getting frustrated.. WT in northern AB

O

oldspice

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I've only been hunting a few years. Looks like I might be getting skunked again this year. I got skunked last year after I passed on 2 decent bucks because I was told to wait until the rut. I saw the two decent bucks in one week about 2 weeks before the rut. Didn't see a buck after that week.

I have access to great farm land lined with bush just north of edmonton. I can sneek in no problem, I can sit still for hours.. Things just aren't falling into place. I friggin rattled in a buck last week, except he can in from behind a dirt pile I was sitting against. Heard him snort, storm and then take off after a couple mins when he got wind of me. Yes I know how to play the wind..

I have tomorrow and a couple days next week. Could really use some pointers.
I have access to good game trails that link a couple feilds. I have acess to hay/alphalpha feild. And some bush.

I also have acess to a big farm surrounded by bush. But other hunters/coyotes/wolves have cleaned it out.

I would really like some advice for the last week of hunting.

Where should I sit before sunrise?

What should I do during the day?

Where should I sit waiting for sunset?

Where and when should I rattle?


It's pissing me off because I am positive I know the answer to these quesitons already, but I just need some reassurance I guess.
 
The last part of the rut can be the best as the biggest bucks are no longer on does and frantically looking/cruising for the last doe to breed. Hang in there, its been a pretty brutal season in my neck of the woods but maybe just maybe I will cross paths with the big guy.
Rattles and Grunts work well during the tale end, I would rattle and grunt after the prime shooting times.
 
Look for "funnels" that will direct deer moving between food and bedding areas, or narrows between big blocks of cover. Don't expect big bucks to show themselves in the open in daylight. Tracks and trails should help locate a likely spot. Or change your goals. You seem to want to shoot a big buck- why not a small one or a doe? They are much better eating and you are more likely to have a successful hunt.
 
Keep putting in your time it's been 20 years of hunting for me in prime country and have never taken a B&C deer. My dad is going on a lot longer then me and he has only taken one big one and the last twelve years he has had tag soup. They don't get that big by being stupid. I have let many many nice bucks walk, usually the last day I take a doe and hope my path crosses my dream buck the next year coming. Hard sometimes but I have in my mind what I want and 160 just doesn't cut the mustard here.
Cheers
Geoff
 
muckwa said:
Keep putting in your time it's been 20 years of hunting for me in prime country and have never taken a B&C deer. My dad is going on a lot longer then me and he has only taken one big one and the last twelve years he has had tag soup. They don't get that big by being stupid. I have let many many nice bucks walk, usually the last day I take a doe and hope my path crosses my dream buck the next year coming. Hard sometimes but I have in my mind what I want and 160 just doesn't cut the mustard here.
Cheers
Geoff
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+20 years for me before I finally connected too. Unfortunate that the OP places so much emphasis on bragging rights. I prefer kolbassa induced garlic burps, meat sweats
and stories to tide me thru the long winter.
 
hakx said:
+20 years for me before I finally connected too. Unfortunate that the OP places so much emphasis on bragging rights. I prefer kolbassa induced garlic burps, meat sweats
and stories to tide me thru the long winter.
Click to expand...

Good job aszholee. People hunt for different reasons. I am waiting for something over 160. You hunt for meat. "Unfortunately" you place so much emphasis on stuffing your fat ass with sausage. I asked for advice, not your opinion on what one's emphasis shoudl be when hunting.

To everyone else, thanks for the tips. I'll keep at it. I'll take a couple says off work this week to extend my time in the bush.
 
anchorman_well_that_escalated_quickly_966.jpg
 
oldspice said:
Good job aszholee. People hunt for different reasons. I am waiting for something over 160. You hunt for meat. "Unfortunately" you place so much emphasis on stuffing your fat ass with sausage. I asked for advice, not your opinion on what one's emphasis shoudl be when hunting.

To everyone else, thanks for the tips. I'll keep at it. I'll take a couple says off work this week to extend my time in the bush.
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The guy 'stuffing his fat ass with sausage' isn't whinging about not being able to connect. As point of fact, HE actually got his deer. If the priority is horn, and it's not being seen in the area you are hunting, it's about Lotto odds that a really big buck will actually show up there. Get out in the boonies, and cover some ground.

Hunt where the big deer are. Sounds like you are not.

IF (BIG IF!) there is one or more big deer around, and you know it for sure, then it's a matter of persistence and timing, as well as figuring out their schedules and sleeping/feeding/territory marking/doe tending/etc. Sitting on your arse waiting for IT to come to you, obviously isn't working.

Oh yeah. Don't be a ####. You might be looking for more help sometime.

Cheers
Trev
 
We all hunt for different reasons. My apologies if I offended.

