Hunting Techniques - Mine Suck!

[PointMan]

K, I know I kinda started something on this here a while ago, but I'm getting really tired of getting skunked every hunting season. (I know, I have the doe's to fall back on this year, but I'd really like to plug at least ONE buck) I really haven't developed any kind of hunting strategy, I don't get in the bush often enough to really get a feel for deer traffic in any specific area. I'm having a hard time forcing myself to pick a spot and stay put and I don't have the patience to walk as slow as I hear you're supposed to. Should I just keep buying beef and shooting grouse? I really hope not. LOL

[Fisher-Dude]

Walk little, see much.

[born2hunt]

slow down you,ll see way more, be patient and most of all dont give up it's way more fun being in the bush than in thrifty foods:)

[Andy83]

I hear you man. I started 5 years ago, and have yet to get a buck. I have only killed bears and a doe. Sooner or later you'll connect. Hopefully this year. Good luck, from another unlucky hunter.

[.300WSMImpact!]

I hear you man. I started 5 years ago, and have yet to get a buck. I have only killed bears and a doe. Sooner or later you'll connect. Hopefully this year. Good luck, from another unlucky hunter.


you should have come with me tonight turned down a just a bit too small 4x4 today, I do think you are going to get the flu monday

[PointMan]

I hear you man. I started 5 years ago, and have yet to get a buck. I have only killed bears and a doe. Sooner or later you'll connect. Hopefully this year. Good luck, from another unlucky hunter.
The good thing is, it's getting so bad, my WIFE is sending me out to hunt! That's something coming from a woman who has never grown up around hunting or guns. She probably would have been an anti if it wasn't for me.

[PointMan]

you should have come with me tonight turned down a just a bit too small 4x4 today, I do think you are going to get the flu monday
Yup, I can "cough cough" feel it coming on already "sniff" LOL

[martyonthewater]

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who wonders if I'm doing things right , or slow enough, or in the right area. I found that by investing some time in putting a simple little blind/stand together in an area, I seem to be able to sit it out easier and have no doubt seem far more wildlife in that scenario than when sneaking around through the bush trying to be invisible and keeping the wind at my nose. couple of 2x4's and plywood makes a pretty cheap and secure little ladder stand. put one up a few hundred yards into the bush off the road in an area near a crossing and kill the last few hours of light on your ass 15 or so feet up a tree. take a book for the first hour, be quiet and wait for the sun to go down.

[mrc]

For me its not always about shooting something, thats just a nice bonus to being able to enjoy this awsome place that we call home.

[husky30-06]

well i hear ya.....i do not like to sit very long and i am told that i walk way to fast. but i was told of my grandpa when he hunted back in the day.......HE WAS THE NOISIEST PERSON INT HE BUSH, and he shot many bucks still in their beds. i have done this and found it can be very effective, i have shot three in or very near to their beds. i have deduced that in most cases they have no idea what or who you are and think that that you might just be another little buck. i walk quite quickly and have seen many big bucks, the problem i found is that if you are not very quick on the draw you will miss them and all you see is their a$$ heading through the trees. now what i do is find them then i track them till i get the shot opportunity, makes for a fun time in the bush as i try to outsmart them and "head them off at the pass"...... i get to find a lot of places that they go for refuge and their escape routes, which now i can head in and just wait for them to come to me. (:mrgreen: as long as it does not take to long) when i track them hard like that, they tend to get tired very fast and they make mistakes and hopefully i am close enough to take him. just my two cents...... have fun, be safe and good luck!!!!!!

[Mr. Dean]

- Spend MORE time in the bush.
- Make hunting a vacation - I don't put much stock into 1 or 2 day trips. IMO this is scouting and EVERYTHING can/will change between outings.
- Get up every morning and walk game trails for the remainder of the day; It won't take long to figure out whats going on. And once you do know, the rest becomes an exciting game of hide-n-seek.
- If you happen to bust a bed, remember the area and come back in a couple days with you new-found knowledge.
- There WILL be a winner and a loser - Accept the fact that you WILL be one of them.
- Endeavour to make each trip a learning experience and LEARN from it... It should all be fun.

