First time hunting

[Contendi]

My son and I went out for our first time in the Sierras and had a blast! No kill yet, but saw one deer on the trail 100’ ahead and a bit of deer and bear scat when we went off trail in a few areas. Noticed deer tracks over our foot prints on the way down. Was honestly a great learning experience and figuring out a few things along the way… like watch out for wasp nests in the ground

Just wanted to share, super new to the hunting world but we’re hooked and planning to go again next week. Cheers

 

[echo1]

Nice, what zone were you in? Kali is/can be a sticky wicket for hunting. In the olden days there were no zones, you got a tag went hunting. If you got skunked there you went someplace else in any part of the state. See you got some iron PAX
PS left you a message on backpacks

 

[Contendi]

Nice, what zone were you in? Kali is/can be a sticky wicket for hunting. In the olden days there were no zones, you got a tag went hunting. If you got skunked there you went someplace else in any part of the state. See you got some iron PAX
PS left you a message on backpacks

D3 up 80! Man I love reading stories about the olden days on Rokslide.. Now I'm just trying to keep up with the regs etc and ensure I don't break any. Can't wait to go again with my boy.

 

[echo1]

D3 up 80! Man I love reading stories about the olden days on Rokslide.. Now I'm just trying to keep up with the regs etc and ensure I don't break any. Can't wait to go again with my boy.

In the olden days we went deer hunting 2 or 3 times a season. I lern't form my buddy's Portagee family. The four uncles/brothers would go up to Hull Creek 2 days early, circle their trailers and stay a week or 10 days. They ran dogs, Aussies and always had deer hangin. I quit going for 25 years, never having kilt a deer until 2008, a 3X3 in D5 by Lake Alpine, none since, but haven't gone often, and then it was mostly walking with guns. PAX

 

[Chancey]

My son and I went out for our first time in the Sierras and had a blast! No kill yet, but saw one deer on the trail 100’ ahead and a bit of deer and bear scat when we went off trail in a few areas. Noticed deer tracks over our foot prints on the way down. Was honestly a great learning experience and figuring out a few things along the way… like watch out for wasp nests in the ground

Just wanted to share, super new to the hunting world but we’re hooked and planning to go again next week. Cheers

Keep after it! Just got skunked in C zone. 4 days of hiking and glassing areas we scouted good bucks pre season. This heat wave makes deer hunting really tough. Best of luck to you and your boy, can’t wait until mine is old enough to bring with me.

 

[RustVendor]

a day getting skunked hunting is still a great day. Hot tip: the bucks here become nocturnal when hunting season hits, try to get up to a glassing spot when it's still dark so you can try to spot them going to their bedding spot where they will stay all day until dusk. Dawn and dusk are the only times you are likely to spot a buck so plan around that. And get a bear tag because I always see bear when I'm glassing for deer.

 

[Contendi]

Keep after it! Just got skunked in C zone. 4 days of hiking and glassing areas we scouted good bucks pre season. This heat wave makes deer hunting really tough. Best of luck to you and your boy, can’t wait until mine is old enough to bring with me.

You'll get it man! I'll keep that in mind about the heat wave. And once you're able to take him, it's such a blast. My father wasn't a hunter so it's pretty cool learning the lifestyle along with my son. With your's, it'll be awesome to have a good guide and mentor.

a day getting skunked hunting is still a great day. Hot tip: the bucks here become nocturnal when hunting season hits, try to get up to a glassing spot when it's still dark so you can try to spot them going to their bedding spot where they will stay all day until dusk. Dawn and dusk are the only times you are likely to spot a buck so plan around that. And get a bear tag because I always see bear when I'm glassing for deer.

Got the bear tag too! I'd be happy with either one. Thanks for the tip, next time I think we'll leave a bit earlier too. Left at 0330 and got to the trailhead by 0500. We wanted to hike higher up the mountain for a better vantage point but had to stop short due to dawn. Plus the wind was coming down the mountain so I figured we'd try our luck at glassing upward and across the small field.

