I'm going out to scout a location tomorrow for the 13th-14th-whenever I get lucky/and or a clue as to what I'm doing.  I've read about the basics of scouting for deer sign, but would welcome any tips as to where to plan on setting up/shooting lanes/directional positioning/etc.  Hunter121 has helped out a lot, so I'm hoping others can reinforce his suggestions and offer additional insight.  Thanks in advance.

As you are new to hunting let me warn you about a few things that you might not already know. Dont smoke, dont use deodorant, and try not to drink the night before. Wash your clothes with no detergent 2 times. Your scouted spot had better be a WAYS off a road or it will be posted with the lazy hunters who will not travel more than a mile from the road.

By placing yourself 2 miles or more from a main road you will take 90% of the bullshit away from hunting in W Washington. You should be aware that most of your shots will be taken under 100 yards and that is why I posted the scent reducing tips above.

Deer are finicky animals and easily spooked. Your best bet as a first timer is to find a spot with a good field of fire and some reason for deer to cross it and sit tight. Notice which direction the wind is blowing across the FoF and put yourself on the opposite side.

Good places to look are: Water sources, clear cuts, game trails with fresh spoor. do yourself a favor when scouting and TOUCH NOTHING! Your scent will linger for a while and may spook the deer to a different path.

Deer wake up early and you will not beat them awake. You should be in place in your observation/firing point no later than 5 am. If that involves a 2 mile hike down a FS road with a gate and no motorized access make sure to give yourself some more time and in the end just remember to be patient.

Now I am gonna tell you about something that everyone experiences the first time. Buck Fever. Your adrenaline will shoot up when you see your target and you will have a tendency to move fast to get your shot lined up. Fight this feeling. You NEED to remember your breathing and finger control. Exhale and squeeze. Bang. Next you need to pull your head up off the scope after you have seen the round impact your target. Keep your eyes locked onto him while you cycle the action for your next shot if it is required. If he hits the brush before dying you will need to know where and follow him. If you have shot at and are sure you have hit a deer you owe it to the deer and yourself to track it till it dies or until you cant see anymore. Part of being a good hunter.

There is a hunting truism that you should know. Once the hammer drops, all the fun stops. This means you have a lot more work to do after you pull the trigger. You need to get your deer up and bled quickly to keep the blood from congealing and making the meat gamey. You also need to get it out of its skin within a couple of hours and allow the meat to breathe. If you dont know how to process your own game then make sure you have a good person who can process it for you.

Thats about it for now. You have any specific questions?

That was all great shit Berzerker.  I really appreciate it.  As far as bleeding goes, will field dressing on sight take care of that?  Also, what is the best method to pack the deer out if you are alone?  I have a tarp and some rope, any other suggestions?

Quoted: dont use deodorant, and try not to drink the night before. Wash your clothes with no detergent 2 times.

Now I know why you aren't hunting with me.

Quoted: Quoted: dont use deodorant, and try not to drink the night before. Wash your clothes with no detergent 2 times. Now I know why you aren't hunting with me.

I dont use tree stands and I try to avoid unnatural scents. Works for me. I also hunt alone because I dont like surprise butsecks.

Quoted: That was all great shit Berzerker.  I really appreciate it.  As far as bleeding goes, will field dressing on sight take care of that?  Also, what is the best method to pack the deer out if you are alone?  I have a tarp and some rope, any other suggestions?

I actually field dress where the animal drops. It saves me having to lug it out. Depending on what kind of shot you made, a lot of times it will bleed out into the thoracic cavity and not make much difference.To accelerate the bleeding I will cut the jugular and tie the legs about 6 feet up a tree. Helps to steady the animal while removing the backstraps as well.

Dragging on a tarp is fine. Just dont wrap the thing up in it or it will raise the temp of the meat and this can spoil it. Proper in field care will really add to the quality of your venison. I keep a bicycle in my hunting rig to get in and out of the kill site with if it is a large animal. Makes a lot of hard work a lot easier.

Quoted: Quoted: That was all great shit Berzerker.  I really appreciate it.  As far as bleeding goes, will field dressing on sight take care of that?  Also, what is the best method to pack the deer out if you are alone?  I have a tarp and some rope, any other suggestions? I actually field dress where the animal drops. It saves me having to lug it out. Depending on what kind of shot you made, a lot of times it will bleed out into the thoracic cavity and not make much difference.To accelerate the bleeding I will cut the jugular and tie the legs about 6 feet up a tree. Helps to steady the animal while removing the backstraps as well. Dragging on a tarp is fine. Just dont wrap the thing up in it or it will raise the temp of the meat and this can spoil it. Proper in field care will really add to the quality of your venison. I keep a bicycle in my hunting rig to get in and out of the kill site with if it is a large animal. Makes a lot of hard work a lot easier.

Assault wheelbarrel works too....

be aware that you will see more hunters than game...

Quoted: be aware that you will see more hunters than game...

Lord aint that the truth anymore...thank God for Montana....

Quoted: Quoted: be aware that you will see more hunters than game... Lord aint that the truth anymore...thank God for Montana....

