How do you find your game?

[Bull_it]

How do you guys find deer that aren't on farmland? I'm looking to get more into hunting this year and after some experience in the past, I'm not too interested in hunting fields and private land. I want to get off the beaten track and hike in to spots. Probably between Grande Prairie and Hinton. I'm just not entirely sure what I need to be looking for when it comes to terrain and features.

 

[New Camper]

How do you guys find deer that aren't on farmland? I'm looking to get more into hunting this year and after some experience in the past, I'm not too interested in hunting fields and private land. I want to get off the beaten track and hike in to spots. Probably between Grande Prairie and Hinton. I'm just not entirely sure what I need to be looking for when it comes to terrain and features.

While my farm is on the Canadian Shield, only part of it is arable... the rest is forest, rocks, ponds etc. I used to trap the thousands of acres around it which are not arable. I always noted game movements which reinforce the advantage of remembering what they need to live. This isn't Illinois farmland so the deer tend to follow comfortable trails as they will be more efficient... farmland provides an abundance of food not enjoyed by deer in some areas. The trails I cut often were frequented. Beaver dams, narrows and such bottlenecks between large bodies of water are funnels assuming there are things on either side that are desirable. Bucks in rut do some weird things though. It's not unusual that a deer will travel an isolated spot and leave the only track in years.

There is no way around it... you will have to scout. Some guys will cut shooting lanes in brush to provide larger watch areas over which can be shot properly. I've always sought out natural openings near trails when the bounty of the field did not yield. My activity always means I'm scouting all year, but you'll need to begin in summer and cool it the last week before season. Remember and establish good spots near path junctions. Wind on hunting day will dictate where you sit and hunt. Aside from that, you'll need input from guys who hunt similar terrain/vegetation for localized deer habits... you might get lucky and have terrain that favours spot and stalk hunting. For some reason I'm adept at remembering terrain and geography: If I hunted public land I don't have to leave flags for lazy bums to find and steal my previous months of labour. If I had difficulty, I'd leave signs that no one would think to recognize but still made sense too me.

 

[45ACPKING]

I'm in bc so for finding game in new areas or for scouting for new areas I use google earth quite a bit.
I use the tilt function a lot so I can get some idea of the terrain so I can choose likely travel corridors.
Also handy for seeing small water sources that one would never find without a birdseye view.
Only problem with google earth is that images are not often current and what is a cutblock today on google earth.... might be a 5 year old stand of planted regrowth.
It also allows for getting some idea of the vegetation and what to expect on the ground when you get there like if there are any old roads or trails.

 

[littlehughey]

Go to your county website, chances are there is an online land ownership map or tax map. Download the map or buy a hard copy. Scout early mornings in likely areas by truck, identify where the bucks are, find the owner, call and ask for permission.

 

[Bull_it]

While my farm is on the Canadian Shield, only part of it is arable... the rest is forest, rocks, ponds etc. I used to trap the thousands of acres around it which are not arable. I always noted game movements which reinforce the advantage of remembering what they need to live. This isn't Illinois farmland so the deer tend to follow comfortable trails as they will be more efficient... farmland provides an abundance of food not enjoyed by deer in some areas. The trails I cut often were frequented. Beaver dams, narrows and such bottlenecks between large bodies of water are funnels assuming there are things on either side that are desirable. Bucks in rut do some weird things though. It's not unusual that a deer will travel an isolated spot and leave the only track in years.

There is no way around it... you will have to scout. Some guys will cut shooting lanes in brush to provide larger watch areas over which can be shot properly. I've always sought out natural openings near trails when the bounty of the field did not yield. My activity always means I'm scouting all year, but you'll need to begin in summer and cool it the last week before season. Remember and establish good spots near path junctions. Wind on hunting day will dictate where you sit and hunt. Aside from that, you'll need input from guys who hunt similar terrain/vegetation for localized deer habits... you might get lucky and have terrain that favours spot and stalk hunting. For some reason I'm adept at remembering terrain and geography: If I hunted public land I don't have to leave flags for lazy bums to find and steal my previous months of labour. If I had difficulty, I'd leave signs that no one would think to recognize but still made sense too me.

I'm in bc so for finding game in new areas or for scouting for new areas I use google earth quite a bit.
I use the tilt function a lot so I can get some idea of the terrain so I can choose likely travel corridors.
Also handy for seeing small water sources that one would never find without a birdseye view.
Only problem with google earth is that images are not often current and what is a cutblock today on google earth.... might be a 5 year old stand of planted regrowth.
It also allows for getting some idea of the vegetation and what to expect on the ground when you get there like if there are any old roads or trails.

Cool, thanks for the tips. I've been marking cut lines and blocks to check out so hopefully I'll be able to get out and do some scouting in the next couple weeks here.