up and rush away.
15 minutes later, here comes a hunter.
Talk ti them, ask how they are making out, and they say they haven’t seen anything yet.
And when they do, all they see is a flicker of ass or leg taking off more times than not.
It takes a lot of constant all day discipline to move quietly or admit you can’t, and stop and pause for 10 of 15 minutes to calm the area down.

[wideopenthrottle]

I often mention it here but a trick I use is to count my paces (every 2nd step) and set a limit based on the prospects of the area.....my absolute limit is 30 if there is enough light to shoot even if walking on a road or trying to cover ground....8 or 10 is generally what I set but of course it gets down to 1 step at a time in some places...you are hard pressed to spot movement when you are moving...generally, I want to be able to see movement farther than any noise I make can be heard to be able to successfully still hunt...I don't have patience enough to sit in a blind all day so I have learned to move as quietly as possible

[Mudsey]

Why would only one in your group have a bear tag?

[Walking Buffalo]

I've given this same advice to many, with success ensuing.

Pick one area and learn to hunt it. Stop jumping to new spots.

Trust me, as you become familiar with your hunting area, the rest of the puzzle will come together.

[twoSevenO]

I've given this same advice to many, with success ensuing.

Pick one area and learn to hunt it. Stop jumping to new spots.

Trust me, as you become familiar with your hunting area, the rest of the puzzle will come together.

This is solid advice ... BUT, and this is a big BUT .... only if the area is good to begin with.
I'm self taught and have spent a bunch of time learning an area only to realize it only becomes good after the Nov 10 closure. when you are a real beginner, it takes time to learn things that more experienced hunters might consider common sense.

The most successful hunters i know and see on Instagram are those who come from families with hunting backgrounds. My point being, finding someone willing to mentor you is the best and fastest way to success.

[grantk]

Pick one area and learn to hunt it. Stop jumping to new spots.


This right here. And spend multiple seasons learning it, not just a few days/weekends.

[Ron.C]

If you want to venture over to the island for a bear hunt, I can tell you where to go where you will see bears. A good hunt to cut your teeth on and see some game. (PM me if interested)

For deer, I think the 2 biggest problem most new guys have is they either blow out the area before you ever see a deer by heading into thick stuff and not watching the wind/thermals or in open country, not being patient enough to sit and glass, and glass some more, and glass some more.

I've recommended to a few new hunters to look at the SE koots. Deer numbers are not what they once were but still lots of whitetail around. And IMHO, not overly difficult to see deer or get a young WT buck/doe (when season permit). And you can't get much better eating.

[DannyO]

I would give the same advice as above. I’ve been hunting for 3 years now. I searched for a white tail spot, a mule deer spot and two bear spots and I hammered those spots. Any available days I was there be it hiking, driving, scouting, hunting, setting up a camera. And I asked a shit load of questions.

I always had doubt until I shot an animal in the spot then my perspective changed about those spots. So I believe confidence is important. BC has lots of animals and you will make it happen sooner or later! Don’t give up on it.

I’m always interested in talking hunting so shoot me a message any time .

Good luck!

[Fosey]

95% of the hunters are hunting the roads and cut blocks.get off the roads and your
success will happen. Use maps or goggle earth to find your spots. Do lots of pre planning
d you will connect.

[Fosey]

Dustin Roe has a great podcast on how to prepare. It is very thorough.
If I find it I will send it to you. Preparation is the key.

[Fosey]

I found it send me your email and I will send it.

[Bugle M In]

You know, I was hunting the right area many years ago, but wasn’t finding any success.
I would see Doe and the odd small buck from year to year.
I finally travelled in farther , deeper and got to really learn the area, remembet from year to year where I was always seeing sign, tracks and rubs, and by doing so, learning their movement.
More importantly, how they use the terrain to escape and avoid other hunters and where they would get pushed.
Once that all came together, which took many seasons, I now walk into the woods with almost 100% certainty I will find the deer, and a legal buck.
It just not be a shooter for me.
You can be in the right area, but you still have to go thru the hurdles of learning the area and explore further and deeper to get a full picture.

[Ourea]

Deer-
Invest in trail cameras, they are an amazing tool and great hobby. It will get you into the field in the spring. They are doing a lot of your work in determining if an area will be worth investing in come fall.

Scouting in the spring, before things start greening up, trails will declare themselves more readily. Droppings are easier to see.

Consider researching deer harvest data by region and MU. It is available to the public.

As others stated you are better off sticking to an area that has sign and learn every inch over time.

I love to spike camp for MD, get away from pressure.

