Deer Hunting Forums banner

My own hunting tricks

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  ridgerunnermike 
#1 ·
My own hunting tricks, besides all the usual things about camo and stealth and moving into the wind, include backpack hunting up to the high ridges.

After first scouting an area to assess where the bachelor herds are currently located, I will then drive to a conveniently hidden parking spot off the road and set up my base camp, my big tent, and sleep there the first night, Thursday before opening day.

Then on the next day, Friday before opening day, I will backpack up to my high camp, and set up the backpack tent there, and sleep the night up there, to be in position for opening day, Saturday morning.

This way, the road hunters and still hunters stalking will usually drive the bucks up to my position early on the first day.

Then I will leave my gear in the backpack tent while I drag the gutted carcass down to the base camp by my vehicle, put the carcass into a mortuary body bag, ice it with frozen jugs of water from the ice chest, lock it up, then go back up and retrieve my gear from the high backpack camp, if there is still daylight. If not then I will retrieve it the next day, break camp, and head out.

The frozen jugs and body bag keep the carcass nice and chilled until I can get it home and into a refridgerator to age for a total of 7 to 10 days, before I butcher and freeze it.
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#3 · (Edited)
My hunting grounds are in California, 3 hours to the east, or 3 hours to the south, of the SF Bay Area. The coastal south hunting season opens first, in mid July for archery. The mountainous east opens in September.

I normally backpack hunt each area twice, on each respective opening day, there being 4 opening days, 2 zones x 2 seasons (bow and rifle).

So that gives me 4 backpack trips per year, normally. We are allowed 2 deer tags in Calif per year.

Bow season is usually a chance to see the bucks in the distance. Coming back for them with a rifle a month later.

Got a shot one year with my bow while driving to my spot, a 2x3 buck flirting with a doe early, and she would have nothing to do with him, but it distracted him enough that he did not notice me pulling over, getting my compound bow out, creeping up on him, and getting an easy shot from 35 yards away. That was in the mountains, my second trip that year, and my first buck that year. So the season ended fast that time, did not even get a chance to set up a tent.

Road hunting pays off sometimes, but for the most part I like to set up dual tent camps, one by the vehicle, and another up high after a full day's hike to get up there.

There are less deer these days in California. Most hunters believe it is due to the abundance of mountain lions now.
 
#4 ·
i wouldnt disagree. i live on the east coast and weve got coyotes like no ones business. i too backpack deep into public ground hoping the pressure from the rest of the world will push deer to me. ive gotten lucky a few times and killed 120 class 8 points on the first day, but it has often ended with one doe kill for camp meat and a few cold nights by the fire. that being said, you cant beat the solitude. no cars, no cellphones, none of the day to day bothers. ill continue doing it until there is no longer a huntable deer population, which is quickly becoming a realistic possibility due to our department of game and fish's horrible mismanagement of our deer populations and habitat.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top