Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: MilesSawyer on February 10, 2020, 10:20:24 AM

Title: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: MilesSawyer on February 10, 2020, 10:20:24 AM: This is my first year hunting. I know I need to have patience, but I have gone out bowhunting several times and haven't seen any deer. People I ask give me conflicting advise, "they like lowlands" and "they like ridges".

I know I need to find where they travel between bedding/food/water and they like cover when doing so. Everyone I pick a spot I just seem to be where the deer aren't. I even use topographic maps to pick where it makes sense for them to travel.

My one issue is lack of scouting, but we are in season so it is a little tough with work and what not. Any tips/tricks? Further advice?
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: JimmyHoffa on February 10, 2020, 10:26:34 AM: What type of deer?
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: vandeman17 on February 10, 2020, 10:55:54 AM: just curious how this is your first year hunting but you have gone out bow hunting several times and haven't seen any deer?

What season are you referring to?
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Billy74 on February 10, 2020, 11:01:53 AM: This last season was my 3rd and the first i saw legal bucks during the season. 2nd year was the first i saw any deer at all. Even 1 cheap trail cam helps. Getting a buck on camera at least helps confidence. I run 3 now and check them once a month and move them if needed. The one thing i did different this year was hunt public land adjacent to farms. I stoped trying to get way off the road. More hunters for sure but i at least found deer. Also found plenty of gut piles so success was found just not by me. Im after WT in the NE during modern so a little different situation i supposed but if the question is finding bucks i think scouting as often as possible will always be a good answer.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Seabass on February 10, 2020, 12:50:20 PM: If it's a white tail buck that you are looking for...buy a camera (doesn't need to be expensive) put it in front of some bait (corn, apples, hay etc.) in a place that looks "good" to you. In 7 days you will know if there is a buck close....maybe 3-4 bucks. If you don't find any bucks on that camera after a week...put it somewhere else. I doubt it takes you more than 2 weeks to find a few bucks.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: fishngamereaper on February 10, 2020, 12:58:24 PM: Do a bunch of research. Google scout. Run Cam's. Find deer. Pre scout. Put a ton of mile on before season. Then hunt those area's hard expecting to see deer. Hunt quiet, glass, rattle, call etc...then when all that doesn't lead to success and you get at a really low point let your guard down in the area least likely to hold deer and Bam... you'll see deer...just be ready cause it happens fast.

35 years in the woods this is the tried and true method that works for me.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: mburrows on February 10, 2020, 02:22:49 PM: Good binoculars, a tripod, the ability to be on the hill in your glassing spot at first light and until dark.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: follow maggie on February 23, 2020, 06:03:56 PM: While archery elk hunting in Idaho in September, while sitting around the tent after dark listening to music & having a couple beers making dinner, a group of about 10-12 mule deer walked right through our camp. Happened 3 nights.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: buckfvr on February 23, 2020, 07:21:43 PM: Quote from: mburrows on February 10, 2020, 02:22:49 PM
Good binoculars, a tripod, the ability to be on the hill in your glassing spot at first light and until dark.

Exactly, this is how we find everything here. :yeah: :yeah:
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: HellsBelle on February 23, 2020, 07:26:13 PM: I look in the off season, when I'm horseback riding in the hills, where I go is logging areas, clear-cuts.... There are trails where deer travel heavily, and when bucks are in rut you look for sign where they have rubbed their antlers on small trees..it looks like small patches of scraped off bark. Patience is huge, you can be looking in an area and see nothing, and suddenly realized a deer has materialized..
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: CougHunter on February 26, 2020, 08:16:53 PM: Moving from the open country to thick forest, I'm really struggling to find a glassing strategy that seems reasonable to me. I think that I could find a better job of finding huntable reprod, but even still I feel like a large part of the struggle for me is opportunism versus successful glassing. I guess that's where the "all day" component is advantageous.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on April 28, 2020, 07:02:51 PM: Bigger is Better for spotting them Big Horns! ;)
Doug
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Platensek-po on April 28, 2020, 07:59:10 PM: Reminds me of this
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: hollymaster on April 28, 2020, 09:54:04 PM: I just go sit in the woods and the deer come to me. :dunno:
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Crunchy on April 28, 2020, 10:21:01 PM: Its pretty simple formula to find deer. First you find where they are not, and cross that spot off the list. After scratching enough spots off the list you will begin to find where they are. Just takes time :chuckle:
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Mulie87 on April 28, 2020, 11:40:28 PM: Sot, glass. No deer then move, sit and glass some more. Have patients. Binos and spotting scopes are your friends in open country. In the woods find sign and set up a tree stand or blind. It may take time, but you’ll eventually have success.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Onewhohikes on April 29, 2020, 05:18:16 AM: The best way to find deer is go to another state say Idaho, Colorado or Montana. They will literally be right along side the road!!
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: nwwanderer on April 29, 2020, 05:29:02 AM: Bango may have been around the block an extra time or two!! Come set on my porch any early morning or evening for a simple whitetail and who knows what else lesson.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: lokidog on April 29, 2020, 09:02:36 AM: Look out my window, drive to the mail shed, mow a lawn (almost got run over by a buck yesterday), drive to the boat ramp, go for a walk....

