Advice for skunked hunter

[FrothyLlama]

Hey all,
I'm really just looking for some advice, here's a little backstory. I've been hunting for 3 years now, I've spent one year pursuing blacktail, one year pursuing muleys and this year I'll be trying for a mule deer again. Here's my issues, I just cannot for the life of me find a deer. I've spent quite some time glassing, the only time I've seen a deer on public land while scouting/hunting was two does. I'm not going to say that I'm feeling discouraged, but I'm really wondering how much longer it'll take me to finally find a buck, any buck let alone a legal one.
On the west side, I found plenty of fresh sign and I'll chalk it up to fact that they were nocturnal. But on the east side, I find a lot of old sign and for the life of me I cannot find anything fresh and I feel like with the ability to cover so much ground out east by glassing that I should at least be able to find something.
On the east side, I've spent most of my time in GMU 336, 340 and 346. What should I be looking for to find these bucks? I've hiked all over different terrain and it almost seems devoid of life.
Any advice would be really appreciated for someone trying feed his family fresh meat.
Thank you guys.

[jrebel]

You really need to find a mentor who can show you the ropes.  I'm not your man as I am mentoring my kids and a couple very close friends for the next couple years.  Surely you know someone that hunts that is willing to let you tag along and learn the ropes??  If this is not the case, the learning curve will be longer than it has to be. 

Look at WDFW harvest stats and put yourself in units that produce deer.  Research ground via the web using maps....to include topo and arial maps.  Find places that look like they would hold deer.  Always keep the wind in your favor.  Be patient and keep persistent......when it comes together, it will be worth every minute / year it took to find success. 

Again...a mentor / hunting partner will make the learning curve easier and quicker. 

[GWP]

Not being an azzhat, but it is called 'hunting' for a reason. Same with 'fishing'.
I have had time periods of no game or fish harvested, even though I put in the 'work'.
One year I got a permit for doe in the Green River Watershed. Saw deer every day. Counted 7 on one hillside alone. I even touched one that walked by me. BIL was with me and said at the time "You should take it!", but I did not.
Once you harvested (at that time) you were kicked out, so I was taking one person in with me (allowed) nearly every day to 'explore'.
The last two days it was open I got serious.
Not. One. Deer. Seen. Not even at a distance. It was surreal.
Got skunked.
You can scout and scout, which is good, and still, when you go to harvest, NADA.
If it was easy, more people would do it. You can read on here how many do not get a critter, and that is only the ones that are willing to admit it!
Best of luck!

[Woodchuck]

My advice would be to slow down, even if you think you are going slow, slow down. Slow down hiking, slow down glassing, all of it. Look at everything at least twice, every odd shape, every odd color. Most of all, enjoy the time in the woods.

[mcrawfordaf]

To ad to Jrebel's advice you can maybe find a mentor through the First Hunt Foundation: https://firsthuntfoundation.org/find-a-mentor/

[FrothyLlama]

Oh trust me, I absolutely understand that the learning curve is going to be long for me. I don't know any other hunters. I know that 3 more years could pass by without notching a tag. But I'd like to shorten that time. I spend hours on OnX finding places that I think have deer and when I go there, nothing.
Whenever I look at harvest reports, it looks like the only places with harvests for modern firearm above 10% have either private land or are flooded with hunters, i.e. Naneum. I understand that where I have been hunting is flooded with hunters and has been for a while, which is why there's so little to harvest.
At this point, I'm just looking for any pointers someone can throw at me when it comes to finding Mule deer in these units.

[Farmer72]

What weapon/ season are you hunting?

[FrothyLlama]

What weapon/ season are you hunting?

General Season, Modern Firearm. Someday I'd like to get into Archery, but I need to learn to hunt first.

[WSU]

Look at harvest statistics.  I think you'll find that the areas you are hunting don't have a high success rate.  Part of that is that there aren't a lot of deer there.  If the areas you are hunting are devoid of life, you need to hunt somewhere else.

[rainshadow1]

There are places in Washington (modern firearm especially) that this doesn't apply... but boy there aren't many anymore....

Get away from the vehicle.

A LONG way away!

If you're hunting "good" areas and not seeing anything, likely it's because they're not there. At least not while you're there (in the season.) They know you and about a billion other pumpkins are out there looking for them. It happens every year, it's a habit pattern. They move. Gotta find them, and likely they've temporarily hidden further away from the masses. 

Without knowing lots of specifics about your spots, style, techniques, etc... this applies. Get WAY away from people and you'll get into wildlife.

I have found exceptions, little pocket hideyholes where they're hunkered down for the season, but it's really rare.

(Twice, I think.)

It's worth it to get into the (truly) wild, IMHO. It just smells like freedom... and it usually pays off. Just make sure you're prepared for it.

