technique help

[dougster]

so this is my first season of hunting and i am finding out it is harder than i thought it would be. I was wondering if anyone could give me any help. I have been taking off up into the woods and traveling on the smaller less used FSR's. When i come across and area that looks like it is a game trail i get out of the truck and look for evidence of deer, (poop or prints) and then i head out in the up wind direction (which ever side of the road i will have wind in my face) and then just hike very slowely and very quietly looking for deer.... and so far not a sniff, i havent even seen a doe yet. is there something i am doing wrong??? any info would be much appreciated
thank you in advance

[bighornbob]

Drive to some big clearcuts and you will find the deer. Glass the deer and see what they do, how they behave etc.

Look on the bright side its only been a week. You still have 3 months:mrgreen:

BHB

[Elkhound]

All a good start. Deer like to hang out in the pockets that you cannot see from the road. Hike and hike some more. If you are lucky.....maybe a member near kamloops would take you out a few times

[dougster]

i have checked out a few of the big cuts up red lake road way, didnt see much out there, trying to go really early and into the evening.... i will go hike them our again i guess, thanks

[dougster]

so is there any other tips or advice out there? there are lots of hunters on this site, and i see tons of people posting pics of their deer. Im not asking for honey spots, just asking how people hunt, help a newbie out

[mxracer328]

well im not the most experienced hunter in the bunch but what i do is get to a cut before day light and wait until you can start to see. once that time comes up walk in slowly stopping often and looking around. maybe sitting near a high traffic area. i usually fill my mid afternoons with chicken shooting and lunch, they go hand in hand, some times im pretty hungry when i get home.

[cainer]

I'm no pro, but I find that deer come out first thing in the morning-rather they are making their way back into the trees at that time.

So you need to be there in a spot you have pre-scouted, before first light.(headlamp:idea:) Whether that spot is behind some deadfall, sitting against a tree, standing behind one, or just poking your head over a hill so that if someone were standing in the field you're looking at-looking back at you-all they might see is the top of your head-which could be mistaken for anything.

Try not to move around too much, and if you do-move s-l-o-w-l-y. don't turn your head-move your eyes.

First 2 hours of light has been my most success. Lots of times you catch deer returning late to their beds.

If you find yourself walking up to a cut block, stay in the treeline before stepping out into the open of the actual cutblock, and glass just inside the treeline on the other sides of the cutblock. Deer always have game trails just inside the treeline of a cutblock, and they're smart-they use them. If you can, walk inside the treeline as well. then you're not a sore thumb sticking out in the middle of a wide open space.

From one newb to another-i think you're on the right track-i didn't shoot anything besides paper for my first 2 years.

and glass as much as you walk. they're there-you just need to see them before they see you.

If you're not seeing deer poo/sign, chances are they're not feeding in that area. could be time to move on, either higher or lower.

[Hydrojet]

if you can find some topo maps of the area you are in you will be able to search out areas that are suitable for bedding...usually up higher or on flat areas with good visability for them.....watering holes...they need to drink every day and that is the only other thing besides food that they will reliably move to....food sources....obvious... find these areas and then figure the easiest and safest route to get to them that the deer would most likely use....walk the areas in the mid day to see where the most action is then set up first and last thing to see what moves remember to have some decent shooting lanes so you can see a fair ways... no sense in setting up where you can only see 20 yards or so around you, better chances if you can see more with less moving....or game camera if you can't be there. Cameras are also a nice way to see what you scare away from where you were

[demlake]

I'm in the same boat.

A novice, walking lots, but not seeing anything at this point.

I've found does, but no bucks. Does travelling from higher to lower and back to get water. From what I've read, the bucks might be staying up high still, waiting for the rut?

Time to go climbing.

One thing I've found is good binos make a difference.

I had some really cheap ones, and "upgraded" to Bushnell Excursions. They're still low-end I guess, but they make seeing at dawn and dusk 20 times better than the really cheap ones.

I'm enjoying it, anyway. I'm used to working in the bush, where you make as much noise as possible to warn the bears away, and all you're looking for is the next place to hang ribbon.

This slow walking, listening, looking etc gives a new appreciation of what's out there.

[Jagermeister]

The first step would be to get outside the city bounderies.:mrgreen:PM coming to you.

[Brian011]

like a couple guys have said, go hike some big clear cuts and glass. walk a bit then glass then walk and glass. best is right at daylight for the first couple hours then in the evening an hour before dark. went out last week and between the two groups of us we saw about 16 bucks in a couple hour hike. so just keep at it and dont loose interest. even into october when it is any buck there will still be bucks out in the open just have to be at the right place at the right time.

