How do you find your game?

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birdman86

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Sorry for these basic questions, I'm a complete beginner and even though I live and work on a farm, I don't know any hunters to show me the ropes. I didn't get any draws but I understand antlered whitetail is open season on the prairies so I'm gonna try to get one of them - it'd be in my home (Alberta) WMU's of 152/144/142 - I've seen some huge bucks out there during September harvest but by the time November rolls around they're long gone!

My questions are all around what to do when the season starts - because as it is right now, I can already see myself getting in my truck at 6am, driving around the grid roads, seeing nothing or seeing something at a distance and on clearly private property with no idea who owns it and having to let it go because i don't know wtf I'm doing. I've got my gun, I know what to aim for, I've studied up on how to field dress - so how do I actually find my target? Just drive around and hope to spot one? How do you get permission if you don't know who owns the land? Do you scout in advance for days, weeks, months? Do you huff it on foot to get up to a coulee somewhere, and ask for permission in advance then just stick to that spot for your entire season?

The irrigation district has lots of hunter-friendly land here so my plan right now is to head out there, park somewhere near some kind of interesting land...a lake, willow patch, whatever... and hope for the best. But we're talking very, very flat, featureless prairie. So if that doesnt work out I'm afraid I'll get super bummed on the whole thing and give up, with no real idea whether I was approaching it the right way.

TLDR am beginner, no idea where to go to find a buck, nobody to show me the way, only guy I talked to was super discouraging "it's impossible, you won't find a thing on public land and you won't get permission on private land".
 
The best way IMO is to get in the truck and explore. Also, don't be lazy and road hunt. Get out of the truck and go for a hike. Most guys I've encountered want to discourage you so you don't find their honey hole. However, in my area, I hunt public land and the results speak for themselves.
 
Scouting in advance of the hunting season is time well spent. Drive around the country and use binoculars to try to spot game from the road. If you find a good site make an effort to find out who owns the land (You can obtain a land ownership map from the Rural Municipality office) or go to the nearest farmhouse and just ask.

Talk to the landowner well in advance of the season (now would be a good time) and introduce yourself and try to establish a relationship. Be aware many will turn you down and just thank them for their time and move on to the next site.

It's a process to try to find good hunting sites and it's valuable info so be careful to keep it to yourself. Just because a farmer lets you on his land dosen't mean he wants all your buddies to come too.

Be sure to thank the farmer for access once you harvest a deer. Good luck in your efforts and hopefully you get one or two good sites to hunt come fall.
 
first order of business if i were you is to get the ihunter alberta app and purchase the maps for your area which will give you detailed land owner information. in featureless land look for low areas and small patches of bush. it does not take much to hide a deer and they know that. look for features to hide deer near where you see them at harvest and double check them after harvest.
 
White tail? they usually come to me. Use your acreage, scout it throughout the year. Deer need four things during the rut: sleep, food, water and satisfaction of their mating desires. Knowing where they eat, sleep and drink is not usually difficult... forage in preferred order sorts out the easiest one to take advantage of. Water may or may not be everywhere... depending on locale. Hunt at food sources and active trails.
 
As a kid, my trick for getting my whitetails on the open prairie was to be out and sitting in my spot well before first light, sit still and observe. I would be out well before the season to learn the daily patterns and routes of the local herd. I found my herd had an approximate 15 km daily circuit and could be found at almost the same spot in the circuit each day. After I learned their circuit, I would be out ahead of them in a particular location to ambush them at first light.

Some of the northern whitetails stick to a smaller home patch. Put in the time to walk and find the rubs, then sit still to figure out the local patterns and timings. I have been after a particular buck for three years now. I am onto his pattern but he has yet to stick his head out until well after dark. Still trying to rattle or grunt him out or waiting for him to make a mistake during daylight.
 
Buy your own property. Today I found out we had twins!!!!!

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Grizzly Adams said:
Thanks to the Privacy laws not much information there anymore.

Grizz
Click to expand...

Landowner maps will show who owns what piece and at least sometimes mark the location of the owners dwelling. If you don't want to find the door to knock on, you'll have to track the owner down some other way.
 
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