Free: Contests & Raffles.
Hey guys! I've been lurking these forums for the past 8 months. Always lots of great information here. A couple of buddies and I are planning an over night hunting trip in early October. We are all novices at big game, at least in this part of the country. And I think I'm the only one that's hunted deer. We are looking at GMU 418, for a number of different reasons. I've been fortunate in my life, to have family throughout the mid-west, with lots of acreage, where I've always done my hunting (small game, and deer a few times). What I am struggling with, is the process of gaining access. As I said, I have little experience gaining access to lands through the DFW, private land owners, or the timber companies. I am looking for information on GMU 418, as well as the best way (easiest way in this case) to find a spot and get access. As I said, we are mostly novice hunters and on our first trip, we don't expect to bag much, or anything, but would like to familiarize ourselves with the terrain, climate, weather, and put some of the scouting techniques we have learned to the test. We would be happy with nothing more than a safe camping trip our first time out. If we see anything, that would be a bonus. As I said, any information on GMU 418, and the process of figuring out where to camp at, to allow hiking out to hunt, and the process of getting access is the kind of information I'm looking for. I don't want you to think I haven't done my homework, and that I'm just looking for easy answers. I really have read, and studied this for 8 months. I've read books, been through the wdfw website a thousand times..read the pamphlets, and I've been on these forums daily almost. I'm just not quite seeing the answers. We are getting close to the time, so I figured it was time to stop being suborn and seek some direct help here. I'm wishing I had this earlier. Thanks for any information you guys can provide.
What are you hunting for?
Use OnX maps for finding access. If you haven't looked at it before it's like google maps except you can put a bunch of layers on top of it:GMUs, private land, state forests, national forests, wilderness, historic fires, current fires, etc. You can also download the maps for offline use (highly recommended). The main issue with forest service roads is that some are blocked off with a gate and some are impossible to travel. You can stop in to a ranger station and ask them about roads, but they'll want you to ask them about specific roads as then don't really feel like rattling off every closed road in their district. As far as camping you can camp almost anywhere you want in a national forest (https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/mbs/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=17520&actid=34). Also take a look at last years harvest statistics (http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2016/reports/deer_gmu_all.php).
