Okanogan Muley

[cwebsterdeerhunter]

Here is a mule deer my Grandpa shot in the 50's up in the Okanogan. Its about 32 inches wide. Anybody have any score guesses? Enjoy

[Skillet]

That's a sweet buck that probably won't score a lot of B&C points, but has awesome character.  Amazing that the back fork genes show up in a buck of that vintage.  Shows it is a true regional characteristic and is an excellent example of our north central Washington deer. 
Thanks for posting it up- 

[huntnphool]

That's a sweet buck that probably won't score a lot of B&C points, but has awesome character.  Amazing that the back fork genes show up in a buck of that vintage.  Shows it is a true regional characteristic and is an excellent example of our north central Washington deer. 
Thanks for posting it up- 

[boneaddict]

That's a sweet buck that probably won't score a lot of B&C points, but has awesome character.  Amazing that the back fork genes show up in a buck of that vintage.  Shows it is a true regional characteristic and is an excellent example of our north central Washington deer. 
Thanks for posting it up- 

Couldnt have said it any better.

[Skyvalhunter]

A fine example of the Okanogan County bucks that are becoming nonexistant, far and few between these days. Truly a shame to see the drop off of one of the great deer herds of Washington state. I am sure your grandpa has some great stories of the good old days.

[MLBowhunting]

Great buck. 

[wsmnut]

That's a beauty!  Thanks for posting.

Wsmnut

[Jester052]

Congrats to Grandad! !!

[hardrichard]

Real nice ole buck with character to boot

[BKMFR]

Okanogan still has great Mule Deer, they just aren't as readily available as before....there is a multitude of reasons, a major one is the seasons in my opinion. Now days you have to get drawn to be able to hunt when a lot of our parents and Grandparents were hunting...

[huntnphool]

Okanogan still has great Mule Deer, they just aren't as readily available as before....there is a multitude of reasons, a major one is the seasons in my opinion. Now days you have to get drawn to be able to hunt when a lot of our parents and Grandparents were hunting...

Bingo!

[MtnMuley]

Okanogan still has great Mule Deer, they just aren't as readily available as before....there is a multitude of reasons, a major one is the seasons in my opinion. Now days you have to get drawn to be able to hunt when a lot of our parents and Grandparents were hunting...

Bingo!

Back when our parents and grandparents were hunting, you wouldn't see 30-50 bucks a day in November in these GMU's like today.  A lot of times, you'd be lucky to see one.  No way could the herds here withstand a general rifle season in November.  The GMU's open for late general archery have definitely declined compared to those not open to late archery. Imagine what they'd do with a general rifle.........??  Back then trophy hunting wasn't what it is now, and the list of options hunters have these days had grown like wildfire........1000yd rifles, laser rangefinders, atv's, HD 60 power spotting scopes, the INTERNET.......just to name a few

[huntnphool]

Okanogan still has great Mule Deer, they just aren't as readily available as before....there is a multitude of reasons, a major one is the seasons in my opinion. Now days you have to get drawn to be able to hunt when a lot of our parents and Grandparents were hunting...

Bingo!

Back when our parents and grandparents were hunting, you wouldn't see 30-50 bucks a day in November in these GMU's like today.  A lot of times, you'd be lucky to see one.  No way could the herds here withstand a general rifle season in November.  The GMU's open for late general archery have definitely declined compared to those not open to late archery. Imagine what they'd do with a general rifle.........??  Back then trophy hunting wasn't what it is now, and the list of options hunters have these days had grown like wildfire........1000yd rifles, laser rangefinders, atv's, HD 60 power spotting scopes, the INTERNET.......just to name a few

I don't think anyone is advocating a general hunt in November. That being said, there is no reason the east side general hunt should not run through the 4th weekend of October!

[Wacenturion]

Okanogan still has great Mule Deer, they just aren't as readily available as before....there is a multitude of reasons, a major one is the seasons in my opinion. Now days you have to get drawn to be able to hunt when a lot of our parents and Grandparents were hunting...

