New Hot Spot???

[MeatGETTER24]

Hey there guys, im new to the site and area, i lived in wallowa county OR, and now ive moved to eastern wa, im hearing a good spot to do some deer hunting is the bickleton area, had some good hunts in OR but i was curious if any of you could give me the low down on bickleton, thanks i appreciate it

[spur_ride]

where abouts are you living now?

[270Shooter]

Almost all privite land, but it is all open wheat/sage country for the most part. Lots of hunt clubs too. If you can get on to some land there are some Monster benchlegs out there. Find a public lands map there are small pieces of DNR land.

[bobcat]

Very little ground to hunt unless you pay for it. Even the timber company land there is posted no trespassing.   Lots of clubs as 270 shooter said. If you don't want to pay for access I'd recommend spending your time elsewhere.

[MeatGETTER24]

thanks for the info fellas, much appreciated, seems like a lot of land is private nowadays, one more question, im livin in yakima now, i hear the bethel ridge area is OK at best, im not opposed to walking hard, but i also know that good glassing will save me miles on my legs, so what areas should i look into that are nearby??? thanks again fellas

[270Shooter]

I have never hunted bethel either. But you kinda have your choice If you want open country or thicker stuff. You just have to make some scouting trips up there and get to know the areas. There are deer in there, but they will be tough to find. I also live in yakima and I hunt cowiche and have been for 3 years and finally found a spot that I know I can find deer and elk in consistatly. The biggest thing is don't give up because the yakima units are tough when it comes to deer hunting.

[finnman]

WELCOME to the family! PM SENT!

[finnman]

My friends Mnthunter and his cousin Jeremy wanted to go look for sheds few years ago, they being new to the area and me familiar with Klickitat Co. I sent them down toward Bickelton, just after that big DNR fire fiasco near Rock creek. They go down and hike around awhile not finding anything, on the way to the truck they come to a little high spot the size of a small parking lot, Jeremy goes one way and Jared the other, as it turns out Jared made the right move! Laying side by side were a set of antler sheds that made me squeel when he showed them to me!!
We safely astimated them at 27 inches in width, 20 inches in height and 4 very heavy deep points on each side!
We took them to Peter's Taxidermy and he figures they would score about 170!
I will have to ask Jared to take a pic of them and post it. If theyw were from a bench buck it would have been one incredible buck!

[GrainfedMuley]

There is 12,500 acres of DNR land just south of Crestin Washington on highway 2. It is called the Swanson Lake area. Open sage brush with alot of small draws and ravines for cover. I pulled a 116" three point out of there several years ago. Do some scouting and be out there SUPER early. The area gets hit pretty hard on opening weekend and then everything gets pushed to private land. Killed a realy nice Badger out there scouting in the springtime.

[Jason]

There is 12,500 acres of DNR land just south of Crestin Washington on highway 2. It is called the Swanson Lake area. Open sage brush with alot of small draws and ravines for cover. I pulled a 116" three point out of there several years ago. Do some scouting and be out there SUPER early. The area gets hit pretty hard on opening weekend and then everything gets pushed to private land. Killed a realy nice Badger out there scouting in the springtime.

Didn't know badgers were legal to kill in Washington.

[GrainfedMuley]

 Honestly...neither do I. I never had the question even come up. This happened about 12 years ago. In the spring and summer you can shoot Rock Chucks. Did it about as a kid in the 70's and did later on in the early 80's. That is when I came accross the Badger. I relize that ignorance is no defense but I do not know if it was legal or not. I do know that the local cattle farmers over there don't mind because of the large holes and there cattle stepping in them and sometimes breaking legs. I am real close with the game warden in the area I hunt. I will ask him this spring when I go turkey hunting. If there are any left after 60+ inches of snow.....

[deerslyr]

are they considered vermin? 

[Jason]

here's the regs from WDFW.

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/game_species/smallgame_trapping/index.html

[GrainfedMuley]

  Aperantly there is a season on Badgers and it is lagal also. The 2007 small game harvest report show that two Badgers were taken out of Cowlitz county. Sorry I did not mean for this Badger thing to hyjack this thread.

[GrainfedMuley]

Legal.....also...