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So today I had my first day in the woods.
Over the past few days I had been watching videos and reading forums learning the basics of hunting. Things like field dressing a deer, decision making, animal anatomy for humane quick kills. I then got a general Buck tag for Oregon plotted out a location using maps and other services and headed out this morning.
The weather was really terrible rain coming in sideways and it wouldn't really let up. My plan was to head down a Forest Road and get out and hike around. I feel like I had prepared my self gear and planning wise as best I could for a first time (I understand some people scout for weeks or months before a hunt, even on a specific buck they want). I had planned to only go for the day but brought sleeping bags, MRE's, a tent, and plenty of camping gear in case of any issues. Lots of water and was sure to send my family and GF the planned location and route I was going to take with a return time.
Mostly what happened was I got to the end of the road grabbed my riffle and trucked in the woods about 100 -200 yards. I sat around for about 30 min and moved a little then sat around again. I'll be honest I didn't see a single thing except 2 birds the whole time. I had read that deer don't move much in the rain and it was around 12pm which I understand is when they are already bed down. I do remember someone saying that deer like sticking around heavy foliage and streams during rain so thats where I headed but still didn't see much.
I learned some things about my gear tho. My German military surplus Gore-Tex works... Like wow that stuff kept me amazingly dry. Boots failed pretty bad they water logged hard and i'll have to figure out some better boots. My great grandpa's 30-06 with 4X Lyman seemed to hold up fine after it's cleaning. Gloves need some improvement but they didn't fair too bad.
Over all I'd say I had planned decently (Can always plan more I know). Got out to the woods and got to test some of my gear in a pretty rough environment with a deer tag in my pocket. I maybe stayed out for only around 2-3 hours.
Some question I have for the more experienced of the bunch:
What are some things I can do better to increase chances of seeing deer?
Is this rainy weather I had and the time of day just not good hunting?
I have been told ambushing on a game trail is good for when you first start out, how do you find a game trail? Will they be close too roads?
Where do deer like to hang out? <-- probably a million dollar question!
Any words of encouragement/criticism or tips/advice are appreciated!
Over the past few days I had been watching videos and reading forums learning the basics of hunting. Things like field dressing a deer, decision making, animal anatomy for humane quick kills. I then got a general Buck tag for Oregon plotted out a location using maps and other services and headed out this morning.
The weather was really terrible rain coming in sideways and it wouldn't really let up. My plan was to head down a Forest Road and get out and hike around. I feel like I had prepared my self gear and planning wise as best I could for a first time (I understand some people scout for weeks or months before a hunt, even on a specific buck they want). I had planned to only go for the day but brought sleeping bags, MRE's, a tent, and plenty of camping gear in case of any issues. Lots of water and was sure to send my family and GF the planned location and route I was going to take with a return time.
Mostly what happened was I got to the end of the road grabbed my riffle and trucked in the woods about 100 -200 yards. I sat around for about 30 min and moved a little then sat around again. I'll be honest I didn't see a single thing except 2 birds the whole time. I had read that deer don't move much in the rain and it was around 12pm which I understand is when they are already bed down. I do remember someone saying that deer like sticking around heavy foliage and streams during rain so thats where I headed but still didn't see much.
I learned some things about my gear tho. My German military surplus Gore-Tex works... Like wow that stuff kept me amazingly dry. Boots failed pretty bad they water logged hard and i'll have to figure out some better boots. My great grandpa's 30-06 with 4X Lyman seemed to hold up fine after it's cleaning. Gloves need some improvement but they didn't fair too bad.
Over all I'd say I had planned decently (Can always plan more I know). Got out to the woods and got to test some of my gear in a pretty rough environment with a deer tag in my pocket. I maybe stayed out for only around 2-3 hours.
Some question I have for the more experienced of the bunch:
What are some things I can do better to increase chances of seeing deer?
Is this rainy weather I had and the time of day just not good hunting?
I have been told ambushing on a game trail is good for when you first start out, how do you find a game trail? Will they be close too roads?
Where do deer like to hang out? <-- probably a million dollar question!
Any words of encouragement/criticism or tips/advice are appreciated!