Bingo!

Back when our parents and grandparents were hunting, you wouldn't see 30-50 bucks a day in November in these GMU's like today.  A lot of times, you'd be lucky to see one.  No way could the herds here withstand a general rifle season in November.  The GMU's open for late general archery have definitely declined compared to those not open to late archery. Imagine what they'd do with a general rifle.........??  Back then trophy hunting wasn't what it is now, and the list of options hunters have these days had grown like wildfire........1000yd rifles, laser rangefinders, atv's, HD 60 power spotting scopes, the INTERNET.......just to name a few

Sorry, but you're wrong.  I hunted those seasons back then, and depending on weather, migration, there were lots of big bucks available.  Hey, a bullet going out there at 3000 fps is still a bullet.  We wern't hunting with sticks back then.   

I really doubt the average guy hunts with a 1000 yard rifle.m  There were also a lot more hunters afield back then as well.

[MtnMuley]

Okanogan still has great Mule Deer, they just aren't as readily available as before....there is a multitude of reasons, a major one is the seasons in my opinion. Now days you have to get drawn to be able to hunt when a lot of our parents and Grandparents were hunting...

Bingo!

Back when our parents and grandparents were hunting, you wouldn't see 30-50 bucks a day in November in these GMU's like today.  A lot of times, you'd be lucky to see one.  No way could the herds here withstand a general rifle season in November.  The GMU's open for late general archery have definitely declined compared to those not open to late archery. Imagine what they'd do with a general rifle.........??  Back then trophy hunting wasn't what it is now, and the list of options hunters have these days had grown like wildfire........1000yd rifles, laser rangefinders, atv's, HD 60 power spotting scopes, the INTERNET.......just to name a few

Sorry, but you're wrong.  I hunted those seasons back then, and depending on weather, migration, there were lots of big bucks available.  Hey, a bullet going out there at 3000 fps is still a bullet.  We wern't hunting with sticks back then.   

I really doubt the average guy hunts with a 1000 yard rifle.m  There were also a lot more hunters afield back then as well.

Call me wrong if it makes you feel better, but I definitely don't think I am.  Of all the other local hunters I know and hunted with, including myself that hunted in the 80's and early 90's in the same areas we do today, very rarely did one harvest a "big" buck.

I'm not saying that everybody hunts with a 1000 yd rifle either.  Back in the day, a 500 yard shot from me was not attempted or even ethical from me. Nobody had a rangefinder.  I never saw one atv in the field.......and the TRIPOD area (pre-burn)was still a secret.

20-30 years ago, I could hunt the migration areas into the middle of November and not see "lots" of big bucks, if any.  Over the last ten years, I can hunt the same migration routes and see 30-50 bucks a day starting from the end of October to mid November.  My point is simple:  Our herds can't withstand a general rifle season in several GMU's during late October or early November.  It's not like bucks appear all of a sudden out of nowhere after our mid October general season.  They're still up there, but have just adapted to hunting pressures.  Minimal pressure during the migration/rut (special late draw tags) = more mature buck sightings.  General season during those times = a couple good hunting seasons for all, then poor for years.    

[Wacenturion]

20-30 years ago, I could hunt the migration areas into the middle of November and not see "lots" of big bucks, if any."

How old were you 30 years ago?  At your age you're talking about the late 80's into the 90's as far as hunting yourself.  I'm referring to the late 60's, 70's and early 80's, before Resource Allocation.

Not necessarily disagreeing with you on your points, just saying depending on weather conditions and migration back then, there were good numbers of big bucks.  On the right weekend years ago when the stars aligned, all you had to do was visit a check station in Okanogan County and you would see an abundance of bucks coming through.

Sorry, don't mean to jack the thread.....nice buck by the way.

 

[Longbowz]

Sorry I just don't buy the idea that late archery has caused the decline of mulies  in that area.  They face many problems today but a few bowhunters in the late season isn't one of them.