Edit:. Hey guys, knock this $hit off. It's just frustration, don't need an Internet flame session here.
 
trevj said:
The guy 'stuffing his fat ass with sausage' isn't whinging about not being able to connect. As point of fact, HE actually got his deer. If the priority is horn, and it's not being seen in the area you are hunting, it's about Lotto odds that a really big buck will actually show up there. Get out in the boonies, and cover some ground.

Hunt where the big deer are. Sounds like you are not.

IF (BIG IF!) there is one or more big deer around, and you know it for sure, then it's a matter of persistence and timing, as well as figuring out their schedules and sleeping/feeding/territory marking/doe tending/etc. Sitting on your arse waiting for IT to come to you, obviously isn't working.

Oh yeah. Don't be a ####. You might be looking for more help sometime.

Cheers
Trev
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Thanks. Altough I wasn't the first one to be a #### in this situation. I wasn't whining, I was expressing my frustrations as a novice buck hunter. I am still questioning myself and what I know because I'm a novice. I had lots of experienced advise from local friends starting up. But I still question myself.

There is a couple ones over 160 around.. I haven't seen them during the day.. I see a few around 130-140ish during the day. The big ones around I'm having a harder time patterning other than walking by my cameras at night lol. Just needed some guidance as to options I can try to get them during legal light.

I live in the bush. Northern AB my friend. More BC bucks are taken around farm lands here than deep deep in the bush. I hunt both and I have to say I see and get more pics of big bucks on the farms.
 
hakx said:
We all hunt for different reasons. My apologies if I offended.

Edit:. Hey guys, knock this $hit off. It's just frustration, don't need an Internet flame session here.
Click to expand...

aplogy accepted.. I apologize aswell for the sausage stuffing comment :D

Yup enough of this.. I'm going back out for the day lol
 
good to see amends have been made!

Oldspice,
Enjoy the experience of the hunt, hunting is just that, it's not going out and killing a big buck after a few days of hunting. Big bucks are big because they have the very best of the scenses their species has evolved, ex.; hearing, smell and sight. You must hunt accordingly.
Also remember, no matter how hard you hunt or how good you hunt, if there isn't a throphy animal in the area you will NOT harvest one. Preseason scouting goes a long way in the taking of a trophy.
The more time it takes the more you'll enjoy the rewards!
 
My tip is to get off the field edges. Sometimes they can be productive but I think you really tip the odds in your favour my finding a "funnel" of some sort. Look for small strips of bush/cover that connect bigger pieces together within the farmland. Sloughs, steep draws, etc. also act as barriers to deer traffic and often force deer to travel around them.

Find a good spot and sit for the entire day. It's tough to do...especially if a day or two go by without much or any action but it does pay off. I have seen numerous bucks cruising through cover in the farmland in the mid-day hours. Every magazine article on whitetail hunting mentions that but there still aren't many people that remain on stand during the mid-day.

Also, don't overthink it and make it too technical...find travel corridor, sit 'n' wait, shoot a buck...oh yeah and when holding out for trophy bucks be prepared to eat a tag, it doesn't come together every year.
 
This happened to me this year. I got pics of a 165 ish buck and wasnt going to shoot anything smaller. I hunted more than I ever have before, tried every tactic I could think of, and never saw him. I passed a few small bucks, but when you are hunting racks, and especially a specific one, you have to be ready for this to happen. First time in the last 7 years that I havent killed a whitetail buck, but hey, thats hunting.
Also, when people tell you to drop the bone hunting and just shoot a doe or young buck, dont get discouraged. Sure, you can fill a tag and it can be a great experience; I usually shoot 2 does every year and have killed bucklets too. But nothing compares to the feeling of accomplishment when you walk up to a big bruiser you've hunted for for a long time. It's really not about bragging rights for me; a truly mature whitetail buck is a bloody tough critter to get the better of and when you do, its awesome. My season is over, but I'll be out there again in 2013, maybe with a bow this time in late August.
 
This happened to me this year. I got pics of a 165 ish buck and wasnt going to shoot anything smaller. I hunted more than I ever have before, tried every tactic I could think of, and never saw him. I passed a few small bucks, but when you are hunting racks, and especially a specific one, you have to be ready for this to happen. First time in the last 7 years that I havent killed a whitetail buck, but hey, thats hunting.
Also, when people tell you to drop the bone hunting and just shoot a doe or young buck, dont get discouraged. Sure, you can fill a tag and it can be a great experience; I usually shoot 2 does every year and have killed bucklets too. But nothing compares to the feeling of accomplishment when you walk up to a big bruiser you've hunted for for a long time. It's really not about bragging rights for me; a truly mature whitetail buck is a bloody tough critter to get the better of and when you do, its awesome. My season is over, but I'll be out there again in 2013, maybe with a bow this time in late August.
 
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