Mountain whitetail

[Irrelevant]

Took the 270 for a very slow walk in NE WA yesterday.

Was a very chilly sleep in a tent in low single digit temps.

I'm new to this whitetail stuff. I was told to go slow then go slower. Ug... not my preferred mode of travel.


Despite finding plenty of sign, no deer seen. Still rocking 0 deer this season.

 

[noharleyyet]

Cool perch nef, no sense disturbing a hunt by killing one.

 

[westbranch]

Not too different where I have been hunting across the border. Lots of deer sign but they are ghosts.

Saw one doe last weekend in two days of hunting. 800+ yards away on a ridge and headed away from me. Spooked one maybe buck yesterday in some thick stuff. No way to walk quietly right now. And too cold to sit for long. Thinking I am going to the store today to buy some pac boots.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Took the 270 for a very slow walk in NE WA yesterday.
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Was a very chilly sleep in a tent in low single digit temps.
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I'm new to this whitetail stuff. I was told to go slow then go slower. Ug... not my preferred mode of travel.
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View attachment 251206
Despite finding plenty of sign, no deer seen. Still rocking 0 deer this season.
View attachment 251207

Looks very promising. Slow is good. Stopped is better, if you can bare the cold long enough, just Stay put and stay alert.

 

[Irrelevant]

Thinking I am going to the store today to buy some pac boots.

Don't listen to people's praise of the rubber bottomed pacs, like schnees etc al.
I'm looking at these, I used to have them and when they wore out switched to schnees, big mistake, thought I might get frostbite several times.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-saskatchewan-gore-tex-insulated-hunting-boots-for-men

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-inferno-insulated-waterproof-hunting-boots-for-men

 

[Irrelevant]

Looks very promising. Slow is good. Stopped is better, if you can bare the cold long enough, just Stay put and stay alert.

Season ended yesterday

 

[Hunting Wife]

Very nice pics, even if no deer were seen.

Your season sounds similar to mine. Struggling mightily here in the snow drifts.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I am hoping to spend a couple days looking for a “mountain whitetail” myself the last few days of season in Idaho.

 

[MTLabrador]

I did some mountain whitetail hunting on Thursday. Tried to go as slow as possible. I saw a lot of deer and had a lot of fun, but realized I was still moving too fast when I blew out the only nice buck I saw.

 

[Nameless Range]

I did some mountain whitetail hunting on Thursday. Tried to go as slow as possible. I saw a lot of deer and had a lot of fun, but realized I was still moving too fast when I blew out the only nice buck I saw.

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Whitetail sure have a way of exploiting even the tiniest momentary lapse of painfully slow vigilance.

@neffa3 , the fact that you saw a fair amount of sign but no deer, sounds like you have a fun puzzle to think about for the next 11 months. Good daydreaming material.

 

[mtmuley]

I am hoping to spend a couple days looking for a “mountain whitetail” myself the last few days of season in Idaho.

Fun to hunt them. Going slow is the hardest part. mtmuley

 

[westbranch]

My whitetail hunting is rarely disturbed by deer. Over last five years I average having a shot at a deer (any whitetail doe or any buck) every 4 days of hunting on public land. Either spook them at <100 yds with no chance at a shot of more than 25 yds due to vegetation. Or see them at 600-800 yds on a opposite mountainside. But there are plenty of people out there that know what they are doing compared to me. And I haven't actually shot a deer in years. My deer hunting success is very Permaesque.

Will make it out a few more mornings and will probably be thinking about buying golf clubs by the end of the season. But will convince myself to be back at it next year.

 

[BackofBeyond]

My whitetail hunting is rarely disturbed by deer. Over last five years I average having a shot at a deer (any whitetail doe or any buck) every 4 days of hunting on public land. Either spook them at <100 yds with no chance at a shot of more than 25 yds due to vegetation. Or see them at 600-800 yds on a opposite mountainside. But there are plenty of people out there that know what they are doing compared to me. And I haven't actually shot a deer in years. My deer hunting success is very Permaesque.

Will make it out a few more mornings and will probably be thinking about buying golf clubs by the end of the season. But will convince myself to be back at it next year.

Go sit in my mom’s apple tree. If you ask nicely dad will give you the key to the upstairs of the garage, turn the apartment into your own personal box blind.

 

[Irrelevant]

I had a buddy that grew up hunting up there, he warned me that it wasn't going to be good. He manages 4 properties strictly for whitetail, hasn't shot a buck in 3 years.

I knew I wasn't going to shoot anything, but not bumping anything and not seeing anything was surprising. I was even more surprised at the number of other hunters I saw out in the field walking around. Also, while there was a lot of sign, the snow was several weeks old, so it doesn't actually take that many deer to leave a lot of tracks. You'd find an area, think, "oh this is a hot bed of activity" but really it's like 3 deer walked through this opening 3 times in the last 15 days...

 

[westbranch]

Go sit in my mom’s apple tree. If you ask nicely dad will give you the key to the upstairs of the garage, turn the apartment into your own personal box blind.

Too stubborn for that. Public land or bust at this point. One of my friends lives north side of Hayden on 10 acres and they shoot a few deer a year out of his shop apartment.