High buck crowds

[JeffRaines]

Hey guys,

I've seen threads where this has been discussed before however it was typically a one off reply mentioning it... I know buck creek pass gets overrun, what are the other trailheads/areas that also turn into a pumpkin patch?

[X-Force]

Tagging

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

All of them. Everywhere.


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[Ridgerunner]

And getting more popular every year with less spots to hunt. 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Seems so many people hunt the High Hunt that the deer get pushed out of the High Hunt boundaries.

[jackelope]

There's a fairly reliable chance that almost any popular  trailhead into any of the wilderness areas open for the high hunt will have other hunters there and you won't be alone, especially if you stay close to the trail system. And especially if you're within 5 miles of the car, and even that's not a guarantee.

[singleshot12]

And getting more popular every year with less spots to hunt.

Thankx to internet,social media etc.

[Colville]

There may be some road troubles that could reduce the #'s.  Long ways to September, but something to follow:

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8020846

[huntandjeep]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

[theleo]

And getting more popular every year with less spots to hunt.

Thankx to internet,social media etc.

And guys responding to threads like these, on the internet and social media, so that the topic is always at the top of the heap and visible to everyone.

[Bushcraft]

There may be some road troubles that could reduce the #'s.  Long ways to September, but something to follow:

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8020846

I suspect that it may be a few Septembers before they are open again.  After all, there's no room in the Forest Circus's budget for hundreds of thousands of dollars in gravel spreading road improvement EPA studies, much less room for actual gravel.

The goofy thing is that this will probably incentivize more people to go up there thinking that fewer people will try it because of the road closures. I can hear scores of nimrods right now saying, "Hey, it's on the map and it's a long way from any trailhead.  No one is crazy enough to try that.  There won't be anyone there but us!"  Then flash forward to September 15th..."Where the hell did all these people come from?" 

There are no high mileage remote looking basins that don't get overrun by High Buckers.  That's just the truth of the matter.  Particularly as backpacks, clothing and gear have gotten better in the last ten years.   However, there are basins that people death march right on by en route to their idea of mule deer hunting nirvana.

[Bushcraft]

Nice looking buck Colville.  Where'd you get it, exactly?

[Colville]

In the neck.

[Bushcraft]

Ohhh...too funny.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

Where do you hunt at?

[huntandjeep]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

Where do you hunt at?

Alpine lakes area

[Miles]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

Where do you hunt at?

Alpine lakes area

The guy who's hunted it for 10 years will probably go crazy on you if you say too much more. 

[brocka]

All of them. Everywhere.


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Every. Single. One.

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[HUNTINCOUPLE]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

Where do you hunt at?

Alpine lakes area

That's a huge area which could handle more hunting presure. There's untouched ground up there.

[JeffRaines]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

Where do you hunt at?

Alpine lakes area

That's a huge area which could handle more hunting presure. There's untouched ground up there.

Sarcasm?

Either way - while I won't be able to do high buck this year... next year definitely has potential and I'm just looking for the really overrun areas so I can avoid them. I also hear there are some outfitters that have some area up there as well? I'd like to avoid those too

[ian_padron]

I've been doing high buck for 2 years. Not once have I seen hunters at the trail head or in the mountains. The guy I  go with has been hunting this area for 10+ years and never seen a hunter in the mountains . 

Agreed. A lot of guys talk about hunting 10 miles in from the trailhead, but no one talks about hunting 10 miles from the trail. I didn't even see other humans during general season last year. Grab a map that lists ALL access including hiking trails. Find areas that don't have any of those things, and enjoy the wilderness.

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[shootnrun]

I have hadsuccess on the high hunt, but the first two years I went I saw 2 deer, probably a hundred people, and several dozen hunters. As I got dialed in to different areas I found some great basins still to find them being glassed from the other side by someone in orange. And had some dandy bucks run out by hunters who had no clue they were there  If you're not in far enough there will be hunters everywhere. If you're in too far then you'll start bumping drop camps. Spend a whole summer up there and you'll get an idea of what areas are busy and which aren't. Don't be surprised if you come home wet, tired, hubgry, and empty handed the first couple years

[Alpine Mojo]

no one talks about hunting 10 miles from the trail.

It's a nice thought, but none of the wilderness areas open for high buck are that remote.  There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of trails on and off the maps.

[ian_padron]

no one talks about hunting 10 miles from the trail.

It's a nice thought, but none of the wilderness areas open for high buck are that remote.  There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of trails on and off the maps.

Obviously hyperbole. The point is that there are plenty of places in this state that hunters can have all to themselves.

A few miles from the road is FAR different than a few miles from the trail, and that is what I wished to convey to OP.

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[JeffRaines]

no one talks about hunting 10 miles from the trail.

It's a nice thought, but none of the wilderness areas open for high buck are that remote.  There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of trails on and off the maps.

Obviously hyperbole. The point is that there are plenty of places in this state that hunters can have all to themselves.

A few miles from the road is FAR different than a few miles from the trail, and that is what I wished to convey to OP.

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That's what I was thinking as well. The "safety" of a trail I think draws in a lot of people. Most people don't want to hike x miles off trail to a nameless/trail less basin only to find it void of animals so they stick to what they know.

[Bill W]

Here's some advice and on the surface it may sound stupid.   Go hunt where the crowd aren't.    If you choose to hunt where the crowd are, get to a place they aren't before them and then let them drive the deer to you.

I've used other hunters as "dogs" for a few years after I figured things out.

Or, you can go the "whole remote" thing.  I'd scouted out a few areas that had old signs of camps and others that had no sign of camps at all.   The main reasons were lack of good camping spots or hard to find water.   Two of these spots were about 10 miles from the trail head.    Another way to find good hunting spots is to find spots that horses (and horse hunters) can't access.  Find those spots and if any hunters are there, they are true hunters.

[Andrew]

Not a single hunter for three years and then last year my 'X' on the map became that for 20 others!  It was a joke.  I had 8 guys walk past me before 6:00 am on the opening day.  Then to add insult to injury...an ass clown thought it would be funny to take a crap 30' from our tents.  I'm not sure if it was a guided drop camp or what but the 12 hunters a 1000' vertical feet below us and a 1/2 miles away showed zero respect or courtesy that we were there regardless of the fact we were there first.  This year going completely off trail...closest trail is going to be 3000 vertical feet and a mile below me...I'm going were horses and the hunters that they bring don't. 

[CLARKTAR]

I will see you there Andrew 😉

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[JeffRaines]

Not a single hunter for three years and then last year my 'X' on the map became that for 20 others!  It was a joke.  I had 8 guys walk past me before 6:00 am on the opening day.  Then to add insult to injury...an ass clown thought it would be funny to take a crap 30' from our tents.  I'm not sure if it was a guided drop camp or what but the 12 hunters a 1000' vertical feet below us and a 1/2 miles away showed zero respect or courtesy that we were there regardless of the fact we were there first.  This year going completely off trail...closest trail is going to be 3000 vertical feet and a mile below me...I'm going were horses and the hunters that they bring don't.

Those are my biggest fears. Getting somewhere and it being a pumpkin patch, or it turning into a pumpkin patch while I'm in there.

[lewy]

Outfitters are doing to many drop camps imo.

[BONEHUNTERNW]

I hunted Alpine Lakes 2 years ago during the high hunt. Only saw one other group of hunters, father and son. Saw plenty of track but never got a chance at one. They are up there.