Help me with mountain whitetails

[TheJason]

Thank you all for the input and advice. I'll be back out there Tuesday for the last hurrah.

 

[Gerald Martin]

If it makes you feel any better, I haven't seen a decent buck yet this year either. I haven't seen much for rutting activity in NW Montana. Muleys are acting stupid, but I haven't seen a whitetail buck yet that has his nose to the ground or with does. Next week should see a different picture.

 

[TheJason]

Next week should see a different picture.

Next week my different picture will be the Madison Valley chasing elk

 

[ric]

Is it worth my time to sit on and glass clearcuts? How much time should I spend in the timber vs. sitting on cuts/saddles/finger ridges?
I spend very little time on clearcuts, instead work small clearings/brush in the timber. 90% of my time is in the timber, which can include cuts/saddles/finger ridges. The date for "the peak of the rut" in this country is 11/20. I have been seeing lots of scrapes in the timber, and have seen 4 bucks of 140 to 190 in the last week, and some smaller boys, but no shots. Can be tough when you can only see 20 to 50 yds, veryslow is the key.

How much sign is enough to keep you in an area? In some areas, I find a decent number of deer tracks in the skid roads, others there is none. Am I looking for fresh tracks everyday, or will they only cross every few days in certain points?
Here, deer are everywhere, I do keep track of tracks, but often, it is hard to see them in forest duff. To much track watching will distract you from looking for the animal, glance for tracks, but look for the deer.


What kind of timber cover are you looking for?
I am very partial to old growth! Although brushy patches on edges of or in the timber, creek bottoms, and anyplace that does hang are key areas.


This is my quandary, I'm trying to relate this to mule deer or elk hunting. If they aren't there I move on. In this case, I'm not sure if they are there or not. I see some sign, but not a lot. Shouldn't I be seeing deer that I'm bumping if I'm going too fast?
Depends on how good you are! In our rain forests up here, it is hard to see them first, and they are masters at what they do. I wear only non insulated, non goretex/waterproof, fleece or wool. Rub your hand across your camo, if you can hear your hand your camo is to loud. There is no water proof camo that is quiet, none. Your camo must fir somewhat tight, without big bulging pockets, grabbing at brush etc., mine are coveralls. I keep them doused with fresh doe urine, and in a non scented plastic bag when not wearing them, and I freshen them in the woods often. I have shot big deer using my methods as close as 20 feet as they slept, and have shot a buck every year since moving here in 1984. I rarely rattle anymore, I use grunts and doe bleats.The deer are there, you just have to see them! Feel free to PM me anytime, be glad to help you out, maybe hunt a little south next year.

 

[sra61]

We're not seeing much yet either in NW Montana. We spend all of our time in the timber. We always look for semi-open timber. Something that was selective cut, that's not jungle. It doesn't do any good to try to move quietly through that super thick stuff and just chase them out of their beds. Snow is a big help of course. Once we can see where they're traveling, we move way slow stopping a lot. If they're looking for does you will see them if you're going slow. We will creep around in there all day too. Mid day is good. The next two weeks are prime time. We have killed a lot of bucks on the last day of season.

 

[hnt4life]

If you know deer are there, hunt slow. I walk 5-10 careful steps and glass. Every step you take, the terrain and view you have of it will change, and that is where you will miss that whitetail half hidden behind a tree.

 

[TheTone]

Next week my different picture will be the Madison Valley chasing elk

You guys get too much time off. Good luck on that second chance for a bull

 

[Pinecricker]

With the intense hunting pressure in that area, and the high concentration of roads, they are probably only active at night, bedding during the day, and ignoring the hundreds of grunts and rattles they hear all day long.

I would guess with that the high number of wolves in that area, and general lack of elk, most of the deer are getting eaten up. Not too long ago, there was one pack living right on the edge of town in Ione. One of them was seen fornicating with a domestic dog, others were frequenting garbage dumpsters for snacks. I would guess that means prey are scarce.

Where I have seen big whitetail bucks in NE WA is right along the Pend O'reille River in the low country. It might be worth trying to find some public next to private down there. If I had to hunt WA, I would paddle that river in a canoe.

 

[old man]

It seems the same way across the country. deer are not moving or responding here in ct. either. been out looking for last couple weeks and only found 1/2 dozen scrapes witch most are not in use any more and maybe 1/2 dozen rubs, but no deer sightings yet. gun season starts here on the 18th.

P.S. no droppings what so ever.

 

[belly-deep]

I always get a kick out of people who say the deer aren't rutting by mid-November. Like they have a choice.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

I have wondered for years if we are changing the rut. We have had a firearms season during the rut for a long time and it makes me wonder if we are selecting animals that come in early or late. I do not see a peak in rut activity like a used to. In fact I think I see more chasing, scrapes, rubs, etc. around Christmas. No science, just an observation.

 

[Ben Long]

99 percent of my experience with whitetails is with this kind of terrain. Forests and mountains never have the kind of densities you see in ag areas, even if it's just an alfalfa field. I think folks have offered a lot of sound advice: go slow, watch the wind, wait. I wonder if you could spend more time glassing edges of young cutting units. In my experience, this time of year many of the does/fawns will be in lower, lusher, creekbottoms and swamps, and the bucks will be traveling down the ridges to find them. I am always surprised how something can hit a switch and you'll go from low deer numbers to deer everywhere. Patience. Persistence. Good luck!

 

[2rocky]

Took me 4 years of hunting whitetails in Northern Idaho before I rattled in a buck. We had wheat fields along river canyons, and I was still-hunting 2/3 of the way up the slope from the bottom where I found the majority of bedding areas.


When I had success, it was does attracted by the rattling, with a buck following. Among our group, Thanksgiving week was by far the most successful. Tracking snow helped the most though.

 

[TheJason]

It was a good day.

 

[TheJason]

It snowed Monday night. I am very much a visual learner, and having snow and FRESH tracks really did a lot to help me focus on movement patterns, timing, etc. As VAspeedgoat suggested, the edge habitat was very subtle. The edges I was hunting were little stands of young lodgepole intermixed into old growth Doug Fir.

 

[TheJason]

You guys get too much time off. Good luck on that second chance for a bull

Slap your mouth, there's no such thing as too much time off

 

[Ben Long]

Just takes one! Congrats.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Glad to hear it went well. Nothing is more frustrating than leaning a new animal or a new area. Locals take some information for granted that it takes a lot of mistakes to figure out on your own. Sounds like you definitely fought hard and got it done. He looked like a nice darkhorned buck. I think dark horned bucks are the coolest. Post some pictures of him and congratulations on a buck well earned.

 

[TheJason]

I hate photos of cut off heads, but my camera was dead yesterday and I wasn't able to get a single field photo. Too bad, because with the rain and the snow, and as haired up as he was he really was a great looking animal. I'll post a little rundown later.

 

[Big Sky]

WTG! These are my favorite kinds of updates!!!