...for deer!
Today I went out with a coworker, fresh deer buck tags in hand, to scout for deer. It was a neat experience as I haven't been hunting since I was 10, and that was with my g'pa in E. Washington for Pheasant. Needless to say I was excited.
We ended up in the Sisqyou Nat. Forest, about 20 mi. east of I-5. We were 6 miles into he forest when we saw a sloping grassy pasture that went clear to a creek. The other side of the creek was the side of a LARGE hill, dare I say a small mountain, with a steep slope that went up several hundred feet.
We got out, geared up and began looking for signs. We hardly walked 200 feet into the pasture when we saw countless signs of bedding, and fresh droppings. The grassy pasture stretched for about 1/4 mile along the creek, and as we walked closer to the creek the grass went from brownish to green and even more signs of bedding and fresh droppings. We also saw tracks that lead everywhere even up the steep incline on the other side of the creek. Signs of deer everywhere but no dear. But that's ok!
We resolved on the next outing, to set up a "perch" near the top of the tree line near the road as it would give us a plethora of views to the grassy areas of bedding, near the creek. It was midday today when we went out and next time it will be early morning sometime next week.
On our drive out, we came across a group of deer eating berries on the side of the road. We pulled over to see them and when we got out, all (we counted 6) had vanished into the woods, except one that shot the other way and scaled a near vertical incline and disappeared into the trees. It is still unseasonably warm in So. Oregon.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank all who post on this board as it has greatly increased my knowledge of hunting, the importance of scouting, and other tidbits of advice one could only garner from experience.
Oh, FWIW, my friend had a .243 Savage, and I had a borrowed Remington 30-06. Both have scopes and are sighted zero at 100 yards.
Hope to report soon with my first Buck. Thanks again!
Mike
Today I went out with a coworker, fresh deer buck tags in hand, to scout for deer. It was a neat experience as I haven't been hunting since I was 10, and that was with my g'pa in E. Washington for Pheasant. Needless to say I was excited.
We ended up in the Sisqyou Nat. Forest, about 20 mi. east of I-5. We were 6 miles into he forest when we saw a sloping grassy pasture that went clear to a creek. The other side of the creek was the side of a LARGE hill, dare I say a small mountain, with a steep slope that went up several hundred feet.
We got out, geared up and began looking for signs. We hardly walked 200 feet into the pasture when we saw countless signs of bedding, and fresh droppings. The grassy pasture stretched for about 1/4 mile along the creek, and as we walked closer to the creek the grass went from brownish to green and even more signs of bedding and fresh droppings. We also saw tracks that lead everywhere even up the steep incline on the other side of the creek. Signs of deer everywhere but no dear. But that's ok!
We resolved on the next outing, to set up a "perch" near the top of the tree line near the road as it would give us a plethora of views to the grassy areas of bedding, near the creek. It was midday today when we went out and next time it will be early morning sometime next week.
On our drive out, we came across a group of deer eating berries on the side of the road. We pulled over to see them and when we got out, all (we counted 6) had vanished into the woods, except one that shot the other way and scaled a near vertical incline and disappeared into the trees. It is still unseasonably warm in So. Oregon.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank all who post on this board as it has greatly increased my knowledge of hunting, the importance of scouting, and other tidbits of advice one could only garner from experience.
Oh, FWIW, my friend had a .243 Savage, and I had a borrowed Remington 30-06. Both have scopes and are sighted zero at 100 yards.
Hope to report soon with my first Buck. Thanks again!
Mike