Critic my first hunting season.

[Kumacub]

Brand new hunter. Did 3 days for mule deer and saw 5 does and 1 two point buck that I could have shot but he wasn’t legal.

Did one day of still hunting near baker lake where I drove my truck up a trail before sunrise, walked a bit and then waited. Heard lots of sounds but no deer sighted the entire day. Main take away was that I was moving too fast and making too much sound.

Enter to my hunt these past few days. Decided to try eastern WA unit 124. Read/heard good things about the area/unit and was hoping to tag my first deer. The area I e scouted was blocked my a gate on private land. I was planning on hunting/camping on public land and then hiking into IEP land.

Had to find a new spot and went south of Mt Spokane. I was the only one walking in. Everyone else had quads or some sort of motorized vehicle. First day I saw nothing. Second day I spotted 3 does (potentially one spike) but they were trudging through thick brush that I was unable to take a good look at or get a shot even if the deer was a spike. Lots of new fresh tracks, so I glassed for a few hours and saw 2 moose as well. Waiting until sunset to potentially see those does coming back through since they didn’t spot me before. Never showed. Ended up walking a creek bed that they walked through to hopefully see something.

Biggest issue I seem to have is just spotting deer or finding bucks. For those that have experience and don’t mind sharing. What advice would you have for me? My goal isn’t to invest in vehicles or e-bikes. But rather how can I be a better hunter for next year.

My current pre season goals are to scout a location better that is closer to home so I don’t waste time finding out that the location I scouted and planned for was completely blocked off. (Public land inaccessible) and then to find spots that I can camp at and then hike in. My current set up is an external frame with a small pack for gear. I mainly drive up to public land where I can camp at. Then hike out and still hunt/glass until I see something.

Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks to those who responded to my last questions. I’ll attach an OnX snapshot of the small section I was at for 3 days.

[millerwheeler]

One thing I’ll say is never underestimate sitting somewhere where you can glass lots of areas, sometimes can unlock real
Perspective of how animals move why and where . Keep at it your on the right track

[Rainier10]

It sounds like you are doing great. You are out in the woods and seeing animals. The more time in the woods the more animals you will start to see.

[Bowhunter3]

Seems like a great first season to me. If you’re gonna spend money on anything, spend it on glass. A real difference maker no matter how good a hunter you are. Took years for me to give in

[Ridgerunner]

maybe try to find a spot that is a pinch point for animals and let the other hunters push them to you.

[huntnfmly]

Sounds like you are very much on the right track and had a good time out in the woods learning.
Absolutely no reason to spend money on quads e-bikes or big fancy trucks.
Keep it up and enjoy your time outdoors

[brokentrail]

I only hunt Westside blacktails, so my input is related specifically to that.  The more time you can spend in an area scouting, the more you learn about how animals use that specific area and then can use that to your advantage during season.  I will always prefer somewhere that is in closer proximity to me that I can spend time in often than a spot that looks/sounds good on a map but it is difficult to spend boots on the ground time there.  I also had to learn to concentrate on smaller portions of the landscape instead of a huge area.

Once you find the area you are going to concentrate on/scout, start looking for places where 90% of other hunters aren't going to go.  Usually this is due to difficult access but at times can just be an overlooked spot that is actually easy to access but hunters drive right by it.  98% of my hunting is behind locked gates where no motorized traffic is (supposed to be) allowed, granted not everyone follows the rules. 

Have multiple plans because you never know when you will pull up to a gate and someone beat you there and you need to go elsewhere. 

The more time you spend in the woods, the more second nature picking out animals will become.  Keep at it and best of luck!