What am I doing wrong?

[oreseur]

Hey guys, I've been hunting a unit in Idaho during general season for the past 3 years and have hardly seen any does and even less bucks. I've tried everything from road hunting to getting up on ridges and glassing and I just can't seem to get on any deer. I'm not asking for anyone to drop a honey hole, I just can't seem to figure the deer out. I used to hunt in Utah and the deer there seemed much more predictable, even if it took a lot of work. Any advice?

 

[rclouse79]

I would keep moving areas until you find them. In some of my archery elk spots I see mule deer almost every time out. There are other spots a few miles away that I don't ever see deer.

 

[oreseur]

I have tried most different areas of the unit, and short of hiking in 5 miles, I'm not sure what else to change. Even the areas I have seen deer, I usually only see them once. Maybe I am not patient enough where I go, but not seeing any animals is disheartening and makes me want to keep hiking further in.

 

[Customweld]

How much time are you spending in the off-season in there? Are you hunting the same areas year after year or are you spreading out?

 

[oreseur]

Definitely not as much time as I should be. Work makes it hard to do much outside of season. I've hunted some of the same areas, but mostly branching out. I spend a lot of time scouting on google earth and onx, but I think I just might be looking for the wrong things.

 

[Customweld]

Definitely not as much time as I should be. Work makes it hard to do much outside of season. I've hunted some of the same areas, but mostly branching out. I spend a lot of time scouting on google earth and onx, but I think I just might be looking for the wrong things.

It's been a while since I have hunted 39, but from my experience those deer are pretty habitual. They migrate pretty close to the same pattern every year (weather driven for the most part). If you aren't seeing deer, they may not be there yet or just flat out don't frequent that area. There are places in there that won't have deer all year except the late fall winter months. The weather is supposed to change this week with possible big snow above 6k. That should be enough to push some to start phasing into lower elevations. Once the season is over, try to get in there during November and get an idea where they are staging for winter. That should help you build some confidence and give you an idea on some of their patterns.

 

[CorbLand]

Are you seeing a good amount of sign in areas that you arent seeing deer?

 

[oreseur]

I've seen some fresh signs in some places, other places it's been a bit older. I'm not sure if the deer are nocturnal right now or I am just completely missing them. I am hoping the cold snap starts moving them around and hopefully I can find some sort of pattern to their behavior. I'll definitely try to get out after the season ends and see what they are doing!

 

[Customweld]

I've seen some fresh signs in some places, other places it's been a bit older. I'm not sure if the deer are nocturnal right now or I am just completely missing them. I am hoping the cold snap starts moving them around and hopefully I can find some sort of pattern to their behavior. I'll definitely try to get out after the season ends and see what they are doing!

This is your weekend! Get after it!

 

[oreseur]

I knew it was gonna be cold, but I didn't know about the snow. Hopefully I can close something out this week so I can try to get an elk as well. I am planning on going out every afternoon this week and seeing what I can see.

 

[IdahoElk]

What part of Idaho are you hunting? PM me if you like.

 

[BadgerTac]

I’m having troubles too. Different unit but haven’t found a single buck yet. First night we got up here we sighted in rifles to verify everything was still good. In the way back to camp we spotted a herd of antelope, my buddy that’s a resident had a tag, so we put on a stalk and hammered a nice buck just over 14”. Saw 3 does on that stalk and didn’t see a deer since until tonight on the way out we saw 6 does. And we put on 10 miles today on foot and yesterday. Glasses a lot of high peaks. Hopefully we will have better luck here tomorrow and the rest of the week. Good luck! I hope you find them.

 

[oreseur]

What part of Idaho are you hunting? PM me if you like.

Unit 39 is the only unit down southwest that's going to be open for general season as far as I know.

