hunting clearcuts

C

cbearw

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Hi. Was wondering if anyone had any tips for hunting clearcuts for muleys. The area I hunt in the Okanagan in Central BC has a lot of clearcuts (freashly logged areas) surrounded by dense forests of spruce, ceder, larch, and fir. The wooded areas are too thick and noisy to hunt which leaves the clearcuts. My approach so far has been to find the high ground and glass or still hunt paying attention to wind direction. I have seen a few nice bucks just before dark and always next to the timbered areas but wasn't able settle the cross hairs enough for a clean shot so passed these deer up. I think I am on the right track but was wondering if anyone else may have a few tips. I am used to hunting the bench lands along the Frazer River which is much more open but now have moved to a new area where these big bucks seem to come out into these clearcuts at night mostly. Haven't been able to find any really well used trails leading in or out of these cuts but have seen the odd rub. There is also a fair amount of vehicle traffic going through or by most of these cuts. The terrain generally has a 20 to 30 degree slope. Thanks..............cbear
 
sounds like you covered most of the bases. About the only other thing you could try is having somebody push through the timber for you on the forest edge to push something out into the cut. I've seen this done successfully a few times. Deer like to bed right on the edge of the cut.-D
 
Some rough country down there. I found it really succesful to hunt the ridges above cuts. Good luck.

Kirby

When in doubt, floor it.

Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you find a big stick.
 
Cuts are over rated in BC. They get pounded by road hunters, you are best off to hunt the thicker timber as thats where you will encounter the highest number of bigger bucks. The thicker the timber, the better the hunting! Look for remote areas with no logging; hunt on your feet and take a backpack with you. I used to hunt the cuts in BC when i was first starting out in the kamloops area. Trust me, hunting the timber is way more productive!
 
Oh the good old days. We used to have clearcuts here but the D**n tree huggers fixed that. Those were the best areas to hunt for 2 or 3 years after the cutting.
 
Be at the edge of a clear cut farthest from any road well before daylight, or sit until dark. If they only use them at night, you'll have to hunt the timber. If I had to hunt timber, I would hunt the ridges. Hunt slowly and glass often. Into the wind, of course.

Good luck!

Steve
 
I'm not much of a cutblock hunter as that's just not my style, but I damn well layout enough of them to know how to hunt them :) Don't target the bigger clearcuts. Big bucks don't like to expose themselves in the open like that. Instead target Select cuts and Patch cuts. Perfect for Sneakin' and Peekin'. Lots of ground that can't be seen from the road with skid trails connecting the patches up. Look for openings in the 1-5 ha. range. Muleys seem to feel more at ease and feed out longer. Plus, the road hunters don't even have a clue those openings are there. :) Have to admit with the current beetle problem, Patch cuts are becoming a thing of the past. The age of the cut is very important too. I find that first year is best. They are normally good for the 1st 3-5 years. The higher in elevation, the slower it takes for the plantations to Green Up, the longer the deer hang out in them.
I agree with Matt though. Still hunting the Timber is by far way more productive if you want to harvest the real Big Uns. The thicker the timber the better. :)
 
Generally speaking, how hard is it for a Washingtonian to go to BC to hunt mule deer and what are the success rates like??
 
Can be pretty easy to come up here and hunt, just have to book with a licenced guide outfitter is all as that is the only way a non-resident alien can hunt here. Probably not the answer you were looking for but that's the way it is. The other way would be to move here and apply for citzenship. LOL!
 
I went fishing up there this year on the vetta (spelling?) during the king run, very impressed. This clear cut issue sounds like white tail hunting to me. If there is a road right to the clear cut. Take a tree stand and put it in place, Play the wind and you would be amazed at how much more you'll be able to see.

BC hunting regs suck my wife and all of her family are true blue canadian. I can't even go on a family hunt unless they become guides, this is ridiculous in my opinion.

Matt
 
BCBOY is pretty much on the money with my opinion as well. I too deal with a lot of "forestry" ground pounding work. Only thing I might add is check some of the freshly cut commercial thin units......that is if they do those in your area. The timber will be spaced out (opened up) enough to allow fresh browse to grow but still provide good hiding cover. I would recommend still hunting these places mainly in the early to late mornings. One more thing, in my area (Oregon) I seem to have luck hunting clear cuts or the thinned areas when a weather system rolls in and dumps some precipitation. As long as the "precip" isn't too much it seems to get the game up and moving a bit more.
 
-My family does have roots from Viking, Alberta. If my job didn't keep me here I'd seriously consider it, my folks used to spend a lot of time in interior BC. I fish every year up out of Nootka too, going to Rippingale's this season. We also hunt muleys just accross the border I'm imagining there's very similar country too.
 

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