 

[echo1]

a day getting skunked hunting is still a great day. Hot tip: the bucks here become nocturnal when hunting season hits, try to get up to a glassing spot when it's still dark so you can try to spot them going to their bedding spot where they will stay all day until dusk. Dawn and dusk are the only times you are likely to spot a buck so plan around that. And get a bear tag because I always see bear when I'm glassing for deer.

A bear is often drawn to the deer's gut pile. I've had 2 buddies come up on bear dragging their bucks off. One in D4 another in an A zone, decades apart.

Don't forget the deer are pets to some mountain communities, like Tamarack in D5 (they have a pond too), and the deer will bed near those areas. You can nail one going and coming from the private property. Huntin Kali style PAX

 

[2muchsoysauce4allthisrice]

My son and I went out for our first time in the Sierras and had a blast! No kill yet, but saw one deer on the trail 100’ ahead and a bit of deer and bear scat when we went off trail in a few areas. Noticed deer tracks over our foot prints on the way down. Was honestly a great learning experience and figuring out a few things along the way… like watch out for wasp nests in the ground

Just wanted to share, super new to the hunting world but we’re hooked and planning to go again next week. Cheers

Cheers!

That’s ok, keep working the area, be familiar with the land. Failed for 3 seasons before I harvested my first A-zone buck.

 

[silvertriple]

Welcome to hunting. I hunt D3 also. I skunked out this year also. CA can be tough hunting all around. I passed up 2 small bucks early in the season only to see nothing the rest of the season. Through the years I've learned the value of "don't pass up a buck you'd gladly harvest on the last day".

 

[ZeroFoxGiven]

I liked hiking in the wilderness part of hunting more than the actually hunting part. But deer is delicious so I would go.

I think it's great that you are keeping a tradition alive and getting your kid out to see and experience the hard work it can be along with the process of providing food from the wild.

 

[BobGBA]

Welcome to hunting. I hunt D3 also. I skunked out this year also. CA can be tough hunting all around. I passed up 2 small bucks early in the season only to see nothing the rest of the season. Through the years I've learned the value of "don't pass up a buck you'd gladly harvest on the last day".

Does that mean the 2 bucks that you passed on were too small to harvest on the last day of the season?

 

[echo1]

Since I'm not a meat hunter, my personal standard is 3 points or better, which means I don't get kills that often when I do go. PAX

 

[silvertriple]

Does that mean the 2 bucks that you passed on were too small to harvest on the last day of the season?

That means shoot the first legal buck you see because you might not see anything else the rest of the season. We're allowed 2 buck tags, so I usually shoot a meat buck earlier and then hold out for a bigger buck later, but decided not to take one early this year and didn't see anything else. That's how hunting goes.

 

[BigBossman]

That means shoot the first legal buck you see because you might not see anything else the rest of the season. We're allowed 2 buck tags, so I usually shoot a meat buck earlier and then hold out for a bigger buck later, but decided not to take one early this year and didn't see anything else. That's how hunting goes.

This has always been my philosophy, and it has kept the freezer full for many, many years. I am not a trophy hunter and do not hand heads on the wall, I like the experience of being in the mountains and being in deer camp, and I love to eat venison. Sort of a "camping with benefits" type of deal. Many years, I draw an "either sex" tag, and that means I usually come home with a fat doe more often than not. A few of my hunting friends look down on that, but my freezer is never empty.

Another great enjoyment for me is taking first-timers out. Last year I took a fellow rifle competitor out - he did not fill his tag, but had a great time and learned a lot. Two years ago I took a duck hunting friend out for his first ever deer hunt, and loaned him one of my rifles and some ammunition. He killed a nice 4x4 on the second day. That hunt I was limited to road hunting due to a bad knee and came up empty, but being part of his first success made the trip more than worthwhile.

 

[silvertriple]

This has always been my philosophy, and it has kept the freezer full for many, many years. I am not a trophy hunter and do not hand heads on the wall, I like the experience of being in the mountains and being in deer camp, and I love to eat venison. Sort of a "camping with benefits" type of deal.

Same philosophy here and with most of the hunters in my party. It's more about spending time with family and friends and enjoying and learning the outdoors together. If we get one, it's cool...if we get a trophy then it's awesome!