about to give up hunting all together

[westsidehntr]

Well it is somewhat interesting. It looks like 30draw maybe did give up hunting or at least posting on huntwa.

Hopefully instead of posting here he is out in the woods

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I think we have been out only five or six days this year.  And only one small buck to show for it.

I remember when I could say I have only been hunting 5 or six years, and only one small buck to show for it.

It is all about paying your dues.
If you are hunting for the "success" of killing something, I hope you have $$$
Guys like me, hunt so that we do not have to pay psychiatrists or lawyers.
Spend more time in the woods as a non-consumptive sportsman/woman and you begin to fit into the cycle... Then you decide if you want to be prey, or predator.
"Vegetarian" or Carnivore...
I don't hunt for the meat, I hunt for the sustenance of my soul, this allows me to be satisfied with an afternoon of just watching a pair of bobcat kittens play and not care if I kill something.
Slow down and see what is happening around you, feel the wind... Sooner or later a whole world you have been missing opens up to you...
Next thing you know, you just throw sticks at them so you don't have to carry them out of the woods..

[magnumb]

The 'wet side' is not the easiest side to hunt.  Since you have only crossed the mountain once for hunting, you're targeting blacktails 99% of the time.  Blacktails are also not the easiest deer to hunt.

Sooooo.....you have two strikes against you, but as has been said, you certainly are dedicated and you're doing alot of the right things.  I'm thinkin' that you're just not doing the right things nearly enough.

Find clear cuts in the 2-5 year range that aren't perhaps frequented by the majority of hunters in that area.  The less visited and coveted by most hunters, the better.  The older clear cuts in that 2-5 year old range offer deer, especially the more mature BT's, cover all day long.  Many will bed down right in that clear cut all day long.  What's the point in traveling a couple hundred yards to eat when you can just lean over from your bed and munch a little between meals without ever being detected.

Detecting...........if your bino's aren't stuck to your eye sockets the vast majority of the time that you're looking over a clear cut, you might as well quit hunting.  Sure, there are times when that BT buck will walk right down the road and stop at 50 yds. away and bucks that will show themselves completely in a clear cut opening, but the vast majority will not do either.  If you're looking for more than an antler, an ear, a bush movin' or the white patch on the underside of their chin and neck, you're missing 95% of the deer that inhabit the area you're hunting.

Most of the BT bucks I've taken in the 40 years (this year) of hunting them have been bedded or frozen in place with little body showing for either a confirmed verification of gender or a clear and reasonable/responsible shot.  There are very few alternatives in our thick, lush, blow down 'wet side' where one can move closer to a deer (after identifying it's gender) in order to either get a better or closer shot.  Even though most shots don't extend over 70yds. on either side of the mountains, better than 'good' glass, IMHO, is essential as is a rifle/scope/cartridge combo that can easily reach out and leave a mark on a BT at an extended range.......as always, based on the operator doing his/her part.

"Great glass" all around, flat shooter you're proficient with, clear cuts in that age range that are off the beaten path as much as possible and has not been sprayed that season and sun-up to sundown and after if light enough to see.  Not advocating hunting/shooting after legal hours, but BT, especially the bucks after opening day, tend to come out and feed when we've left the area before pitch dark.  If you see one during that time period, he won't be far the very next morning.  You may never see that particular buck again, but that certainly doesn't mean that he wasn't there or that another 2 bucks weren't also in that same general area.

Most of all, have patience.....lots of it.  Any deer or elk can stay frozen or bedded much longer than most of us can even imagine.  I watched a major bull (I got my bull on the 'opener) stay within 10 yds. of his hillside bed for the final 5 days of a general elk season.  Every morning I'd take the time to see if he had left and after hours of glassin' that heavily wooded hillside, I'd catch some part of him or some off color patch that would later evolve into that same bull.  I told my 6 partners in elk camp about this bull and where to glass him from.  Not one of them ever saw any part of that bull.

They're there, they just aren't interested in dying......no different than you or I.  If Zombies could only detect human movement, I know that I could remain pretty frozen for as long as necessary.

We are every deer and elk's Zombie.  Don't give up because once you take either a deer or an elk, I can only assume that you will immediately forget about all of those days and weeks that you came home empty because now you've got that 'monkey' off of your back.

Stay positive and as we all know, 'luck' (success) happens much more to those that are truly prepared and that remain positive.

Good luck to you........ .       

[huntingbaldguy]

Trying to learn too many places imo.  Focus on one area, put up a couple game cams, maybe some salt or mineral (or apple, but that's too obvious to people looking to steal).  Learn one 2-4 square mile area imo, like the back of your hand.  Take an entire day every weekend til the opener and scout it, hike in miles, or if gates are open, drive around.  There are deer there, you just have to know where they are going to be at certain parts of the day and be waiting for them.  There's no need to get as high as you possibly can, just get a vantage point.  Getting too far up puts you too far away.  Glassing is great and all but knowing a buck/doe travels a certain trail every day or 2 at a certain time because you've seen it on trail cam is priceless.  Let the equipment scout for you.  Place a couple, check back in a couple weeks.  If nothing or not much, move them.  Look for feeding and bedding areas as well as well used game trails, and stick a cam up high aiming down in a tree.  Deer might look up, but people typically don't. 

Secondly, slow down even when scouting.  If you're driving around on roads, crawl.  I literally saw 8 deer and about 20 cow elk today between 10am and 11am because i was just creeping along.  4 of the deer and all the cows stuck around for a while, so i just sat and observed their feeding patterns and what they did when they didn't see movement anymore.  You learn a lot by just watching them.  I have hundreds of hours of scouting and hunting into this area over the last 3 years, but trust me, year one was frustrating.  Just can't replace the familiarity of a spot you've spent so much time with, and after a while you start noticing brown things amongst all the green.  That's why this time of year is a great time to scout, all the ferns are green, not the brown they get in the fall.  If you see a fresh trail going up a north facing slope toward a saddle or bench in the morning, stop and scan the slope, the deer might still be there, it just sees you and isn't gonna move for the next 10 minutes you stand there and play where's Waldo.  You will be amazed how still they can stay, and for how long.  I recommend specifically targeting 3-5 year old clear cuts from a vantage point.  Try to get to said vantage point early, and just sit and watch.  They like that small reprod and they can hide well in it.

[Tbob]

I know it's old, but I just re-read this thread and it's great!! Gets me motivated!