Deer hunting field reports

[gr8whthunter]

thought it would be cool to start a topic about how everyones hunting day went, what you saw, where you hiked or hunted (or not if its secret) or even what you got just somethin to tell everyone how your season or days are goin and what youve been seeing.

heres how my first day went -
     got out yesterday afternoon after work at about 3pm and went to this years honey hole, no tracks driven in to it so i was the only one there all day and saw 3 doe and a mystery deer right off the bat, couldnt track the mystery deer sadly though, went up a ways farther and was glassing a unit and spotted 2 deer about 1000yds out, spotting scope was left at home and the rain didnt help the binos spot bone on top of there heads or not, so it was time to get my stalk on. hiked across valley and through a creek and back up the other side just on the back side of a hog back ridge and when i popped up on the top i was about 100yds away from....2 doe  .... really good size doe but started the hike back to the truck and i gotta tell you this new job i got is really working me outta shape.. slept like a baby though

[Pathfinder101]

Too hot.  Too dry.  Bad moon phase... pretty much sums it up.  Rough year down here in the SE corner.  I killed a young, thin horned 3x4, because that's all I could find.  A quick census of the camps in our area showed that no one was doing any better than I did.
  PathfinderJR hunted 13 hours Sunday.  Walked over 9 miles, looked in every conceivable draw and hole on the property we hunt.  He's still empty handed.  Praying for rain this week...  

[boneaddict]

Looks pretty lean here in the Yakima, though those that always seem to get it done seem to be notching their tags and filling their freezers.   Looks like temps are about to plummet, so that might move things along.   I think hairloss is putting a hurt on the local deer herd. 

[Toptwo]

I have been hunting Coyle for the last few days...am heading out for a afternoon/evening hunt later today even. Have not seen a single deer yet. Plenty of sign, and a lot of it fresh, but I think they are feeding all night, and deep in the brush during the day. It has still been pretty warm, and with this moon phase I was able to see my shadow as I hiked in at 5am yesterday 

[Hilltop123]

Looks pretty lean here in the Yakima, though those that always seem to get it done seem to be notching their tags and filling their freezers.   Looks like temps are about to plummet, so that might move things along.   I think hairloss is putting a hurt on the local deer herd. 

 
I think it's beyond a hurting. I don't think the deer numbers are coming back, as hoped. I seem to see fewer and fewer deer every year. Granted these are just my observations, nothing scientific about it. Young buck numbers almost none, not like years past even after hair loss hit. Just my observations.

[James]

In the wheat fields of SE wa it was the worst season my deer camp has ever seen.  First time ever not only did no one tag a deer, but not a single buck was even seen.  Average 15+ bucks seen on opening day.

Also hit the San Juan’s and it was the worst I had ever seen. Tons of predator scat, and saw about 1/12 the number of deer and deer sign.

Rough year, glad I was able to get a tag punched early.

[swanny]

We had 1 down Saturday and it was full of 2pts of all sizes the rest of the weekend through yesterday morning. Had a text on my phone of 1 more down last night, and just heard another down this morning. So guess things calmed down and the legal bucks stepped out. So as far as I know now 3 for 5.

Weather on Saturday on the east side was crazy!!

[silverdalesauer]

Spoke to a farmer who's lived in SE Washington his whole life. Said he's never seen so few deer and so many cougars. Said that he's seen 10 cats this fall. He thinks the WDFW is telling us there's less cats and plenty of deer, but thinks they're telling a backwards story. He was also saying that the wolves in the Blues are most likely impacting deer herds there. And, in terms of pheasants - he's shocked at how few there are left.

[jackelope]

I'm in Pomeroy right now. I saw literally 15 pheasants yesterday.  Saw bucks every day. I have had hundreds of deer on my trail cameras all summer. I've had 4-5 cats on the camera also. I talk to the wdfw bio a lot and he's never told me the deer numbers were great. Opposite in fact. 4 bucks killed on the land we hunt along with 4-5 opportunities on legal bucks in my crew. I've got kids hunting with me and they're not taking 300 yard shots. I had a 10 year old 147 yards from a nice 3x mulie last night and he wouldn't shoot because he couldn't et steady on the sticks and the CRP was too tall for him to use the bipod. The wind blew really hard most of the weekend here. I think that's what's kept the deer down. Wind died down yesterday and the deer were out in force last night. We saw 30 deer in about 2 hours last night.

[silverdalesauer]

Jackelope - glad to hear. I think this farmer must be basing his thoughts off of what he sees on his land. Glad to hear it's not true where you're at. Have fun hunting.

[rtspring]

Been hitting it hard since the opener! Tried like heck to put Whitpirates FIL on a buck close to the road that I had seen several times.  Im seeing great numbers of deer in my area, they are coming back after some bad years! 

I passed on a long 400 yard shot at dark on sunday on a huge two point with what I am sure was a legal eyeguard.  Being late I passed on the shot and will be back in there friday..  Weather was horrible most of the weekend.  They bedded up and fed all night long.. 

Rtspring

[Snakeriver10]

Mule deer numbers seem to be up for the Snake River Breaks this year, white tail numbers seem to be down.  The amount of hunters also seem to be down, with even fewer willing to step foot out of there cars.  Real rise in spikes and two points this year, deer was down by 9 30 am on opening day.

[Rainier10]

Been hitting it hard since the opener! Tried like heck to put Whitpirates FIL on a buck close to the road that I had seen several times.  Im seeing great numbers of deer in my area, they are coming back after some bad years! 

I passed on a long 400 yard shot at dark on sunday on a huge two point with what I am sure was a legal eyeguard.  Being late I passed on the shot and will be back in there friday..  Weather was horrible most of the weekend.  They bedded up and fed all night long.. 

Rtspring

That right there is funny, even funnier if it is true. 

[ELKBURGER]

I'm in Pomeroy right now. I saw literally 15 pheasants yesterday.  Saw bucks every day. I have had hundreds of deer on my trail cameras all summer. I've had 4-5 cats on the camera also. I talk to the wdfw bio a lot and he's never told me the deer numbers were great. Opposite in fact. 4 bucks killed on the land we hunt along with 4-5 opportunities on legal bucks in my crew. I've got kids hunting with me and they're not taking 300 yard shots. I had a 10 year old 147 yards from a nice 3x mulie last night and he wouldn't shoot because he couldn't et steady on the sticks and the CRP was too tall for him to use the bipod. The wind blew really hard most of the weekend here. I think that's what's kept the deer down. Wind died down yesterday and the deer were out in force last night. We saw 30 deer in about 2 hours last night.

Im hoping to get back overthere on the private I had access to. Will you be there through the weekend??

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Were not rifle hunting but seems to be pretty good here. We all where our hunter orange when out of doors and toot on our whistles to be heard. The area is and has been swarmed by rifle hunters with hunter orange on and rifles being fired all day long in all directions! Might install bullet proof glass in the place for added safety for the family.......   Yes have heard some deer's have been harvested. Mostly on private hunting grounds.