Learn to identify habitat. (Example would be what age of cut blocks are the most productive for ideal forage?)

For MD, hunt with your glass as much as your boots.

There's a few points for you.

Put as much time in to scouting as you do hunting

[WelderGuy]

For the areas you are mentioning,,ie-Lyton etc, I would hunt spring bear in early May into the 2nd week. glass the grassy south facing slopes. I am farther north (100 Mile) and I find the end of May here is really getting late in te game as there is green stuff everywhere. Its much easier if the grass in only on the slopes or the edges of the roads. then the bears need to come to it. They are easier to find etc. By the 2nd week of une here, lots of them hae rubbed hides too.

[Merino]

But I get how hard it can be for a newb from the LM.
Even those that have plenty of deer hunting how to knowledge, can really struggle finding a new and productive area without either local intel, it tons of time and money.
Never forget that, don’t beat yourself up on that, and find the beauty in the nature you find yourself in while hunting.

Definitely agree. The time commitment needed to travel out of the city combined with hunting in an area you're not local to is quite challenging.



Most importantly, don’t forget to have as many laughs as you can with either your friends or family!!!!
Those moments go way beyond the hunt/kill and are what you truly remember as you age.
Best of luck and I hope you get a few pm’s to help you get into a better hunting zone.

We always have tons of laughs and a great time :) - lots of memories built over the last 4 years that's for sure.



There is a ridiculous amount of posts on here asking for help but I must say that yours was actually very thought out and well written. That is probably why there have been better and more responses, so good on you. My opinion is that if you are seeing bear scat that is even a week old, you are doing just fine in looking for an area. Bears are not hard to find overall. Glassing cut blocks is my preferred method. As for deer, if you are seeing does, there will be bucks. Be patient, wait, pay attention to what info the does might let slip with their body language. As for time of year to get your first buck, IMO is an easy one, get out there when the season first opens. Good luck

Thanks, I didn't expect such a large response so it's been hard to keep up with replies. We've spent days glassing a cut block with sign only for nothing to show up. How do you determine how long to spend on a single block and when to move on?


@HappyJack @wideopenthrottle @Bugle M In @Ron.C
Regarding the wind, could you elaborate on exactly how to "manage" it? We find it will suddenly switch when navigating through timber and blow out the area we were trying to hunt towards.



Why would only one in your group have a bear tag?


We figured as rookie hunters we likely wouldn't be harvesting more than 1 animal on a trip (assuming we even get lucky enough) so our plan is to have 1 tag while the other 2 support the holder.



Dustin Roe has a great podcast on how to prepare. It is very thorough.
If I find it I will send it to you. Preparation is the key.

Thanks I will PM you



Invest in trail cameras, they are an amazing tool and great hobby. It will get you into the field in the spring. They are doing a lot of your work in determining if an area will be worth investing in come fall. Scouting in the spring, before things start greening up, trails will declare themselves more readily. Droppings are easier to see.

I'd like to setup trail cams but this isn't really feasible for us at the moment. Regarding travel routes, I thought deer wouldn't be in the same areas in the spring vs the fall. This might be region dependent but don't they have different ranges throughout the year?


Again, thanks all for the replies. I've received some PMs that I need to reply to as well so thank you to those that have reached out!

[HappyJack]

When the wind is shifting lots get up in a tree, self climber or ladder stand and let the game come to you. A lot of times if I am just wandering around to see what I see [still hunting] and the wind changes direction so do I always try to keep the wind in my face or across my direction of travel.

[Bugle M In]

Swirling wind makes hunting and success hard period!
However, there will often times be a general direction the wind moves out in the open.
That can change from day to day or hour to hour, but most days it will travel one way.
In timber and gullies it can move differently.
Tou just have to work around which might mean long walks around the area you want before you enter it.
Wind often travels downhill during early morning and then again at night, but warming thermals will carry wind uphill during daytime.
Not to be confused with the daily wind direction, but a big factor.
Swirly winds usually happen during the day, but not as often at first light or before nightfall.
If you have a hotspot to hunt, and wind is swirling, best to leave that area until those times.
You can’t change, can’t fight it, just accept it and work around.
Topography with gullies and hills play factors.
A creek going downhill as you walk by often sucks your scent downhill even if the real wind is going uphill.
Experience and analyzing you hunts continuously is the only way to get real experience.
It comes with time, if you allow yourself time to think about it.
Its not a race up the hill to your prey.
Its how you move and access the area that is the most important.
Even when entering a blind.

