Post by: MrSmallington on October 16, 2017, 12:00:29 PM
Anyone fill their tag and willing to share a location to camp? on a side note I met a road hunter in a Prius hunting rabbit with a crossbow! 100% serious. looking to head out for the rut. willing to scout prior too just rather disappointed.
Post by: bobcat on October 16, 2017, 12:31:32 PM
As for camping, it's only allowed in campgrounds. Some info here:
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Capitol
Post by: MrSmallington on October 16, 2017, 01:40:15 PM
Why was your "promising area" no good? If there's sign of deer in the area, I wouldn't change areas. The deer are there, they're just not out in the open except at night when it's dark. Deer will be more active as the weather gets colder/wetter and as the rut begins to kick in.
As for camping, it's only allowed in campgrounds. Some info here:
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Capitol
I was up at 3am with night vision. have an area where there are two decent clear cuts one to my right one to my left. I saw two sets of tracks 3 weeks ago and decided to set up shop to see if anything travels by. at around 10am I got up and made my way through the woods till 5 and then made way back to watch till sun down. no life at all. curious if I'm too high? i passed about 6 does traveling into the forest real early to the point they were still walking across paved roads. I know I have a 19% chance of success but not seeing life at all has me worried.
Post by: Grant4068 on October 16, 2017, 02:26:19 PM
Post by: JDHasty on October 16, 2017, 02:51:28 PM
I usually tell people who tell me they haven't seen any blacktail: Well they have seen you.
Actually probably smelled or heard you, and identified you and they can and will sneak off w/o you knowing they were there. The other thing is a blacktail can be standing right there looking through foliage at a guy and unless he knows what to look for he can't see it.
It can seem counter intuitive when hunting in an area in which you cannot see fifty yards in any direction that your binocular is your friend, but believe me your binocular is your friend. Your sniffer is not going to allow you to identify and pretty much locate a deer, your ears may be a bit better, I heard a buck moving past my stand Sunday morning (I checked the tracks after I quit the stand around noon), so your eyes are pretty much all you have going for you and a binocular makes the difference quite often between seeing a BT deer and not seeing it.
Post by: MrSmallington on October 16, 2017, 04:22:07 PM
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on October 16, 2017, 04:39:37 PM
(https://storage04.dropshots.com/photos7000/photos/1401964/20171016/x_193133.jpg)
Post by: MrSmallington on October 16, 2017, 04:47:03 PM
They like to hide in plain sight also
(https://storage04.dropshots.com/photos7000/photos/1401964/20171016/x_193133.jpg)
AWESOME PHOTO! you best believe i was looking for those pesky smart ones. i was hoping at 3am with night vision id see some movement at least... nothing. i was at a dead end too so not many road hunters... the thick was waist deep so im tempted to rough it through that at 3 and find a trail to watch early morning... only down side is my ford isn't the most reliable ... so i am always stressing if ill get stranded in the woods. lol... im dumb.
Post by: Humptulips on October 16, 2017, 07:19:28 PM
Or more precisely, they are moving during the night and gone at first light.
It will get better as the season progresses.
Post by: JDHasty on October 16, 2017, 07:22:57 PM
Get Iverson's book and learn it backwards and forward. It should be marked up, tabbed and reread until you have it down. They are out of print now and harder to come by than in the past. I buy every copy I come across at Half Price Book and gift them. Don't have a spare right now. I have I & II and they look like my college textbooks all marked up, highlighted and dogeared. Not my hard back though. It just sits on the shelf as a keepsake. II is better, but grab the original if you come across it. And read and reread it.
Post by: JDHasty on October 16, 2017, 07:32:21 PM
With the kind of weather we have had so far and being to early for the rut they are not moving yet.
Or more precisely, they are moving during the night and gone at first light.
It will get better as the season progresses.
You got that right!! I took care of my bratwurst problem on a doe Saturday, but really no daytime buck activity. I did see a four point buck Friday night that was well into B&C territory, 7 inch forks and lots of mass and width.
The bucks I know of where I hunt have been hunkered down all day since about the end of August. If I hunted the first week of Sept I would have been in Fat City, the buck I want was with a big fork horn using the same trail every day at 7:30PM all summer, but has been pretty scarce since the first week of Sept. I missed him by 15 minutes twice the first week, but in a totally different area than he had been in. I have people keeping an eye on my spots and I know about where he has been, but he isn't showing at all during daylight right now.
You are right, they will be back out in a bit.
Post by: Mudman on October 16, 2017, 07:47:22 PM
Post by: JDHasty on October 16, 2017, 07:57:51 PM
Warning check regs in regards to using night vision during hunt season. Nocturnal for sure. Not rutting so bummer. You could try the thick brush where they are likely bedding. They will blow out before you get a shot most always but then they are located too! Track n sneaking might yield ya a shot after ya catch up to em, if you do find em. Most times I hear em but don't see em as I jump em out of beds. Sometimes I can get lucky and catch up to a dumb one.
