how do you go about it?

[horshur]

Years ago while hunting a series of logging blocs behind a pulled bridge I had seen a nice 4 point just about every time.....did not shoot him.
A buddy was complaining about not seeing anything and it seemed like a good idea to tell him about this buck.....sent him in.

this is how it went down....buddy walked in one morning didn't see anything so he hit the bush.

here is the deal...there is hardly a chance in hell pounding bush. Patience would have got him a nice buck cause the 4 point used the area alot.

it may seem like your doing somthing but primarily you stink up an area by pounding it blindly in desparation.

If you have a nice place that hold bucks handle it with kid gloves and walk softly.......avoid the area up close as if to tease the animal out where odds stack in your favor.

pushing a nice animal in a low percentage situation may put them off the rest of your trip.

[frenchbar]

I would suggest if i was going into an area like that is try to go to the same point and sit each time and wait it out and avoid as much of the area as possible. if the deer are there all the time ,eventually they will come to you...saying that me being an impatient type would probably stomp around looking and screw it up for the next few days:mrgreen:

[frenchbar]

Ive got a nice parky fir ridge im going to hunt this yr Andy.was there the other day and just stayed on the one end of it and waited around no bucks were sighted but a few does wandered out in veiw.going to keep going back and use the same method ,hoping mr big makes a fatal mistake.

[Elkhound]

I am the sit and wait guy...my hunting partner walks all over the place....makes it tough.

[horshur]

walkin is fine but it is advantages to avoid smellin up the place....I don't sit very long... best poke around be it walking or in a truck but the truth remains it is easy to disturb a place that will produce if not handled carefully.
Anything to lull them a few days longer.

so much of our hunting is of alarmed and stressed deer be it from pressure or the rut.....careful hunting can avoid this.

[MikeH]

Best thing to do is setup a blind and wait if the deer seems to becoming out around the same area due to trails sit and wait.

[ttruscott]

I can't believe haw hard it is to hunt in BC...and boring.

I grew up in Moosomin, the southern parkland of Sask. with lots of prairie, sections of walkable poplar forest and a lot of fields in grass.

We walked out from home and snooped around and always could see deer doing their thing. Dad would keep and eye on them and we'd go back in the fall and just snoop them out.

I hated duck hunting because it was so static unti I came out here and tried to hunt inland from Cowich and wowser, one step off the raod and you were stuck for the rest of your short life in underbrush with a killer mentality!

I never did get the feel for sitting and waiting for a deer to come to me, though I did learn the basics. As you mght imagine, it's been awhile since I've been out! :)

Ted
defendyoursef101.ca

[Shooter]

hahahaha... Ya this coastal crap is tuff to sneak around in... thick thick thick. But thats where the big boys are.

[MikeH]

I can't believe haw hard it is to hunt in BC...and boring.

I grew up in Moosomin, the southern parkland of Sask. with lots of prairie, sections of walkable poplar forest and a lot of fields in grass.

We walked out from home and snooped around and always could see deer doing their thing. Dad would keep and eye on them and we'd go back in the fall and just snoop them out.

I hated duck hunting because it was so static unti I came out here and tried to hunt inland from Cowich and wowser, one step off the raod and you were stuck for the rest of your short life in underbrush with a killer mentality!


I never did get the feel for sitting and waiting for a deer to come to me, though I did learn the basics. As you mght imagine, it's been awhile since I've been out! :)

Ted
defendyoursef101.ca



I agree with ya there I'm a prairie boy too,the deer I see out here are junk compared to the alfalfa fed prairie deer.The only thing I miss from home is the hunting.The problem is I live to far south.