I’m having troubles too. Different unit but haven’t found a single buck yet. First night we got up here we sighted in rifles to verify everything was still good. In the way back to camp we spotted a herd of antelope, my buddy that’s a resident had a tag, so we put on a stalk and hammered a nice buck just over 14”. Saw 3 does on that stalk and didn’t see a deer since until tonight on the way out we saw 6 does. And we put on 10 miles today on foot and yesterday. Glasses a lot of high peaks. Hopefully we will have better luck here tomorrow and the rest of the week. Good luck! I hope you find them.

I wish I could even get eyes on some does. I did see one over an hour after dark at the bottom as it was walking across the road, but that's it. I haven't seen any other deer the past few times I've been out. That when I was out I did see a lot of tracks and some pretty fresh droppings. I think the deer must be mostly nocturnal with this weather and the moon being pretty dang bright this week.

 

[tkhuntsman]

Hey guys, I've been hunting a unit in Idaho during general season for the past 3 years and have hardly seen any does and even less bucks. I've tried everything from road hunting to getting up on ridges and glassing and I just can't seem to get on any deer. I'm not asking for anyone to drop a honey hole, I just can't seem to figure the deer out. I used to hunt in Utah and the deer there seemed much more predictable, even if it took a lot of work. Any advice?

Your just not holding your mouth right.

 

[tkhuntsman]

Hey guys, I've been hunting a unit in Idaho during general season for the past 3 years and have hardly seen any does and even less bucks. I've tried everything from road hunting to getting up on ridges and glassing and I just can't seem to get on any deer. I'm not asking for anyone to drop a honey hole, I just can't seem to figure the deer out. I used to hunt in Utah and the deer there seemed much more predictable, even if it took a lot of work. Any advice?

Sorry couldn't resist my granddad used to tell me that when I wasn't catching fish or finding deer drove me nuts. That was 30 years ago sure wish I could get some of those days back. To the question at hand spend some time on your feet looking for sign. Try to figure out where the deer are living and how they are using the country you are hunting. There's no easy button. Take a day and just go hike and scout several different terrain types and focus your efforts on where you find the most sign. Use that to locate other areas with the same features in your area on any of the mapping sights that show topo and aerial images.

 

[TaperPin]

Just remember, old deer are not evenly distributed everywhere - it’s like trout fishing a stream - there are large areas that don’t hold fish, and pockets that have a much higher probability. Just like trout fishing, just because you aren’t seeing them in likely looking pockets doesn’t mean they aren’t there. If you bump a fish it moves behind a different rock, snuggles in deeper where it’s at, or runs and hides in a ripple - don’t hunt deer where other people have bumped them, but look to the spots they go to get away - often not that far away.

If theres a lot of elevation gain in your area old deer became old deer because they have chosen seldom used sections and are holding tight much more than young bucks and does during the day. In the area I like to hunt I’ve never seen an old deer less than 2,000’ above the trailhead. Many old deer are taken at lower elevations, just not in this drainage - fantastic classic deer beds are just up the hill. Hunters look at maps and think 5 miles is a long way and a ridge looks so steep it’s not worth checking out, so they hunt the crappiest parts. Deer don't break a sweat walking 5 miles or working up a few thousand feet.

If you can’t get to the best deer beds up high, hunt an area without as much elevation where the best bedding areas will be close enough you can get to them. Maybe deer are bedding in brushy draws, maybe brushy hillsides. If you were an old deer and knew every inch of that area where would you hang out and why?

I used to drive by a ridge not 1/2 mile from a blacktop highway. It was maybe 500’ higher than the road, but there were no hiking trails to it, no game trails crossed the road, no easy places to park, no reason to go there, and never a sign of any kind of deer, at least from the road. However, it was the best structure in the area, and it held one of the oldest deer I’ve ever seen, well past his prime.

We crossed paths with a giant non typical crossing a road in the foothills. All sorts of people had seen him and they hunted hard for this one. I didnt go where he had been seen, because the ideal bedding areas were a couple of miles or more to either side of the road - he was just passing through and there was no way he was living near the spot he crossed.

