The end of the season is getting close and I haven't found anything in my sights worthy of pulling the trigger on. I'm seeing decent bucks on my cam and a number of does but I'm not seeing them when I'm out hunting the area. I have sat in my blind over a bait pile, sat along known travel routes but I'm just not seeing the deer. I've been careful with my scent and watching the wind but Lady Luck just doesn't seem to be with me this fall. I'm getting close to getting shutout for a third straight season.
Starting to get a little concerned
- Thread starter heiner39
- Start date
I haven't gone deep into the bush looking for them because of the snow conditions. We've had so much freeze/thaw and freezing rain that it's impossible to move quietly through the bush. If I start moving through there with my size 12's crunching through there I won't have a deer within 10 km of me lol
Been said already, but you have to hunt them where they are, not where you want them to be.
You yourself have said that you are working on your third dry season. Obviously what you are doing isn't working, maybe it's time to switch it up........ Just sayin'.....
Don't try to move quietly, try to sound like a deer. Grunt tube, move slow, deer don't float above the surface of the snow themselves either you know.....
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Ding ding ding! Winner!
Im getting close to end of my season and have been up north, central and southern sask and just can't find a big buck...Lots of trophy mule deer in my travels though. For me resorting to using an either ### tag on a doe is a FAIL on my part. I may just have to pussy out and shoot a doe this year.
Cheers!!
Cheers!!
This is my first season trying hunting like this so I am learning things every time out. I only started deer hunting in 2007 at the age of 34. I've tried to do lots of reading and love informative sites like this to build on my very limited knowledge. I'm willing to shoot a doe too but the very few does I have seen have been barely bigger than my dog lol.
My last couple dry seasons came down to a lack of time for hunting. This year I have been able to spend a bit more time outdoors and was just hoping to encounter more game. I will try moving and grunting as I move through the bush. It's pretty dense bush so I'm a little worried about a clear shooting lane. I'm hoping to get out this weekend and maybe it'll all come together. Thanks to everyone who has given this "rookie" some good advise.
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Well good on you for starting up and trying something new!
Just bear in mind, that a clear shooting lane only need be big enough to thread a bullet through after you've clearly identified your target as a legal animal.
Just find some likely looking areas with some fresh sign, and move slooooooooow through them. Take a step or two, look around with your binoculars. Repeat. 100 meters per hour is likely too fast. Listen, watch, and enjoy your time outside.
Just bear in mind, that a clear shooting lane only need be big enough to thread a bullet through after you've clearly identified your target as a legal animal.
Just find some likely looking areas with some fresh sign, and move slooooooooow through them. Take a step or two, look around with your binoculars. Repeat. 100 meters per hour is likely too fast. Listen, watch, and enjoy your time outside.
You guys are all pretty young, aren't you. Deer hunting in Saskatchewan without snow is a very recent global warming pattern. This year is what I remember as "normal".
An addendum:
Just completed the preparation of my snow shoes for the weekend. My wife and I can't exactly decide what year I last used them for deer hunting, but I had them hanging in the garage, unused for several years. Got them out tonight and checked the bindings. If you don't own a pair, you are just too young to know what it was like (or you were just truck hunters.)
All you young guys should read this and think about what it means.
http://grist.org/news/if-youre-27-or-younger-youve-never-experienced-a-colder-than-average-month/
Just completed the preparation of my snow shoes for the weekend. My wife and I can't exactly decide what year I last used them for deer hunting, but I had them hanging in the garage, unused for several years. Got them out tonight and checked the bindings. If you don't own a pair, you are just too young to know what it was like (or you were just truck hunters.)
All you young guys should read this and think about what it means.
http://grist.org/news/if-youre-27-or-younger-youve-never-experienced-a-colder-than-average-month/
You know what heiner39, it's about the hunt and time spent outdoors. It's not so much about the kill. Of course we all would like to take a 180 whitetail but it ain't gonna happen. I'm not a deer hunter, as we have none locally, but I am a serious hunter and I am here to tell you it ain't easy. There is no guarantees and just keep changing up until you find a program that works for you.
The boys are giving good advice though, in crusty snow the deer don't move silently either, nor do the elk or the moose. You need to get out, but move like the wildlife not like a human. A couple of steps and look around for 15 secs to a minute, a couple more steps and the same etc. etc. etc. You will succeed, I have actually caught a moose sound asleep in it's bed at 15 mtrs like this. The other absolute is of course work upwind. You're still young you'll get the hang of it, really !!
The boys are giving good advice though, in crusty snow the deer don't move silently either, nor do the elk or the moose. You need to get out, but move like the wildlife not like a human. A couple of steps and look around for 15 secs to a minute, a couple more steps and the same etc. etc. etc. You will succeed, I have actually caught a moose sound asleep in it's bed at 15 mtrs like this. The other absolute is of course work upwind. You're still young you'll get the hang of it, really !!
I don't mind pulling a trigger on a doe (and will if i see a mature one as i have two tags tgis year)but I just can't bring myself to shoot a young buck. I'd rather let a young buck walk so be has a chance to turn into something special. I'm not limiting myself to only shooting a booner...I would just prefer to harvest a mature animal.