[Rusty Shackleford]

FINDING legal animals IS hunting. Anybody can pull a trigger. If you don't like the finding aspect or find it too frustrating, take up bird watching.

[frenchbar]

Find a spot with deer sign ...and still hunt it first couple hours in the morning and last couple hrs in the evening...dont tromp around ..find a good spot to sit and let them come 2 you .

[Hydrojet]

Shouldn't matter how good or how successful you are but learning something new everytime is the key and makes the game more exciting....exhibit A you...here....learning more....kinda gets under your skin and you HAVE to learn more so those little buggers quit slipping through your fingers...........besides if you knew it all....no one would like you...and it would be boring.

[Sitkaspruce]

As other have said, keep at it and try to find something that works most of the time.

Me, I am a walker and glasser, who like to walk to a spot, sit and watch, glass for a bit, then move on. I also tend to walk a little fast, that is why a sit down for a few, let thing settle down. I am not a sit in a tree type of guy as I am always wondering what is around the next tree, ridge or hill.

And remember, shooting a buck does not make you any better a hunter or person that shooting a doe. I wish we had a doe season here as I love the meat off a doe. I would trade a doe for a buck any day.....

Good luck, have fun and remember it's called hunting and not killing.....

Cheers

SS

[Wolfman]

Walk little, see much.

Fisher Dude - I loved that! ;-)

[Chuck]

As mentioned by others......just being out in the bush wandering around ups your chances tremendously. And as Elmer said..." Be vewy, vewy kwyet". Lol.

[mr7mm]

hey we have all been there dont give up i just got back into hunting a couple years ago my ex was a peta fan i have had good luck and just really enjot being out there pushing the bush one day you see big lewi staring you down

[kennyj]

Use your binoculars a lot! Even close up. The bush is always taller than it looks.
I like to get out in the summer as much as I can and spot game and learn the areas. Get out at daybreak and look for bucks. They spend more time out in the open when they are in velvet, and they are more visable in their red summer coats . When hunting season arives they are still in the same areas, just way harder to spot. Glass Glass Glass.
kenny

[high and to the right]

I was given good advice when I started to hunt. I was told - don't look for a deer (or elk or moose or ...). Look for something that doesn't fit in. For every deer I see I've watched or glassed dozens of brush and bush areas when I see a light or dark spot that doesn't quite fit in, or twig that looks out of place in the tree line (could be an antler), or a slight movement (could be an ear twitch or just the wind). If you look and think, I don't see a deer so you walk on you may miss out on an animal. Start to focus on that spot and sometimes that light spot is the hind end of an animal and the dark spot that made the trees look a bit too full is a moose and the twig that seemed to twitch is an antler.

The odd time your animal walks out on your cutline in front of you and you say there's my .... but 98% of my sightings start out with ...that doesn't look right.

[frenchbar]

I was given good advice when I started to hunt. I was told - don't look for a deer (or elk or moose or ...). Look for something that doesn't fit in. For every deer I see I've watched or glassed dozens of brush and bush areas when I see a light or dark spot that doesn't quite fit in, or twig that looks out of place in the tree line (could be an antler), or a slight movement (could be an ear twitch or just the wind). If you look and think, I don't see a deer so you walk on you may miss out on an animal. Start to focus on that spot and sometimes that light spot is the hind end of an animal and the dark spot that made the trees look a bit too full is a moose and the twig that seemed to twitch is an antler.

The odd time your animal walks out on your cutline in front of you and you say there's my .... but 98% of my sightings start out with ...that doesn't look right.

great advice....

[shawnwells]

dude...PRESEASON!!! do your homework....ive seen big deer around there...you just gotta go by what you feel...wheres a good wild local that would probably hold elusive bigger deer?...take a walk before the season and find the biggest game trails...fresh tracks and scat ...or high activity...its a deer house ...and youre in..deer i swear live and die in the same area....field bush...bush field...especially around there...theyre like robot....find good game trail...go shoot robot deer....

[RoscoeP]

When I hunt and glass I look for horizontal shapes. Most things in the woods are vertical. The horizontal shape will usually be the top of a deers back. Its head may be down feeding but the flat of the back will stand out against the long grass or bush or trees. Try it it works. Cheers Roscoe