[dana]

I've got zero patience to sit and watch cuts for a long time. Give me something with a view like in the alpine and I can sit and glass from first light till last light, but sitting in a cutblock is freakin boring. I perfer to sneak and peek. If I'm hunting cuts, I chose keyholes where I can slowly work my way from one to the other, sitting for a while and then moving on the the next one. I for one find the timber is the best place to kill a buck, and there is nothing more exciting than hunting a big ol' mossyhorn in the thick crap. More times than not, they kick my ass, but that is the fun of the hunt. I've had enough success on the big boys in the timber over the years to know it is definately doable. Many give up because they think they are waisting thier time. But you can't kill a big buck if you ain't hunting where a big buck lives. Sure every year there are road hunters that whack a few big boys, but at the same time every few weeks someone wins the 649 too. Monster bucks don't get big by being stupid. They know that openings are dangerous to their health. For the most part, they only frequent them under low light or dark conditions. Hard to make the play on a buck that only comes out into the cut at dark.

[mrdoog]

So you're basically saying your buddy's hunting skills suck!

[horshur]

So you're basically saying your buddy's hunting skills suck!

patience is not really a skill is it????? does not take much skill to sit in a truck and watch a block but it can be very effective.

I am seldom ever patient enough myself.

[MikeH]

I've got zero patience to sit and watch cuts for a long time. Give me something with a view like in the alpine and I can sit and glass from first light till last light, but sitting in a cutblock is freakin boring. I perfer to sneak and peek. If I'm hunting cuts, I chose keyholes where I can slowly work my way from one to the other, sitting for a while and then moving on the the next one. I for one find the timber is the best place to kill a buck, and there is nothing more exciting than hunting a big ol' mossyhorn in the thick crap. More times than not, they kick my ass, but that is the fun of the hunt. I've had enough success on the big boys in the timber over the years to know it is definately doable. Many give up because they think they are waisting thier time. But you can't kill a big buck if you ain't hunting where a big buck lives. Sure every year there are road hunters that whack a few big boys, but at the same time every few weeks someone wins the 649 too. Monster bucks don't get big by being stupid. They know that openings are dangerous to their health. For the most part, they only frequent them under low light or dark conditions. Hard to make the play on a buck that only comes out into the cut at dark.

Usually hunt the same way you have to mix it up patrol and sit.Hunting isn't easy,I love the challenge.

[Brambles]

how do you go about it?

Well I wouldn't go telling someone to go hunt it for one. The less people that know about it the more I can hunt it and keep the impact to a minimum.


Pounding bush IMO should only be reserved for conditions that will allow it, hard crunchy snow and I'd sooner sit and watch then make shit loads of noise and blow out all the deer.

I don't know the conditions and underbrush of your area but if he's been seen numerous times in the cutblock then I'd just wait for him. I've sat in one place for a week before waiting for deer. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, and most the time its boring as hell and the odd catnap gets included. But I find persistance pays off.

[PGK]

Sit n wait works. I rarely see any big game while walking around, and I walk a lot looking for birds. But when I get into a honey hole and park my ass down, they come out of the woodwork. My old man figured it out years ago. He sits in his treestand and kills moose, while I'm out walking around, killing nothing.
If I've got a good hole, I tell nobody.

[todbartell]

my patience sucks. If there is something to watch, Im good..but no game in sight and I have a hard time keeping myself from getting up and stomping off so I can see its ass running away from me :D

[PGK]

my patience sucks. If there is something to watch, Im good..but no game in sight and I have a hard time keeping myself from getting up and stomping off so I can see its ass running away from me :D

It's especially funny when halfway thru a coyote sequence on the foxpro he starts in with the pissing moose sound :roll:

:biggrin:

[todbartell]

short attention span :) and its a wolf pissing in a pond, not a moose

[Gateholio]

It's easy to increase your attention span while on stand. Just start napping.:cool:

[dana]

how do you go about it?

Well I wouldn't go telling someone to go hunt it for one. The less people that know about it the more I can hunt it and keep the impact to a minimum.


Pounding bush IMO should only be reserved for conditions that will allow it, hard crunchy snow and I'd sooner sit and watch then make shit loads of noise and blow out all the deer.

I don't know the conditions and underbrush of your area but if he's been seen numerous times in the cutblock then I'd just wait for him. I've sat in one place for a week before waiting for deer. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, and most the time its boring as hell and the odd catnap gets included. But I find persistance pays off.