[brian]

Topography even on a small scale causes winds to swirl. Get to the windward side of the topography and the winds will usually be stable. Swirling winds doesn’t mean your hunt is over. It lowers your chance of success, but swirling winds can screw up the animals noses too. If winds are too swirly then I either abandon the area or I still hunt.


We always have tons of laughs and a great time :smile: - lots of memories built over the last 4 years that's for sure. Sounds like you’re having some very successful hunts.

[Deer_Slayer]

For bears the secret is dandelions! Find some nice green grassy areas with fresh dandelions. Bears will be there. Mind you. I have only once seen a bear (sow with 2 cubs) since I moved to lower mainland and that was in Whipsaw area. I never see bear scat when out hunting. When I lived in Golden BC I would see bear scat everywhere and bears galore. I think the bears are getting wiped out close to lower mainland. There are too many of those gall bladder, paw seekers out hunting now. You can bet they are hungry for bear parts.

[Bugle M In]

A couple of seasons ago, up in the EK, it seemed like every corner we ran into a bear.
Lots of young ones.
Then this past season, nothing but still a bit of sign around.
Typically, 1 bear sighting per week, a loner or sow and cubs.
Fuess it’s kind of like the deer rut.
Hit it right, and the deer almost run right into you.
Miss it by a day or 2, and you have to dig for them.

[caddisguy]

Wow I'm blown away by all the responses from everyone, thanks everyone for taking the time to share.


@caddisguy
Would you recommend sticking with R2 for spring bear? Are bear numbers pretty high this close to the city? Typically only one of us in the group has a tag so we do need to stick together which is why we opt to sit and glass instead of trying to bush-whack as a group. Thanks for the advice on feeding locations, that seems relevant regardless of where you hunt.

That's what we do, stay in R2. I'm not sure R3 or R8 really offer much more opportunities. Maybe less skittish bears, but R2 has no shortage of bears. Though if you like road trips, R1 and R5 are off the charts.

We're 8 for 9 on R2 bears since we started hunting them and that is only due to an awkward timed misfire on a bear only a few yards away in our first year.

Possibly we might come up empty this Spring too, reason being we didn't start until late in the season and we've been learning a new area. Still passed on one bear at 15 yards a couple weeks back, accidentally walked into one at 6-7 yards on Friday and had the excitement of one charging me a few times and pursuing me a good while on Sunday (if you ever want a wild ride, if you hear a bear 10-15 yards away but it's too thick to see anything, blow the snot out of a blade of grass making a wounded rabbit sound)

If you're bored, check out the "honey hole" thread I posted up about this new area we're poking around in. Should serve as a pretty good blueprint for keying in on bear pockets along with videos to show what's lurking around here in R2.

For what it's worth, I've only ever seen a few bears in R2 while driving and when I do they are running for the next time zone. Walking not uncommon to see 3 or 4 a day. Not sure if you're driving, sitting in a truck or walking but it is worth noting that hunting bears from trucks or quads isn't effective in R2. It's not impossible but you could probably drive 100km every weekend for a decade and not get a chance. It's thick terrain and they're conditioned differently than more open + less populated areas.

If one considers the huntable land in Region 2 vs area that is actually hunted, I think it's safe to say most of R2 is actually some of the most under hunted areas in North America.

Regarding hunting as a group of 3 due to one tag in the group, seems like an easy fix there just get the other two to order tags and split up a little bit. Bears especially black bears shy from crowds and 3 is definitely a crowd if you decide to hunt the thick stuff in R2, it usually goes down at 20 yards or less but tough to get 3 peeps within 20 yards of a bear in R2

[swantonbomb]

Your situation sounds similar to mine. Self taught and no hunting heritage in the family. Sometimes it feels like you can do everything right and still not connect. When you figure it out let me know lol

[Bugle M In]

Your situation sounds similar to mine. Self taught and no hunting heritage in the family. Sometimes it feels like you can do everything right and still not connect. When you figure it out let me know lol
My dad and his brother came here from Germany and along with a few other expatriates, they all really enjoyed hunting and went weekly.
No one taught them, and yes they struggled at times but always had a good time.
I sum up there successes back then due more to the fact there was way more game vs how they hunted.
My dad I think transitioned the most thru greater efforts and longer hikes then the rest.
But having someone who has had a family background of hunting is most certainly a huge benefit.
My x father in law grew up in Lumby, and he had a couple of generations before him who hunted.
It shows as that clan had many bucks in the record books.
Bring they were local was a leg up.
Buy after hunting with him just once, I saw the difference in approach, and with that, I noticed a huge upswing in what I saw and my success.