[Billy74]

Advice FROM a skunked hunter:
I started hunting in 2018 and it wasn’t until last year I saw bucks while actually hunting.  My first year I saw nothing, second year I had some on trail cams but each year I saw more deer and more wildlife in general.  I think just learning how to see what is there is a thing you have to train your eyes for.  I took a buddy who hunts and he pointed out does while glassing I would never have picked up.  So I would pick a unit with good harvest stats and take time to just watch the woods and listen.  Trail cams help build confidence that animals are at least in the area.  There is nothing worse as a new solo hunter than not knowing why you aren’t seeing animals. 
You’ll look back on this in a few years and be able to see improvement.  Might be how well you can sit for longer in the cold, maybe you see more animals or you’re moving quiet enough to bump does at 20 yards instead of 100. 
I would also suggest picking up other tags like turkey or bear.  It just adds to your time in the woods if nothing else.  I found a ton of deer in new spots doing this. 
This month I spotted 2 good bucks, a flock of turkeys and 6 bears on a weekend scouting trip. 
One thing I don’t hear people talk about and you Don’t see it on hunting videos is learn to bring your rifle up quickly and get on target.  I missed chances last year because I couldn’t get on it fast enough.  When I started practicing I realized I would never get a buck unless I was lucky enough to glass one from hundreds of yards away and not be seen or smelled. 
Lastly, don’t get too sucked into hunting videos and shows and try to replicate it.  Work on the basics first.  There are a couple really good Washington based YT channels (some are in here I think) and those may be more helpful because they are more specific to what you’ll be doing. 
Slow and steady.  Measure your success on progress in learning, small victories and not punching a tag for now. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FrothyLlama]

There are places in Washington (modern firearm especially) that this doesn't apply... but boy there aren't many anymore....

Get away from the vehicle.

A LONG way away!

If you're hunting "good" areas and not seeing anything, likely it's because they're not there. At least not while you're there (in the season.) They know you and about a billion other pumpkins are out there looking for them. It happens every year, it's a habit pattern. They move. Gotta find them, and likely they've temporarily hidden further away from the masses. 

Without knowing lots of specifics about your spots, style, techniques, etc... this applies. Get WAY away from people and you'll get into wildlife.

I have found exceptions, little pocket hideyholes where they're hunkered down for the season, but it's really rare.

(Twice, I think.)

It's worth it to get into the (truly) wild, IMHO. It just smells like freedom... and it usually pays off. Just make sure you're prepared for it.

Absolutely, I try to get as far from the car as possible. I look for areas that have no vehicle access for at least a few miles.

[asmith]

Keep at it, thats all you can do.  Ive been hunting for 25 years and still have not killed a muley or whitetail buck.  Ive killed many a blacktail before moving to Washington.  Only one doe and one bull elk since being in Washington 12 years now.

Learn to enjoy more than the thought of success being an animal down.  In most cases, an animal down means the hunt is over, and another year of waiting.

[rainshadow1]

Advice FROM a skunked hunter:
...... 
One thing I don’t hear people talk about and you Don’t see it on hunting videos is learn to bring your rifle up quickly and get on target.  I missed chances last year because I couldn’t get on it fast enough.  When I started practicing I realized I would never get a buck unless I was lucky enough to glass one from hundreds of yards away and not be seen or smelled.  .....

Ooooo... you just brought up the heartbreak of heartbreaks! I was about 18, had only practiced well aimed shots from the bench, standing, prone... never quick shots at close ranges...

Had friends get me into the right spot in Colorado, fast tracking through 10" of fresh snow in the timber, came nose to nose with the biggest bull I'd ever seen anywhere (put his head back and his antlers covered his whole body, sword tine about 20") probably 20 yards! Pulled up and just saw yellow hair in the scope! He was bolting, I never shot... gone. Chased him for 3 miles 'til I lost his tracks in a herd from a few hours earlier.

[7mmfan]

I would also add that I'd choose an area and spend time there. Jumping around place to place chasing the dream isn't likely to yield success unless you stumble onto it. Getting to know an area intimately and how animals use it, even if there aren't many animals there, will yield far more success in the long run. That will also teach you how animals use the terrain and you can then apply that to new areas. I'd pick an area close to home that you can spend a lot of time in. For a person trying to get their first deer, a young blacktail is about as easy as it going to get.

Look for clearcuts that are 2-7 years old, and then get in them right now. Prowl the edges, look for sign, beds, trails, poop, antler rubs. Learn where you can approach these spots from based on different weather conditions, wind directions, etc.. and have good views of them. Find 2 or 3 spots like this, and then live in them during the season. If you can find a couple clearcuts that have a lot of sign and you can spend entire days just sitting and watching them, you absolutely will see deer and you are likely to see a buck, especially later in the season.

Also, especially if you are looking for blacktail, you should take a clearcut and break it down into small pieces. The entire thing is unlikely to be good habitat. The best stuff is usually within 50 yards of the edge, and often there are small pockets of the clearcut that get significantly more use than the rest of it. These pockets are usually difficult to see from the road. They're over a slight hill, or around a line of trees, screened from view. The deer know where they're visible and where they're not. The only way to find those spots is to go find them. Each of my best blacktail spots were found by working the edges of clearcuts and identifying the small pockets that had the most sign.