8) 8)

Good luck
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: fishnfur on April 30, 2020, 10:27:07 AM: and kick them off the front porch. Loki's scouting tactics are a bit different than elsewhere.

A whole bunch of good answers. Ultimately, it seems to me, finding an area with several or many tree rubs will give you a good location to hunt come late October. Being able to identify fresh tracks, fresh poo, and recently browsed areas are necessary for hunting earlier in the season - you'll at least be in a currently used area. Hunters who have been successful over many seasons become much better at just knowing what a good spot looks/feels like as they work through the woods. Then it's time to slow way down and give the animals a chance to move. It is very easy to pass right by animals, completely unaware of their presence when you're moving too fast.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: lokidog on April 30, 2020, 11:31:25 AM: Quote from: fishnfur on April 30, 2020, 10:27:07 AM
and kick them off the front porch. Loki's scouting tactics are a bit different than elsewhere.

Could be. :chuckle:
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: sawyer on May 02, 2020, 11:33:32 AM: This forum aint big enough for the both of us, MilesSawyer
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Blacktail_Slayer on May 02, 2020, 12:31:13 PM: The best resources for biology and habitat are research papers that can found using Google Scholar and also from the Mule Deer Working Group https://www.wafwa.org/committees___groups/mule_deer_working_group/publications/

Book List that works for any deer hunting:

Blacktail Trophy Tactics 2- By Boyd Iverson

Trophy Blacktails: The Science of the Hunt- By Scott Haugen

Mapping Trophy Bucks- By Brad Herndon

Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer- By Dwight Schuh

Mule Deer: A Handbook for Utah Hunters and Landowners- By Dennis Austin

Mule Deer Strategies: A Handbook of Hunting Techniques- By Walt Prothero

Mature Buck Success- By Design- Jeff Sturgis

All Weather Whitetails- By Jeff Sturgis

Whitetail Success- By Design- By Jeff Sturgis

If you ever decide to hunt desert mule deer.
Deer of the Southwest- By Jim Heffelfinger

Every podcast you have to jump around and find out which episodes are going to help you. Here is my list.

Whitetail Habitat Solutions (Youtube)- Lots of info about and how to hunt deer.

MSU Deer University podcast

Jay Scott Outdoors podcast

Mule Deer Foundation - Talking Mule Deer Podcast

Nine Finger Chronicles Podcast

EHUNTR podcast

Wired To Hunt podcast
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Blacktail_Slayer on May 02, 2020, 12:33:17 PM: A couple youtube podcasts I did to share with other hunters.
Title: Re: How do you guys find deer?
Post by: Bango skank on May 02, 2020, 12:50:54 PM: Quote from: MilesSawyer on February 10, 2020, 10:20:24 AM

I know I need to find where they travel between bedding/food/water and they like cover when doing so.

This is so commonly repeated i think in large part because most whitetail hunting is done in the midwest / east where there is a ton of agriculture broken up by limited amounts of timber / bedding areas, and there is a lot of hard mast too, so the bedding and feeding areas are very clearly defined. When it comes to whitetail here in the national forest where there is very little agriculture around, "feeding areas" are basically everywhere. There are big bucks in the mountains that never see agriculture of any sort. Their entire home range is a feeding area, good browse everywhere, including where they like to bed. So to think that you can set up between a bedding area and a feeding area with these deer in these mountains is a pipe dream. Best just to focus on bedding areas and natural travel routes, despite the lack of a well defined feeding destination. Id suggest checking out dan infalts stuff on whitetail bedding areas, particularly his hill country bedding stuff. Some good insight there.