[frenchbar]

Think big firy ..grassy ridges at about 4000 ft and you will succeed:-D

[dougster]

thanks guys i really appreciate the help, dont worry i wont give up and i cant wait to be posting my first kill story on here. then i can spend a few days cursing and swearing trying to figure out how to upload it.

[twoSevenO]

ok ... am i the only one that doesn't see jack in clear cuts?? The only time i see deer is if i walk in and sit down for 30-45 minutes. No matter how quietly i walk, i see nothing until i sit down and wait. And i don't ever see deer in clear cuts only in the bushes.

Does a clear cut have to be of a certain "age" before they start hanging around in them. I find in 8-5 a lot of them are fresh clear cuts and they never hang around in them ....

[Big Lew]

Dispite the earlier hot summer, this year there is a lot of green forage everywhere, which is part of the reason a lot of us are seeing a higher number of bucks. My brother and I have seen most of the larger bucks at around 1600 metres in or travelling between fresh logging slashes at first light until 8 o'clock, then again around noon, and then during the last hour of daylight. They blend in with their surrounding and quite often will remain like statues hoping you'll not notice them. Most novices gaze over, or look at a logging slash, not into the slash, following natural walkways such as small ridges, skidder trails, etc. with their eyes. Use good optics to check distant draws for feeding or travelling deer, also small thickets near the top of those draws for bedded bucks. As others have said, quite often they are there, you just have to learn how to spot them.

[cainer]

I think it matters-i was in an area where the logs are piled in giant pyramids the other day- saw a few bucks and a bunch of does, couple of cow moose and lots of moose sign-i'm thinkin the moosies like these fresh clear cuts more than the deer.
The biggest mulies i've seen were in older clear cut areas with lots of grass and sapling trees.
and yes-i see most of my deer when i'm still for 20-30 mins. i try and find a good spot in the morning that i can comfortably wait and see what happens from a good vantage point-then move to intercept if i see something i like.
in the middle of the day-i explore and try and find new areas with lots of sign.
my buck this year was smack dab in the middle of an old clear cut traveling through one of those low valleys you can't really see from the edges. that's one of the best ways to travel through clear cuts (i find) as well, then you pop up and glass from time to time.
You ever wonder how deer just appear out of thin air-one minute you're looking at an empty field and another minute there's a deer standing 50 yards from you and you're like -where the fcuk did you come from?!

[TESKELLY]

This is good stuff here boy's. I'm a learning tooooo :)

[blackbart]

Dougster, I offer the following.

Patience.

Find some habitat, be it a clearcut or timber that has fresh deer sign in it. Get a good vantage spot while being mindfull of the wind and spend a good day sitting on your arse watching. Take a book or have a nap if required, just don't move around and make noise or spread your scent too much.

Find a likely spot and let them come to you. It is hard to do, but will produce if you give it some time.

[Gun Dog]

Hunting in the Okanagan I noticed there's a lot of deer on the main roads and few to none on the older deactivated roads. There's more deer on the newer clearcuts compared to older cuts. The open spaces have the tender bushes that deer like and they can see a long ways. Deer wander along the edges -- the open spaces provide the food they like and the trees provide the cover when they're spooked.

[muledeercrazy]

ok ... am i the only one that doesn't see jack in clear cuts?? The only time i see deer is if i walk in and sit down for 30-45 minutes. No matter how quietly i walk, i see nothing until i sit down and wait. And i don't ever see deer in clear cuts only in the bushes.

Does a clear cut have to be of a certain "age" before they start hanging around in them. I find in 8-5 a lot of them are fresh clear cuts and they never hang around in them ....

the way i see it is that depending on the vegetation the deer might move into a fresh cut immedietly. I provides them some fresh feed that was out of reach previously. Then the deer will feed on the more tender younger shoots that grow up in the new clear cut, maybe a season or three after. I dont see deer bedded down in clearcuts very often in the day. More often on slopes, the bucks in the shade and probably south facing. The more i look the more that just seems to pan out for me. I think most of the deer i see in clearcuts are when they are transiting threw them to feeding areas, or comming out of more mature stands of timber to feed in them at last light. Things are going to vary alot as the season changes. I find you definetly see more bucks out in the open just before the rifle season. I think it must be that the antlers are still really sensitive untill the nerves die and they rub the velvet off. Thats what i hear most guys saying, and it makes sense.

I remember some good advice i got when having trouble still hunting. I was asked how quickly I moved through the bush, and then told to move half as fast. Maybe try to get into an area with some good cuts, open feeding areas and south facing slopes or hills. Really take your time, and use your binos. Good luck!