17 animals and not a single buck......

[Bookworm007]

After filling my tag my brother and I have been going out trying to find some luck for him. After learning most of the activity happens in the unit after noon we abandoned the 0' dark thirty start times which has been very nice. Nothing like sleeping in a few extra hours and getting a real breakfast in! But now the really frustrating part we saw 13 does/fawns and not a single buck, and on top of that we ran into 4 elk in the south end of the washougal unit      It was cool to watch and stalk the deer because you get to learn alot about the deer in the area. Such as they could care less if there is a monsoon going they just shake like a dog! We even stayed quite and still well after the does were gone to see if a buck would show himself, but no such luck. This raises a few questions in my mind. First will a buck start to stalk a doe that has a fawn with it? Most of the does we found had fawns. Next I would assume where there are does there should be bucks, but after seeing so many does I'm wondering if we need to switch up locations? And finally there are elk in the washougal unit??  Any help would be great! My brother and I are twins and I got my first deer this year and as much as I would like to torture him with that for a year it would also be pretty cool if we both got our first deer on the same year. We are also thinking we need to get doe tags for the washougal next year 

[deerhunter_98520]

Im not 100% but im pretty sure when that doe comes into estrus she will or the buck persuing her will run off her yearling

[Bookworm007]

Thats what I figured. This is the first year we took a serious swing at deer hunting so we are still learning a lot! Deer season used to be an excuse to scout for elk  Well hopefully by late buck the does will have kicked the kids out of the house and the big boys will be coming around 

[BOWHUNTER45]

Im not 100% but im pretty sure when that doe comes into estrus she will or the buck persuing her will run off her yearling

tRUE STATEMENT THEIR NOW 

[RadSav]

We must have been working the same area Book.  20 does in two days no bucks.  Surprised as heck to see the elk in the Wash. 

Never in my life have I seen so many road Sloths.  We were set up in a small clearing surrounded by christmas trees when a grey haired old sloth came by.  Took her 25 minutes to go 1/4 mile.  I'm not as skittish as a deer, but I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide by the time she got close to us.

[Bookworm007]

Yeah I was doing the sneaky sneaky on a road while my brother watched the clear cut. (I get bored and have to do some exploring) As I came around a bend I saw a deer butt. At first I was excited figured finally found some bucks! But then it turned out to be a group of 5 does my brother and I have been running into all season. I stood still as a statue and the deer actually walked with in 30 feet of me before deciding I was a bit too strange to be close too  Gets a little nerve racking when you dont know how close they are going to get and what they are going to do when they realize you want to eat them. 

 Well if you run into a green 98' subaru wagon its me! As far as I can tell I'm the only one up there. Everyone brings the big 4x4's but I just drive around all the nasty parts of the road. 

I betting seeing the elk up there is not going to be a common occurrence, but it was cool none the less. 

[brokehunter]

Yes there are elk in that unit. Probably see more or at least more sign around late buck. They get pushed into the low lying areas from hunting pressure and the snow line coming down. I have a small private lot in the Battle Ground unit I have permission to hunt time to time, and we always see elk sign on it. This time of the year, the Washougal is pretty dead unless you know someone with property. That's the only place you'll find your bucks!

[RadSav]

Seven more does and nine more elk up there this morning.  Still no buck

[RuttinWapati]

Saw your Green Subaru Book. We were up in Washougal Sunday all day behind closed gates. We saw 14 does and not one buck. Made some successful flushes and picked a few out of the clear cuts but not one had horns. Spotted a nice 5pt Bull bedded in one clear cut. Watched him get up and move out down into a nasty hole. We know of a few holes that hold Elk in there and my Brother has a Rifle Cow Tag, so hopefully I can help him get it done.

Good to see some talk about the Shoug on here...

Take Care and Good huntin....

[grousetracker]

i wish i could see 17 animals, i have seen 14 all season but 1 was a monster that i missed. went out this morning and saw 1 small toe head spike in a clearcut, unfortunately the guy up above me thought it was a shooter and shot it 4 times. he was happy with the deer so its all right. 1 more day!

[RadSav]

i wish i could see 17 animals, i have seen 14 all season but 1 was a monster that i missed. went out this morning and saw 1 small toe head spike in a clearcut, unfortunately the guy up above me thought it was a shooter and shot it 4 times. he was happy with the deer so its all right. 1 more day!

I'd trade you our 27 does for your one monster buck   I'd even throw in a dozen elk!

[Bookworm007]

Okay so its not just me seeing only does. That makes me feel a little better.

RuttinWapati: Its nice to find another hunter who knows about the shoug. Do you know anything about "rambo"? Consistently the last couple trips up there somebody has been doing target practice with every action and caliber you can dream of. It doesn't seem to bother the deer but the sound of automatic gun fire seems to break up the serenity of the outdoors. Good luck with the cow tag! They are up there and love those holes. This next year I hope I can do even more scouting (trail cams are on the christmas list) and find a honey hole of my own!

grousetracker: Jeez well at least he made sure it was good and dead....... I'm guessing after 4 shots on a spike he either a messy gut job to deal with or not a lot of meat. Need to send him to sniper school so he can learn the one shot one kill philosophy.

RadSav: Haha yeah big buck complete with pictures and stories. Would love to shoot a monster only 30 minutes from home!