My first weekend hunting. Deer 1 - Gorb 0

mattthegorby · #1 10-01-2018, 10:31 PM

Greetings all,

So after a year of asking you all questions, learning the regulations, collecting gear, listening to podcasts, reading, youtube videos, learning to shoot, and scouting - I finally had my first 24 hours hunting for deer. Figured I would post some pics for other newbies out there to show they are not alone and briefly outline my process.

I chose 412 to start off in even though the success rate was low as I wanted somewhere close to Calgary and I love being in the hills. Scouted for three days prior - one day driving around with ihunter and the backroads book looking for sweet looking valleys that did not offer easy access, then two day trips looking for deer poop and trails in the valley I chose. When everyone says you don't have to hike far to be alone even in the wild west ATV, hunting, target practice, mountain zones they are correct! Once hiking I have run into nobody - we will see if that changes in November but there were no tracks in my valley other than my own all weekend and lots of trucks on the roads. I had scouted another area a bunch before the regs came out... and then discovered I could not hunt them with general tags, lol... rookie mistake.

My goal is backpack hunting, so I made a night of it which worked really well and makes getting last and first light easy. Camped in an area a couple km in that I felt did not really make great deer habitat and was away from the deer poop areas I wanted to check out. In the end, I did a bunch of creeping around in the woods and didn't see anything but more fresh poop. On my way out I followed some tracks that ended up in sight of my vehicle, so maybe those road hunters have things figured out.

I didn't see any deer, but they are definitely in there. Think I need to do less walking and more sitting... but I wasn't dressed for that. This is probably the biggest take away from the trip as I am used to dressing to ski, snowshoe, or hike in the cold. Next time I am bringing snow pants and more snacks so I can chill out and wait for them.

Thanks for reading!

Matt

Fisherdan · #2 10-01-2018, 10:52 PM

Great post. Looking forward to reading more!

mattthegorby · #3 10-01-2018, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fisherdan

Great post. Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks, tagging along for a week of hunting with family next Saturday and hopefully will have something more to report!

Brbpuppy · #4 10-02-2018, 05:20 AM

Nice little setup, glad you had a good time. I’m doing the same thing this coming weekend, can’t wait.

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58thecat · #5 10-02-2018, 05:40 AM

It's all about the adventure, keep it up, you will enjoy a loin on a stick over your fire soon enough!

mattthegorby · #6 10-02-2018, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 58thecat

It's all about the adventure, keep it up, you will enjoy a loin on a stick over your fire soon enough!

I was thinking that would have been the ideal meal!

Stinky Buffalo · #7 10-02-2018, 10:34 AM

Great stuff! Keep at it.

You picked a beautiful spot to hunt, BTW.

crosseye · #8 10-02-2018, 10:43 AM

Thanks for sharing your adventure, look forward to more, good luck!!

501s · #9 10-02-2018, 10:47 AM

Great write up, especially for newbies. Taking on a new hobbies is always a challenge, especially doing them by yourself.

So many trials and tribulations that you have to go through when you first start hunting. But I can promise you as you gain experience and have more success you will look back on these first outings with such appreciation. Good luck on your next outing.

Bock Fever · #10 10-02-2018, 11:56 AM

Good on you man! We need more new hunters with your mentality. Look forward to following your progress this season and beyond!

You're probably right about sitting more. If you get in an area with some fresh sign, get up high and just hang out and good things will happen.

mattthegorby · #11 10-02-2018, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 501s

Great write up, especially for newbies. Taking on a new hobbies is always a challenge, especially doing them by yourself.

So many trials and tribulations that you have to go through when you first start hunting. But I can promise you as you gain experience and have more success you will look back on these first outings with such appreciation. Good luck on your next outing.

I bet you are totally right about appreciating these first days. My fondest memories are always being a beginning and learning something new.

Twisted Canuck · #12 10-02-2018, 12:39 PM

Good on you for putting in the time and effort to do this, totally respect the commitment to doing it! I agree, less walking around, more sitting with the wind in your face and watching, will probably give you a better return. Hope you get to fill the tag and continue the story for us. TC

hayseed · #13 10-02-2018, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bock Fever

Good on you man! We need more new hunters with your mentality. Look forward to following your progress this season and beyond!