Dude, I'm from Montana and most everything that has been said before holds true there, too. To many lazy hunters who won't hump more than a mile from their rigs. I agree with the scent thing, but I go about it a different way. I used to hunt in logging and ranching areas, so the animals were used to the scent of machinery. Opening day we'de put on a set of greasy overalls to cover the human scent, and then wait for them near a clear cut or a feed lot. Worked for the deer, but Elk were harder to fool, plus they were alot deeper in the hills. Just my 2 cents worth.

Deer have killed more people than Grizzley Bears. (I saw that on Spike TV, so it must be true.)

Paging Koter.................

Quoted: Paging Koter.................

A small rag tied to each boot bootlace, low on the boot, and soaked with ammonia works to kill or cover your scent, also.  And looking for rubs will give you a higher chance of getting your buck.  Most of the rubs in the area where I hunt are about knee high to waist high on fairly small trees, 1/2" to 1 1/2" diameter, usually deciduous (willow, dogwood, birch, alder) but sometimes evergreen, mostly lodgepole pine.  Good scouting!

hey dallas, what area you thinking of hunting?

Probably out around easton.  Why, got any hot spots you wanna share?

A few small tips.

Make a list of what you need to bring with you, check everything twice, then check again to make sure you did not leave your bullets at home.

Find a deer trail and follow it, this beats blindly stomping around the woods looking for deer.

Take your time, slower is usually quieter.

Watch does, do not ignore them. They run security for bucks. Many times you will see a doe milling about for several minutes and then out of nowhere there will be a buck.

Don't use calls or scents, your new at this. Use either one incorrectly and you will see not deer at all.

Get out of the truck and walk around

Shoot uphill and drag downhill whenever possible.

Don't cut the pee bag (bladder)

Deer scrotum makes a cool gear shift knob.

Dallas
You got a lot of good advice here. The one thing that you must always do is follow up on the shot. I've shot deer that didn't appear / act like they were hit . Tracking a wounded deer can be a challange as the blood trail may be small and at times disappear altogether. Don't walk in the tracks or blood trail that was left by the deer, you may lose the trail and have to back track and start to sort it all out again. If you have walked in the blod trail it could be hard to pick it up again. If you have a friend to help, have him track, while you watch ahead in case the deer gets up to move and you can shoot to put it down. Like anything you will get better at it with each hunting season. To save time tracking, drop the deer with the first shot.  MC

Thanks for all the tips guys.  I'm making notes.  Keep em coming if you got em.

Quoted: Quoted: Paging Koter.................

Alright fuckers, I'm a whitetail hunter. These little bitty blacktails y'all got up here are a tad more difficult than I am used to. Especially when they go more than a mile from my truck. Bastards don't make it easy on me at all.

Deer are where you find them.

Quoted: Deer are where you find them.

Poetic and helpful in a zen/1GR kinda way.

ive got one of the biggest tips for you. know where your at at all times. be sure your in an open game management unit. and make sure you take a legal deer. my first hunt, led out by a friend got me busted and ended up costing me my first deer and 4500.00.  make sure you dont cross into a closed GMU.

Let me tell you about 1GR, Katie the boys and I went camping with 1GR and his pump of teh month, sometime back.


While driving the logging roads, he spotted 4-5 deer bedded down and hidden, "the truck is where I hunt the best"

Quoted: Let me tell you about 1GR, Katie the boys and I went camping with 1GR and his pump of teh month, sometime back. While driving the logging roads, he spotted 4-5 deer bedded down and hidden, "the truck is where I hunt the best"

"Pump of the month" is real funny shit too.

Quoted: ive got one of the biggest tips for you. know where your at at all times. be sure your in an open game management unit. and make sure you take a legal deer. my first hunt, led out by a friend got me busted and ended up costing me my first deer and 4500.00.  make sure you dont cross into a closed GMU.

Or into the one up by Wilson creek that prick has somehow gotten closed, except for his big game hunting business he runs. People have been buzzed by his plane, pot shots and been physically assaulted by a group of men that work for him.

Quoted: Quoted: ive got one of the biggest tips for you. know where your at at all times. be sure your in an open game management unit. and make sure you take a legal deer. my first hunt, led out by a friend got me busted and ended up costing me my first deer and 4500.00.  make sure you dont cross into a closed GMU. Or into the one up by Wilson creek that prick has somehow gotten closed, except for his big game hunting business he runs. People have been buzzed by his plane, pot shots and been physically assaulted by a group of men that work for him.

yea, on that note thats why i always carry extra ammo. a bolt gun doesnt do it for me, i have to have something battle worthy, plus very politically incorrect. 308 FAL this year

Bud just stopped by with his eldest sons 3 point they got this afternoon.  He had an early youth tag.  Nice buck, I forgot to take the camera.

Quoted: Deer are where you find them.

Dead on the side of the road after being hit by a truck.

Quoted: Keep your eyes locked onto him while you cycle the action for your next shot if it is required.

What is this "cycle the action" thing you speak of?

Here is a tip... Shoot the fucking thing, don't keep it as a pet!

ELLENBURG, N.Y. - A deer being kept in a pen attacked and killed his owner Sunday, state police said. The buck that killed Ronald Donah, 43, was among about a half dozen deer penned up on his property in Ellenburg, about 180 miles north of Albany, said state Trooper Joseph House. Details of Donah’s injuries and what may have prompted the attack were not available Sunday.