Thread: What am I doing wrong???

Everywhere I look, I see people posing with the animal they've successfully taken down, but every one of the last 7 trips Ive made to the bush, have only resulted in scenes like this:

Tilt your head a little bit higher so you see the 4 legged creatures, not the trash left behind by the two legged variety.

I know the feeling though, it can be a long time between drinks. I'm envious of the fact you've been out and about at least looking for deer recently!

Doige looks unimpressed with rubbish bastards

I think the first 10 or so trips i went out, i came out with nothing but rubbish as well. I only got my first deer this year. I guess the motto is patience, persistence, and learning to deal with disappointment. And then I learned more about wind, going slower than I think slow is, and paying attention at all times (which can be very mentally tiring). I only started seeing and spooking more deer when I went painfully slow, and looked for small bits of movement between the trees rather than scanning for whole deer. Getting out there very early in the morning before the sun makes an appearance has helped as well.
Ive also found that areas close to big cities are much more difficult in terms of finding animals due to hunting pressure. I get maybe 50% success rate at areas 2 hours drive from my house, but about 10% success rate 30 mins drive from my house.

Also people who fail don't end up posing with no animals and dont post those photos online, so the successes naturally stand out. Doesn't mean that they get deer every time they go into DOC bush Keep it up, be patient and quiet, and eventually the magic will happen.

Love the dog. He looked peeved as well.

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

I think the first 10 or so trips i went out, i came out with nothing but rubbish as well. I only got my first deer this year. I guess the motto is patience, persistence, and learning to deal with disappointment. And then I learned more about wind, going slower than I think slow is, and paying attention at all times (which can be very mentally tiring). I only started seeing and spooking more deer when I went painfully slow, and looked for small bits of movement between the trees rather than scanning for whole deer. Getting out there very early in the morning before the sun makes an appearance has helped as well.
Ive also found that areas close to big cities are much more difficult in terms of finding animals due to hunting pressure. I get maybe 50% success rate at areas 2 hours drive from my house, but about 10% success rate 30 mins drive from my house.

Also people who fail don't end up posing with no animals and dont post those photos online, so the successes naturally stand out. Doesn't mean that they get deer every time they go into DOC bush Keep it up, be patient and quiet, and eventually the magic will happen.

Love the dog. He looked peeved as well.

The more I get out, the more confident i get with heading further off the beaten track, and the fitter I become. I think Ive been smelling and hearing animals more often, but i do have the handicap of having my dog with me, and big game indicator, she certainly is NOT.

My first and only successful trip out was with an older fella named Pete who bounced up knife edges and climbed vertical cliffs while I clung to scrub wishing my mommy was with me. So, no deer aside, I think I have improved somewhat!

Leave the camera at home......It increases your chance by about 55% of getting a deer if you cant take a pic of your first one........
( Personal experience)

Originally Posted by Allgood

Leave the camera at home......It increases your chance by about 55% of getting a deer if you cant take a pic of your first one........
( Personal experience)

Never a truer statement

I don’t take a camera either, however I take my phone for the GPS function…much like taking the esky fishing, keep the refreshments cold

Originally Posted by DCN808T

The more I get out, the more confident i get with heading further off the beaten track, and the fitter I become. I think Ive been smelling and hearing animals more often, but i do have the handicap of having my dog with me, and big game indicator, she certainly is NOT.

My first and only successful trip out was with an older fella named Pete who bounced up knife edges and climbed vertical cliffs while I clung to scrub wishing my mommy was with me. So, no deer aside, I think I have improved somewhat!

It's possible to hunt areas that get heavy pressure and still be successful, the 2 key things that you need to learn:
1- Weather conditions prior to and during your hunt and how it dictates deer behavior
2- What they will eat at any given time in the season and where to find it
3- Timing.

Most people without someone to coach them learn by osmosis over a long period of time, shortcut the learning by getting the right books and study like you are at school with an exam coming. Clue: Saxon and Lentle ( or Lentle and Saxon?) write books........