You're probably right about sitting more. If you get in an area with some fresh sign, get up high and just hang out and good things will happen.

I agree, hope you connect, but just as much enjoy every minute of it.

Please keep us posted. !!!

LocalHunter · #14 10-02-2018, 05:48 PM

Great first time try. Keep it up.

mattthegorby · #15 10-02-2018, 08:48 PM

Thanks for all the positive words. Next time out in 412 I think I will need to pack the snowshoes if it is anything like Cowtown right now!

Red Bullets · #16 10-02-2018, 09:05 PM

Kudos to you for putting in such efforts in your first attempt. I predict you will become a good hunter.

Podcasts and gear and AO posts only teach a little. It is the woods that will teach you the most. As a foot hunter get to know your hunting territory and then you will know how the animals move. Go for fatty snacks and drink water when sitting in the cold as the human body needs both to generate heat. And if you are stalking and are seeing fresh droppings and no deer you are moving too fast. If you pack in a little bigger tarp it can be a blessing if winds or weather picks up. I wrap a tarp around a tree and make a makeshift teepee when weather picks up. Way more protection.

And sometimes when hunters start invading the back country the deer do move closer to the roads.

I said AO posts just tell a little and then I want to give advice. go figure... ha

Good luck in future hunts.

Buckhorn2 · #17 10-02-2018, 09:38 PM

My experience as a mostly exclusive whitetail hunter. You will see more of them by sitting, sometimes hours. Im of the mindset they travel way faster than we do why chase them around. Find sign, trails, tracks and wait. Thats my whitetail strategy.
Last fall in wmu118 was my rookie year for muley and in totally new landscape. They destroyed me but i had such a good hunt that im saving points for round two (4-5years from now). If i had not been hunting iron sight I could have tagged out.

We hunt ghost, burnt timber, 316,418 often if you ever wanna join up we usually travel out early and split up for the day or over night trips, pm me.

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sns2 · #18 10-02-2018, 10:17 PM

Great thread!

mattthegorby · #19 10-03-2018, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Kudos to you for putting in such efforts in your first attempt. I predict you will become a good hunter.

Podcasts and gear and AO posts only teach a little. It is the woods that will teach you the most. As a foot hunter get to know your hunting territory and then you will know how the animals move. Go for fatty snacks and drink water when sitting in the cold as the human body needs both to generate heat. And if you are stalking and are seeing fresh droppings and no deer you are moving too fast. If you pack in a little bigger tarp it can be a blessing if winds or weather picks up. I wrap a tarp around a tree and make a makeshift teepee when weather picks up. Way more protection.

And sometimes when hunters start invading the back country the deer do move closer to the roads.

I said AO posts just tell a little and then I want to give advice. go figure... ha

Good luck in future hunts.

I will all take all the advice I can, lol.

You identified a bunch of things that I am going to change for next time. Bigger tarp and did not hydrate nearly enough.

Those dang deer have definitely much more experience evading predators than I do hunting. I am sure they heard me long before I could hear them trotting off to the road.

mattthegorby · #20 10-03-2018, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckhorn2

My experience as a mostly exclusive whitetail hunter. You will see more of them by sitting, sometimes hours. Im of the mindset they travel way faster than we do why chase them around. Find sign, trails, tracks and wait. Thats my whitetail strategy.
Last fall in wmu118 was my rookie year for muley and in totally new landscape. They destroyed me but i had such a good hunt that im saving points for round two (4-5years from now). If i had not been hunting iron sight I could have tagged out.

We hunt ghost, burnt timber, 316,418 often if you ever wanna join up we usually travel out early and split up for the day or over night trips, pm me.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey thanks for the offer, I will reach out in a couple weeks. I am going to try and spend some time in 316 this season.

I like the idea of iron sights and enjoy shooting my .22 with irons, but figured for big game I wanted to stack the odds on my favour!