I just use my head lamp and go for a stroll. Make absolutely sure you don't have a bow or gun anywhere near you though and also stay out of the areas they are using. Just walk past and don't stop if you see deer is how I do it. I will walk roads and just take a look see what is using my areas.
I would go in to where they are bedded during the day if I were using a shotgun, but have been after a big buck w/my bow and even though they have been split up since summer they tend to bed in groups and have eyes in all directions when bedding during the day time.
I just have to catch them on the move a little earlier one evening and it's all over. Or give me a hella storm front moving in to hunt.
Post by: fishnfur on October 17, 2017, 12:06:46 AM
BTW - IMHO - 3 AM is not a prime deer feeding time. They are likely bedded someplace chewing their cuds. Most of my trail cam activity over the years at night has been just around dark, 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM, and 5 AM until light. Also, I agree that it may not be legal during the deer hunting season to use night vision glasses at night, even if you're not carrying a firearm. Similar to the rule that states you can't hunt withing 24 hours of flying...(or something like that).
Post by: MrSmallington on October 17, 2017, 08:24:32 AM
BTW - IMHO - 3 AM is not a prime deer feeding time. They are likely bedded someplace chewing their cuds. Most of my trail cam activity over the years at night has been just around dark, 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM, and 5 AM until light. Also, I agree that it may not be legal during the deer hunting season to use night vision glasses at night, even if you're not carrying a firearm. Similar to the rule that states you can't hunt withing 24 hours of flying...(or something like that).
I get up and out at 3 am and by my spot by four. i figure it as a persistence thing. im out there before they are and can scout them coming in. then i can at least see where they are coming from. follow. i'm still new so its all trial and error.
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on October 17, 2017, 08:32:42 AM
Grab some rain gear and go get'em!!!!
:hunter:
Post by: JDHasty on October 17, 2017, 08:42:04 AM
Today would be a great day to be out there, storm is blowing in and some rain coming down here in Rochester.
Grab some rain gear and go get'em!!!!
:hunter:
If I had the opportunity I would be hunting today.
Post by: MrSmallington on October 17, 2017, 08:45:56 AM
Post by: JDHasty on October 17, 2017, 08:46:44 AM
If it was me, and I only saw two sets of tracks, I'd move on a bit. Walk inside the perimeter of the cuts at mid-day to see where the majority of tracks enter and exit the cuts. Then set up so you can have some kind of view/shot on those areas, or as mentioned previously, hunt the thick stuff where the deer exit the cuts - likely the uphill side. Those does that you saw should give you a pretty good indication where they're bedding, and where the bucks will be passing by once the rut gets going. The does will likely move from those spots a bit and leave the kids at home while momma goes off to play.
BTW - IMHO - 3 AM is not a prime deer feeding time. They are likely bedded someplace chewing their cuds. Most of my trail cam activity over the years at night has been just around dark, 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM, and 5 AM until light. Also, I agree that it may not be legal during the deer hunting season to use night vision glasses at night, even if you're not carrying a firearm. Similar to the rule that states you can't hunt withing 24 hours of flying...(or something like that).
I have to get up to use the restroom between 02:00 and 03:30 every night so I take the opportunity to poke my head out with a flashlight and take a look at who is hanging around the camper and there are usually a few deer hanging around - sometimes real Jim dandy bucks too. I have never seen one of these bucks out during the day though.
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on October 17, 2017, 06:18:12 PM
Post by: fishnfur on October 17, 2017, 08:27:21 PM
Post by: Piscatory_5 on October 17, 2017, 08:36:31 PM
Why was your "promising area" no good? If there's sign of deer in the area, I wouldn't change areas. The deer are there, they're just not out in the open except at night when it's dark. Deer will be more active as the weather gets colder/wetter and as the rut begins to kick in.
As for camping, it's only allowed in campgrounds. Some info here:
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Capitol
I was up at 3am with night vision. have an area where there are two decent clear cuts one to my right one to my left. I saw two sets of tracks 3 weeks ago and decided to set up shop to see if anything travels by. at around 10am I got up and made my way through the woods till 5 and then made way back to watch till sun down. no life at all. curious if I'm too high? i passed about 6 does traveling into the forest real early to the point they were still walking across paved roads. I know I have a 19% chance of success but not seeing life at all has me worried.
Here's a thought for you, try looking over 2 or 3 clearings in the morning before about 10-11 o'clock looking for the ones that are still active and feeding. Then find a goodsized clearing(different one) and sit and watch until about 3pm, be still. The ones that have laid down and rested will probably get up in that time frame to stretch their legs and grab a bite to eat. I've shot several bucks midday, more so in the last few years compared to 20 years ago.
Post by: jmscon on October 17, 2017, 08:51:10 PM
Post by: JDHasty on October 18, 2017, 05:52:18 AM
Boyd Iverson's books are still available at Amazon, lots of good info!
I buy four or five copies of Iverson's books every year for $5 or $6 at garage sales and junk shops. But they are getting harder to come by. I bet I have gifted 20 copies in the last six or seven years. The info is the best, even if you are not after trophy size bucks.