Advice for new hunter
 

I'm looking at getting out to hunt some whitetail deer and grouse on the weekend. Any advice on wmu 326,416, and 414 for whitetails and grouse, just looking for any general spots to start with. I will have a general whitetail tag. Any other suggestions for wmus that are open for general whitetail in the area of around Calgary will be helpful. What would be a good area to start with for grouse?Looking for crown land. Thanks for any help.

Are you hunting with archery gear?

No by rifle.

Also looking to get around the hunter valley road along highway 40. Any general areas where I should start looking there? How's the deer population there?

There's deer literally everywhere in this province including urban edmonton. Honestly, pick a spot you like for any reason and start scouting it. I know everyone will say the same thing and there's a reason: its the only way. Please dont mistake this for having a rude tone, as it's not intended that way. It's just the simple truth

^^^ X2

Totally agree.

There isn't one road that dosen't have WT's on it,,, we did some Elk calling and the WT's all showed up. Ha.

Happy Harvesting too all as its a prime year for lots of action.

Don

Get a chunk of land you have permission to hunt, find a spot where a treed area meets a field. Walk along it and watch out for worn down trails in the grass. Next time you go out to that spot, find a downwind location and wait. If you can watch multiple trails from one lookout point you'll have that much better of chances for a deer to come a long. Get to know your rifle and shooting ability so you know what is reasonable distance to find a spot to wait.

Not sure what kind of country you are hunting, but after many years of hunting all kinds of country here's about the best rule of thumb I've found...

You are almost always looking for the feature that is in the shortest supply... If you are in steep country look for flat spots, if you are in flat land look for hills and ridges, if you are in dry country look for water, in open country look for trees... this will more or less put you in the right general area and you can then start closing in on the sweet spot a little more.

My general rule of thumb for finding the sweet spot is finding where the most positive features meet, a steep ridge bordering on an old oxbow pond near that magical line where coniferous and deciduous forests meet for instance... your bound to find yourself "on the spot" if you explore an area like that.

In 326, 416, and 414 deer isn't open until the 17th for rifle (Sunday).

Area around hwy 40 requires a draw for rifle deer (opens on the 24th if you have a draw).

If your looking for crown land you can google Alberta PLUZ to get the AB gov site that lists them all and has PDF maps.

Reminder OHV are currently banned pretty much everywhere south of Edmonton.

I am new at this as well. I spent a few weekends out scouting and did not see what I was looking for (Mullies). How does Cattle at Large factor into that, ie: if I am near (1-2 Kms) from where a decent amount of cattle are grazing ( or have been recently), will that affect the chances? I amazes me how far back signs of cattle can be found. PS. I am looking in 404.

I've hunted crown land near the sang lake grazing leases and had elk and deer not far from them but driving by fields I've seen elk and moose and deer in the same field so I think they get used to them not saying they will be feet away but not far

I think that at 1-2 KM you would be safe for sure. Sharing the same field, your probably going to get varying opinions on that. I don't hunt around cattle that much but I can remember having good luck a few times in close proximity to them. IMO the most frustrating thing about cattle is their tendency to obliterate game sign, for that reason I prefer to avoid them. I don't like listening to them while I'm hunting and I don't like sifting through their tracks and poop while trying to find game sign.

Again, if using rifle in 404 you more or less need a draw for big game. (the exception would be trophy sheep)

I'd drive the dirt roads in the afternoon to look for grouse. Usually they're out eating the small stones to help with digestion.

For deer hunting pretty hard this time of year. I'd just be out scouting right now. The bucks really get moving come November and that's when you'll want to know where to be.

Of course. I am a new hunter with no points, had no idea what I was doing (I will 999 and buy over the counter next year). The fact that I was drawn for Antlered Mule in 404 is indicative of the likelihood of success....should be fun.

Also is there pheasants in these areas or is it not worth buying the license?

Sums it up for me