Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: Billy74 on October 28, 2025, 02:59:29 PM
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I went out for a day hunt (NE WT). Got to my spot 10 min before legal shooting and settle in to look ok down on an opening, kind of bowl. After a good 10 min i hear brush move 10 yds or less just on the other side of a mound I couldnt see to. Then all the stopping and snorting for a good minute. Two other deer do the same further off quite a ways but this guy was close and sounded big butthere was no way I could belly crawl without sending him running so i just sat there hoping he would leave in a good direction but he Didn’t. I sat there for 2 hours thinking he might pop out somewhere and At this point I could only make it worse. I did end up making a big loop to higher ground where I could look down to where I was. Had a similar thing happen up there where I was just sitting and watch and 50 ft away in some brush i get another loud grunt. Pretty sure I sat within feet of him while he was bedded that morning. What would you have done to find success. In hindsight i wish I had tried to belly crawl to him but if i did i would just be wishing I stayed put.
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I've been in this position before archery hunting mule deer. I had a nice buck aggressively rubbing a tree 20 yards from me, but I needed to move a little to get an angle. I was so scared I might bump him that I froze hoping he'd give me a shot when he was done. He did not. In hindsight, I believe that if they are occupied rubbing a tree, you probably have a little leeway to make a move and try to get a line of sight on them.
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I've had plenty of deer and elk wander away while I stayed put and waited/hoped for an opportunity at them. I've also bumped/blown my fair share of opportunity trying to be more aggressive and create a shot. Seeing the right move in the moment is just one of the challenges in hunting. These days I still lean toward being aggressive and trying to create a shot opportunity. Encounters are limited each season and even if I blow it I feel like I tried.
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I have heard people say "You're either a deer hunter, or you're an elk hunter". The idea I get is that when deer hunters are presented with a situation like you described, they'll be more patient and wait for it to play out. "Elk hunters" tend to be more aggressive and "make something happen".
I am not sure that I agree with this, but if it is true, then I am more of a deer hunter than an elk hunter. I will usually error on the side of caution/patience when hunting.
Maybe that's why I've killed about 40 deer in my life, but only a couple of elk... :dunno:
In short: I think you made a good call. Maybe aggression would have worked better in this case, but most of the time it wouldn't... :twocents:
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I will say that I have kicked out enough (way too many) deer to be killed by someone else to have my motto be to stay put.
My lesson this year was: Have Faith in the Mountain, and it will provide. A calm animal in your kill zone means another one will also be comfortable there, and while many are moving through this time of year, lots of deer on both sides of the Cascades tend to not move very fat out of an area that they like.
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That rings true in this spot. Its just a little bowl 10 minutes from the truck but there are always deer. Exact place I blindly walked up ion a buck 20 yrds away last year. Different excuse as to why i didn’t connect but no one seems to hunt this little nugget of land I found.
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