I just passed my online hunter's ed and will do my field exam soon. I don't know anyone personally that hunts so I am limited to just reading online forums and books. I have a Remington 700 AAC 20" bbl in .308 with a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40, so that will be my primary deer, elk, bear gun. I am not asking for secret spots but general areas that hunter's frequent and is open to the public. I researched and found that somewhere east of hwy 18 is popular for deer. South over in Cle Elum is decent but crowded. How is the Snoqualmie area? I had a co-worker who used to hunt bear passed North Bend. I am willing to travel to Ellensburg/Yakima as well. I remember back when my dad used to run a Chinese restaurant in Enumclaw, hunter's would always stop by and give him the carcasses and bones of deer and bear. I'm assuming most their hunts came from the Mt.Rainier or Greenwater area? I have heard the FSR 70 & 75 may produce some deer? Due to my limited experience I would like to stick with frequented hunting areas just to have grasp of it. Probably won't be a while until I do hikes deep within a forest to hunt.
This is just a recreation I plan to do 2x a year and to just limit them to single day trips. I have fished the Columbia WF Refuge and have seen signs where hunting is permitted for waterfowl, upland birds, and deer. That area may be of interest if I decide to do birds but I don't have a dog so it may be a little difficult. The state site shows that deer is permitted with muzzleloaders, shotgun, and bow when the season opens. I might drive east on a weekend and scope out the refuge.
I'm open to hunt small critters and varmint as well. And we do eat everything!(family is Chinese), as long as it isn't a city dwelling critter. Coyote, raccoon, grouse, whatever is legal.
Any suggestion is appreciated!