It's a head game. When you are hunting noisy conditions and you are either snap, crackle and pop or crunch crunch crunch and it feels like you are beating your head against a brick wall. But....ever think about how noisy the deer are in those conditions??? The key to hunting those kind of conditions is not to sound sneaky. Trying to be stealthy is actually the wrong thing to do in noisy conditions. That sounds like a predator and it puts the deer on alert. Walk and sound like a deer and they will think you are just another deer.

[dana]

So you're basically saying your buddy's hunting skills suck!

Not at all. Just not my style to sit. The question is "how do you go about it?" not "everyone must hunt this way". ;)

I personally think it takes a lot of skill to sit for hours on end. I believe it is indeed a headgame that I loose all the time. No different than fishing. If I ain't getting a bite, I wanna try somewhere else. The good fisherman has the patience and the confidence that if he stays fishing the hole he chose, he will catch the big un.

[BlacktailStalker]

Sitting is more productive for me in areas of cover, especially funnels (between two openings) and structures of land that make certain spots impassable or just a p.i.t.a, so deer often take the easier route.
Hunting cats you learn to analyze the land better than most and learn these p.i.t.a spots (cats go right over the areas the deer avoid) they have a way of traversing an enormous area so perfectly that they cover the whole area without actually wandering through it.
A guy that learns this can do this while scouting deer (my point) and still learn more or less, what the area holds.

That being said I prefer to glass, I actually love to glass, find and then stalk.
Next is still hunt big timber and open bluffs above steep chutes and stunted re-gen. Bucks love bedding/standing on these look outs. They also cruise them very efficiently in the rut checking the same beds for hot does. How often have you watched a buck skirt the timber 10 yards in for several hundred yards in a more or less straight line, I have lots.
Other areas that I find good to sit (I only will sit in prime time like breaking or failing light, then I resort to all my other tactics) are areas of vast cover, with little or no surrounding slash except for one below this "chunk" of real estate, those timber/bush lines can be real productive. I'm always amazed at the amount of deer that "poke" their head out for a few mins and then go back in. If you're ready you might get a shot. These are the times where good optics come in to play.

In snow its easy enough to walk walk walk stop, like a deer does, but its the 2 syllable crunch of the heel and then toe that gets their guard up. Each foot in the wild makes one crunch, we make two and so do samsquams.

[dana]

Spend all day on your toes. ;)

[muleychaser]

BC definately has some of the toughest timber to hunt. I have to agree with Dana on one point, The alpine is definately better to sit and glass than cutblocks, they do tend to get very boring quickly. Everyone learns to relax as time goes on but in the last few years I have found getting back in the timber maybe 50 to 100 yards and spending the entire day moving very slowly around the cutblock has really started to increase my personal buck sightings. The only thing is huge patience and tons of glassing threw timber cause if they see you first you are done.

[Sitkaspruce]

I personally cannot sit for very long. I am one of those "what is over the other side of the hill or trees" type of guy. Always wanting to check out what I cannot see. The only animal I have shot while sitting was a big whitetail that I rattled in back in 2001.

I love the big timber. It makes me slow down and slowly hunt an area. I find if I am in a cut block, I will walk faster and just stop and glass here and there. Get in the timber and it can take me an hour+ to cover a couple hundred yards.

It also depends on the animal to hunt. BT deer here on the island, I tend to hunt the fringes of cutblocks, or try to find a cutblock that has no vehicle access for quite a ways. Mulies, timber hunting for me or areas with lots of broken, small cuts and timber mixed, for moose, cutblocks with big swamps, same for elk. Whitetails, still hunt along fringes of thick and open areas, rattling and grunting as I walk.

I bought a tree stand a few years back and have never used it. Thought it would be great for mulies and WT in an area I hunted, but sat in a homebuilt one one day and it drove me crazy sitting there. I am a fidgidy type and I could not sit still for very long. My partner finally said go and walk as I was driving him crazy with my movements. He has that rare talent of sitting all day and killing animals.;-):lol:

Cheers

SS

[tufferthandug]

I like November buck hunting...

Find does in a few different areas, and hunt the living crap out of each area. Walking, Sitting, Driving!