When bedded deer see hunters they flee, try to carefully sneak off, or lay their head down flat like a dog and wait it out. Don’t rush by an area because the deer aren’t easy to see. My hunting buddy loves to take afternoon naps, and he’ll do it within rifle range of a brushy hillside - more than once a bedded deer waited almost a half hour then stood up and tried to sneak off.

Some guys want to see large numbers of deer, I don’t. I’m always looking for the shy loner and he may or may not have another buck with him, but they are not hanging around large numbers of young cannon fodder that will be taken out of the gene pool once combat hunting begins. They are in rougher, thicker areas and are less likely to run than young deer, so just because some young deer jumped up and ran off doesn’t mean they are the only deer.

I felt skunked one year - we hunted a wide open area with shallow draws that didn’t seem to be capable of holding anything - we hunted it for an entire week. Where we were was the best cover for bedding for 10 miles in any direction. Nothing. Backtracking an area we crossed and glassed twice before, not expecting to see anything alive, was a big buck. He had been there the whole time laying low all day in a shallow draw watching us looking for him.

Others are much better at knowing where deer hang out in areas without a lot of structure, but that’s what works for me.

edit: Not to beat a dead horse, but if you’re trying to understand an area go look for deer beds. If some country looks good, glass it a couple of times then go walk it - look to see if the bedding areas that looked good to you actually had evidence of deer use sometime this year. If not, you’re way off, but keep looking and eventually you’ll develop better radar and that will allow you to justify glassing longer in some spots and less in others.

 

[jimh406]

Mule deer generally can use an area one day and not for a few days. I observe deer a lot from my house since I'm retired and am home a lot. Some days, I see very little deer and on other days, they are all over my property and nearby property in various groups.

Likewise, for bucks. Until the rut starts, the bucks in my area don't move very much in the day. Then, they are moving almost all day.

If you know you are viewing an area that mule deer use consistently based on good sign, I suggest staying throughout the day and being patient.

When you are picking somewhere to watch, keep in mind that mule deer don't generally use the windy side of the ridges when the weather gets colder, but they love those same ridges when it's cold, wind is light, and it is sunny.

Good luck.

 

[Rotnguns]

With time limited, maybe consider putting up a few trail cams?

 

[oreseur]

Just remember, old deer are not evenly distributed everywhere - it’s like trout fishing a stream - there are large areas that don’t hold fish, and pockets that have a much higher probability. Just like trout fishing, just because you aren’t seeing them in likely looking pockets doesn’t mean they aren’t there. If you bump a fish it moves behind a different rock, snuggles in deeper where it’s at, or runs and hides in a ripple - don’t hunt deer where other people have bumped them, but look to the spots they go to get away - often not that far away.

If theres a lot of elevation gain in your area old deer became old deer because they have chosen seldom used sections and are holding tight much more than young bucks and does during the day. In the area I like to hunt I’ve never seen an old deer less than 2,000’ above the trailhead. Many old deer are taken at lower elevations, just not in this drainage - fantastic classic deer beds are just up the hill. Hunters look at maps and think 5 miles is a long way and a ridge looks so steep it’s not worth checking out, so they hunt the crappiest parts. Deer don't break a sweat walking 5 miles or working up a few thousand feet.

If you can’t get to the best deer beds up high, hunt an area without as much elevation where the best bedding areas will be close enough you can get to them. Maybe deer are bedding in brushy draws, maybe brushy hillsides. If you were an old deer and knew every inch of that area where would you hang out and why?

I used to drive by a ridge not 1/2 mile from a blacktop highway. It was maybe 500’ higher than the road, but there were no hiking trails to it, no game trails crossed the road, no easy places to park, no reason to go there, and never a sign of any kind of deer, at least from the road. However, it was the best structure in the area, and it held one of the oldest deer I’ve ever seen, well past his prime.

