cut blocks, friends or foe?

[dougster]

i was looking at some cut blocks on google earth around the mcqueen lake area and out in monte lake. I was wondering if the experianced hunters could give me some advise as to how good the hunting in cut blocks are and how to tell if one block is going to show more deer than another. thanks for the help

[ufishifish2]

Ha, ha, I actually laid out many of those blocks you see around Monte Lake. I also hunt up there often for the healthy population of Mule deer.

Hunting the cutblocks can at times be good, normally near the edges. First and last light of the day is generally the best time to hunt the blocks. Being the hundredth pick-up of the day to drive by isn't generally very effective.
One thing that has started working better for me lately for White-tail areas has been to still hunt the blocks that were harvested and replanted to pine 20-25 years ago. Really been seeing lots of nice bucks that way.

[Jelvis]

Myself never been a cut-block hunter, boring, and don't like sitting watching a spot and like ufishifish says morning and evenings best but I hunt mostly hiking ridges and rock bluffs from morning til late afternoon.
Jel .. some like them I don't.

[dougster]

well im hunting my muley for meat... im a university student and really need a freezer full of meat for the winter so im looking for an effective way to get it. my whitetail i want to stalk and hunt in a way more fun manner, im looking at hiking the power lines out in the westwold area or something of that style

[Jelvis]

If your lookin for a meat deer just drive around Greenstone mtn up Cherry Creek or Oconner Lake road early and look for antler. BOOM!
Jelly .. Go BOOM!

[dougster]

lol thanks, yeah i want a big muley for meat, but they seem like they are everywhere around here. i think i will have a much harder time trying to find my whitetail

[ufishifish2]

my whitetail - im looking at hiking the power lines out in the westwold area or something of that style

Although there are whitetails here in Westwold, there are not very many yet, and I have never seen one with much bone. I don't even bother hunting them here, but instead drive out to Cherryville, or up near Douglas Lake Ranch. One good area to find them would be along the river in Westwold, but I'm pretty sure that it is all private land though, including the powerlines.

[Pete]

If anyone here has been into the Ingram or out the Mowing Machine it is one giant cut block. The forest companies have taken everthing under the guise of beetle kill. Even if the stand is better than half Spruce or Fir it is gone. Not Good.

[dougster]

so basically if i want to hunt cut blocks i have to be there at 3am and be ready to go sniper style and be prepared to sit and not move for a long time

[Gateholio]

Get hind the cut blocks, look for deer activity. If they are feeding in the cutblock at night, then they are bedding in the timber for much of the day.

[northof49]

I like to time it so I'm driving thru some good deery blocks at first light on my way to hunt the knobs & ridges. Still hunt this stuff through the day cos this is where they are bedding. If no luck plan on spending last hour of light sitting on edge of timber in a deery lookin block with some relief and good vantage point. If no deer show, choose different block the next time. Best of both worlds this way.

[Buckmeister]

Cut blocks can be good for moose too! They are usually dumb as a fence post and can offer up a nice shot opportunity. Moose can be seen any time of the day in a good area.

[abbyfireguy]

You would be surprised how many animals are laying in the middle of cut blocks.

We usually still hunt through a few each year and end up waking up several moose and deer each trip.
It amazes me how a big bodied moose can be invisible in the middle of a cut by simply laying down! Once they stand up its hard to miss them.

[swampdonkey]

If your lookin for a meat deer just drive around Greenstone mtn up Cherry Creek or Oconner Lake road early and look for antler. BOOM!
Jelly .. Go BOOM!no more deer up Greenstone

[ufishifish2]

If anyone here has been into the Ingram or out the Mowing Machine it is one giant cut block. The forest companies have taken everthing under the guise of beetle kill. Even if the stand is better than half Spruce or Fir it is gone. Not Good.
It's very easy to complain about what others are doing. The truth is that those stands were hammered with pine beetle, some even a good number of years ago. It was a joint effort by both Tolko and the Ministry of Forests division called "BC Timber Sales" (BCTS) to salvage as much as possible before the dead timber was a giant worthless mess of fallen trees.
Yes, maybe at times a bit of green wood (Fd and Sx) was added to the pine pulp to keep the guys from going broke. On the positive side, atleast jobs were created harvesting and replanting each area. Not Bad!
P.S. - Check out a forest cover map of the area you mentioned...... I couldn't find much in the way of the Spruce or Fir dominant stands.

[.300WSMImpact!]

cut blocks are good, way more feed for all types of animals

[Vanman1985]

Get hind the cut blocks, look for deer activity.


It amazing some of the sign you will see if you walk around the block and just into the timber. I generally wouldn't be doing that during prime hours,(unless it was to get somewhere I wanted to be) but towards the middle of the day it's not so bad to make a bit more noise and do some scouting. Like it was said, you never know what you'll bump into.