[Mik]

Too late, your buddy spoiled it for you! Lesson hard learned. Bin there done that. Obviously there was a " failure to communicate",(quoted from a great show).on a good note, Don't worry the bucks will be back.

[blackbart]

Build a fire and sit beside it reading a book while cooking up beans and smokies. Laugh as you may, this technique is actually productive. Be carefull with the post bean gas release though, the true key to the success of this operation is remaining silent.

Is there some sort of a brother (older, and more comfortable with himself) versus brother (younger and still full of beans, read previous dialogue to get the drift) underlying tone to this thread?

[tikkat3]

my patience sucks. If there is something to watch, Im good..but no game in sight and I have a hard time keeping myself from getting up and stomping off so I can see its ass running away from me :D

I'm the same way, if I'm not doing something active, where I feel like I'm getting exercise I get bored. I've tried sitting in blinds for a couple hours etc. but I never see anything that way either:???:

the only deer I have shot was off the road, pure luck in seeing him up on a ridge, after a week of hiking 20k a day, sitting in cutblocks, following game trails, etc.

I think road hunting works better than actual hunting, based on my experience

[BillyBull]

Depending of the game your hunting the options for sitting, standing, glassing etc.. are all variable by time and weather conditions. If you know the spot then you might quietly stalk in and set up to glass and spot.. if you have been in the spot often and watched the game come into the area you know the trails and need to learn the bedding areas. Once the cold sets in you might get up and slowly work your way around the meadow, cut block, ridge etc... to see whats up... when the elements are in your favor wind is right and the ground cover is soft and quiet regardless of vegations or snow then there is something special about stalking and being able to walk ever so quietly up on a great bull or buck and be able to watch them in their beds and know that you have beat them at there game.

For me, if I have gone into a new area, I generally have to sit, stalk, glass and scout to get a feel for the area... if your lucky to have a small mountain knoll in a valley climb it and have lunch and glass from early light to dark... dont run down the hill at the the first sign of game as you may miss an opportunity to fully understand the valley or meadow system your in... (however... it is the once in a life-time your after get your a$$ in gear to get it)

My hunting partner needs to move he either gets cold and falls asleep so between him working quietly and me sitting and stalking we have done very well over the years.

My typical day would be to get to my spot, watch the first light, and maybe move to my second spot over looking the same areas if weather is really bone chilling cold. Depending on weather and noise of the bush by 10ish I might drop back into the bush and slowly make my way along the area for known bedding and escape trails looking for fresh sign. Work the remaining morning, (if no good hunches ...meet up for lunch discuss strategy,) and then start the process over sitting for the evening light.

[Jelvis]

I'm waiting for the right answer to this question ?

[Jelvis]

This year road hunters did good for bigger bucks in Kamloops area for some real strange reason or from watching from a vehicle with heater on.
JP Moregun

[AT&T]

I had a spot where a big 160 class whitetail has been seen. For several years some locals got glimpes of him at 4 am heading to work. I spent 28 days in a row hunting him. Went to the same spot for 90 minutes morning and evening. Steadily watching the trail he used 150 yards away from a high bluff. Evening of the 28th day he went down. Sometimes if you want a certain deer you just have to put in the time. Boring for some people. Also very rewarding when you see him laying there.

[betteroffishing]

[quote=tikkat3;509784]I'm the same way, if I'm not doing something active, where I feel like I'm getting exercise I get bored. I've tried sitting in blinds for a couple hours etc. but I never see anything that way either:???:

funny story from this last year that relates, after a week of hunting our traditional area with no game sightings between our group of 4 , i decided to hit the same block of trees that i had success in last year. after sitting and watching an intersecting group of trails in the deep timber i needed to do a number two and badly at that , so i peel back a piece of moss and do my business , cover the evidence with the removed moss and bury the whole pile with needles etc , so as to at least partially mask the scent , i decide that theres no better place to have a smoke than sitting right here beside my steaming pile . about half way through my smoke , not 10 feet from me comes sauntering down my path a big old doe. lesson learned , not seeing game -- take a shat and a smoke , one is sure to show itself.