We crossed paths with a giant non typical crossing a road in the foothills. All sorts of people had seen him and they hunted hard for this one. I didnt go where he had been seen, because the ideal bedding areas were a couple of miles or more to either side of the road - he was just passing through and there was no way he was living near the spot he crossed.

When bedded deer see hunters they flee, try to carefully sneak off, or lay their head down flat like a dog and wait it out. Don’t rush by an area because the deer aren’t easy to see. My hunting buddy loves to take afternoon naps, and he’ll do it within rifle range of a brushy hillside - more than once a bedded deer waited almost a half hour then stood up and tried to sneak off.

Some guys want to see large numbers of deer, I don’t. I’m always looking for the shy loner and he may or may not have another buck with him, but they are not hanging around large numbers of young cannon fodder that will be taken out of the gene pool once combat hunting begins. They are in rougher, thicker areas and are less likely to run than young deer, so just because some young deer jumped up and ran off doesn’t mean they are the only deer.

I felt skunked one year - we hunted a wide open area with shallow draws that didn’t seem to be capable of holding anything - we hunted it for an entire week. Where we were was the best cover for bedding for 10 miles in any direction. Nothing. Backtracking an area we crossed and glassed twice before, not expecting to see anything alive, was a big buck. He had been there the whole time laying low all day in a shallow draw watching us looking for him.

Others are much better at knowing where deer hang out in areas without a lot of structure, but that’s what works for me.

edit: Not to beat a dead horse, but if you’re trying to understand an area go look for deer beds. If some country looks good, glass it a couple of times then go walk it - look to see if the bedding areas that looked good to you actually had evidence of deer use sometime this year. If not, you’re way off, but keep looking and eventually you’ll develop better radar and that will allow you to justify glassing longer in some spots and less in others.

I think where I struggle the most is finding where they bed. Where we used to hunt, the deer were there consistently morning and evening. It wasn't unusual to see 50 does, even with some small bucks. Idaho hunting is so much different so I have to learn a lot more. I think looking for beds as well as summer scouting is going to be the key for next season. In the meantime, I have a week left to get a deer so I'm going to give it my best shot!

Mule deer generally can use an area one day and not for a few days. I observe deer a lot from my house since I'm retired and am home a lot. Some days, I see very little deer and on other days, they are all over my property and nearby property in various groups.

Likewise, for bucks. Until the rut starts, the bucks in my area don't move very much in the day. Then, they are moving almost all day.

If you know you are viewing an area that mule deer use consistently based on good sign, I suggest staying throughout the day and being patient.

When you are picking somewhere to watch, keep in mind that mule deer don't generally use the windy side of the ridges when the weather gets colder, but they love those same ridges when it's cold, wind is light, and it is sunny.

Good luck.

I definitely think patience is something I am struggling with. It can be hard to sit on a ridge and glass for two hours just to see no movement.

With time limited, maybe consider putting up a few trail cams?

I might have to consider that. I've honestly never thought about putting trail cams up on public land and don't know what the rules are in regards to that.

 

[Wapiti1]

This time of year is tough for bucks. My experience in similar country, but in Montana, is the does will be in or near the bottoms of the gulches. Anywhere you have good scrub brush and other browse. They'll be food centric. Any bucks older than 3 will be up higher, but not on top. More like mid-mountain and they'll be near timber, rock outcrops or thick brushy stuff. Depending on snow levels, the herd started migrating a couple of weeks ago, and are just working their way down.

I would be high, but not on top, glassing the lower 2/3 of the mountain and focus on edges where vegetation changes, rocky areas (not shale or scree, but steeper faces with rock outcrops) and anything with brush on it. Big sagebrush, bitterbrush, mahogany, ash, etc. Not sure what browse you have in that area.

At least that is how I would attack it. Summer scouting for deer gets me started in archery season, but isn't going to help now. They are way off their summer pattern.

That said, you should now have tracking snow, and should give you some good intel. Tracking can be a long day, but can also be productive.

Jeremy