Can someone explain to me the mule deer strategy in NE WA?

[2labs]

I think you guys must be in a different state. We have a lot of muleys up here. My wife saw nearly 30 in one group 2 weeks ago coming home from work. I saw about a dozen today going to Republic..... They do disappear for hunting season though.

You're talking unit 101, this thread was mostly in reference to the units east of there.

I know that. Most people stay with a certain area and don't look elsewhere. Look at all the guys that say they've hunted someplace for 30 years and don't expand. The 105 is a hop, skip and a jump from here. If you read the topic line only, it says nothing about the 105, until you read what the op wrote. So, it's open game.

Yep. And 204 is a desert! Don't go their.

[browney5er]

habitat.  The high country hasn't burned in years.  The "good ol' days" for mule deer were a result of the huge 1910 fire.

Amen, My dad hunted parts of gmu 111 starting in the late 50's and continued into the eighties when my brother and I started hunting with them. When you look at pictures of the high country from the sixties and even the seventies, It was wide open all the way to the bottom. That same country now is almost completely choked out with new growth. There are still meadows on top but now with the lack of habitat, they also have wolves to deal with. I know in that part of the state the decline in mule deer started as the habitat disappeared. The introduction of wolves has just enhanced it.

[huntnnw]

Its probably a combo of everything mentioned. Cats in the area I hunt are a big deal and there are lots! plus a ton of bears..wolves have been in this area for alot longer than the big talk of recent.

[mfswallace]

Its probably a combo of everything mentioned. Cats in the area I hunt are a big deal and there are lots! plus a ton of bears..wolves have been in this area for alot longer than the big talk of recent.

   Mostly predators though 99% Mules' unlike Whiteys can thrive almost anywhere if not decimated by predators

[WAcoyotehunter]

Its probably a combo of everything mentioned. Cats in the area I hunt are a big deal and there are lots! plus a ton of bears..wolves have been in this area for alot longer than the big talk of recent.

   Mostly predators though 99% Mules' unlike Whiteys can thrive almost anywhere if not decimated by predators

It's not only happening in NE Washington.  Mule deer decline is occurring across the west.  It is not "mostly predators".  Deer numbers are declining in areas where there is serious hound pressure on cats and wolves are not recovering.  It's a habitat issue.

[bobcat]

I'd say more like 10% predators, 90% habitat.

[huntnnw]

As many have stated with the lack of logging..the area I spend my time is not lacking in logging extensive logging miles and miles of forest cleared

[WAcoyotehunter]

I'd say more like 10% predators, 90% habitat.

that's probably fair.

[andrew_in_idaho]

Its probably a combo of everything mentioned. Cats in the area I hunt are a big deal and there are lots! plus a ton of bears..wolves have been in this area for alot longer than the big talk of recent.

   Mostly predators though 99% Mules' unlike Whiteys can thrive almost anywhere if not decimated by predators

So you're saying mule deer are more adaptable than whitetails. I think you've got that one backwards. Whitetail deer have been expanding range into traditional mule deer range for years not the other way around. Mule Deer are declining throughout the west and it is always blamed on predators because no one wants to admit that human encroachment on winter range as well as lack of logging and burning has lessened the carrying capacity of most mule deer habitat

[huntnnw]

the one thing about the predator issue is we were still seeing a fair number muleys till hound hunting ended and thats when it got really bad to what it is today. The last time I rifle hunted the area in Nov of 97 if I remember correctly we were hunting whitetails and we were seeing on avg 40-60 mulies a day! I then started bowhunting the late season and took quite a few years off from being up there in Nov and it was a shock when I returned to see the hills void of mule deer. In 4 days of glassing and hunting I turned up a herd of 5 does.

[boneaddict]

As stated.

I think the predators are having a bigger impact on recovery from the big winters, but you can also blame that on habitat.