I'm an absolute beginner to hunting and getting into it in my 40's. I've taken the hunter education class and also took the archery education class as well. I've setup some simple goals for my first year of hunting. I want to see if I can hunt some small game (rabbit and grouse) and see if I can find/identify the signs of big game (hoof prints, tree rubbings, deer/elk poop, and bear scat) and if possible actually get a black tail deer. Due to some circumstances this year, I can't travel very far from the Seattle/Eastside area so i'll be day hunting so I've started scouting in GMU 460 and specifically, the Hancock Tree Farm. I bought the motorized permit so I can get around that property pretty easily and can get to areas the bump up against national forest areas.
So far in my scouting trips, I believe I found deer poop (looked like black licorice jelly beans) and elk poop (these looked like smaller versions of cow poop and from what I read they can look like this when they eat a lot of wet vegetation). I believe I saw grouse this past weekend but couldn't tell what kind of grouse they were. Funny enough, I haven't seen any rabbits on the tree farm but there is a bumper crop of cotton tails around my house this year. I already seen elk but they weren't on the property and I finally saw my first black tail deer this weekend. It was a doe with a fawn (still had white spots on it)
I haven't seen any bear although I think I came across a tree scrape left by a bear. (see picture below)
The questions I had in mind were
1. Do blacktail limit their activities to early morning and late evenings most of the year? Are they any good books that describe black tail behaviors during the year and preferred foods? For those who have taken a blacktail, what was the distance when you took your shot?
2. Do elk prefer certain elevations during the year? I was thinking they move down into the valleys when the weather turns cold and they slowly start to move back up as vegetation grows back and the weather gets warmer.
3. How aggressive are black bears? I know a sow with cubs are best left alone. I take a can of bear spray with me but was wondering if I should take a sidearm as a last resort. I was thinking of getting a 45
Just in case you are wondering, I already bought my license and tags for this year. I went for modern firearm and the deer/elk/bear/cougar with small game license. I have 30-06 springfield with a Leupold 3-9x40 scope. I just got my membership at a range that has lanes up to 200 yards. I haven't zeroed my rifle yet as I've mainly been going to fire the gun at 50 yard targets to get over my trigger flinch. I was thinking of getting a .22 to use with rabbit/grouse and as a more cost effective way of working through my trigger flinch.
Thanks for any help/information you give.