Example that might give you an idea what I'm on about: a few weeks ago it rained and blew nasty for a couple of days prior to the weekend suppressing deer activity, forecast had specific wind direction, deer hate wind, but needed to be eating , the entire catchment area I wanted to hunt was exposed to the wind and rain, had been for two days - but due to clear the rain around dawn but keep being gusty, within that area were a couple of wee gullies that held good feed and were protected from the wind direction that morning, got my arse there to be on the spot as the light got useable, instead of searching and trying to hunt 20 square kilometers, my whole aim was to hunt about 1 square km. Was home in time for lunch because I knew where to be before I left the house.

A few others might weigh in here, no harm in sharing your intellectual property and how you think...... we all have our own bits of the whole picture.

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

It's possible to hunt areas that get heavy pressure and still be successful, the 2 key things that you need to learn:
1- Weather conditions prior to and during your hunt and how it dictates deer behavior
2- What they will eat at any given time in the season and where to find it
3- Timing.

Most people without someone to coach them learn by osmosis over a long period of time, shortcut the learning by getting the right books and study like you are at school with an exam coming. Clue: Saxon and Lentle ( or Lentle and Saxon?) write books........

Example that might give you an idea what I'm on about: a few weeks ago it rained and blew nasty for a couple of days prior to the weekend suppressing deer activity, forecast had specific wind direction, deer hate wind, but needed to be eating , the entire catchment area I wanted to hunt was exposed to the wind and rain, had been for two days - but due to clear the rain around dawn but keep being gusty, within that area were a couple of wee gullies that held good feed and were protected from the wind direction that morning, got my arse there to be on the spot as the light got useable, instead of searching and trying to hunt 20 square kilometers, my whole aim was to hunt about 1 square km. Was home in time for lunch because I knew where to be before I left the house.

A few others might weigh in here, no harm in sharing your intellectual property and how you think...... we all have our own bits of the whole picture.

The books 257weatherby mention are GOLD.
Percentage hunting like 257W outlines is another great tip. I always remember following the tips of an old sage I used to hunt with. The weather was shite and we were doing a 'pincer' approach on a little valley with a couple of little guts in it. 400m across, we approached each other from both sides, with the wind howling up the valley. Lovely grassy flats but not a sausage. Got to within 80m of each other and I started shrugging my shoulders intimating" there's no bloody deer here" to him. He pointed to the last gut. We moved closer. 50m. Then all hell broke lose. 6 Deer leapt into action. Manged to drop 3 of them.

Originally Posted by DCN808T

My first and only successful trip out was with an older fella named Pete who bounced up knife edges and climbed vertical cliffs while I clung to scrub wishing my mommy was with me.

I can relate to that so much. I am extremely slow going up and down steep terrain because I am terrified of slipping. Also terrified of grabbing onto rotting wood and the wood falling away. When i was doing the hunts course and heading out with others, I had trouble keeping up with my wobbly legs, especially downhill on slippery muddy areas.

Oh yeah, not sure if you have gone to the blue mountains for fallow or not, but in my experience you don't necessarily have to go very far to find deer. Ive spooked fallow deer 50m into the bush! Closest ive spooked red deer was about 300m in from the road. However I have no doubt that their density might be much higher in areas less traveled.

posted this up a year or two ago...excuse the in between bits from copy n paste....hopefully this will help.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

posted this up a year or two ago...excuse the in between bits from copy n paste....hopefully this will help.

Thank you very much for the advice. I like finding a spot overlooking a river flat but as yet not had any luck seeing any deer that way. When going through the bush, i clearly dont go slow enough!

Do you have proper boots with hard soles? Going down slope is about how you balance yourself. My wife has same issue when we go hiking. Because your calf and ankle are weak, even you have muscles back there but those muscles are not fit for job. Try to do halfway jump. good luck

Originally Posted by NEO

Do you have proper boots with hard soles? Going down slope is about how you balance yourself. My wife has same issue when we go hiking. Because your calf and ankle are weak, even you have muscles back there but those muscles are not fit for job. Try to do halfway jump. good luck

I have la sportiva entry level boots

i dont get a deer very often but enjoy the bush, thats what its about