NE WA whitetail

[Scheindogg]

Hello everyone-
Been taking a look at a unit in NE WA for modern firearm, and just looking for some insight.

I’m not going to name any specific places because I’ve gotten criticized in the past for naming names and bringing attention to a place others weren’t necessarily  considering...

Regardless if you have experience in this area please PM me I’d love to shoot a couple questions off you.

Thanks!

[Jonathan_S]

If you're talking about October, I'd reccomend saving your time for later in the year if you can.

Rough month for Whitetail hunting.  If you haven't been to the NE, you should come knowing that all the good public land whitetail areas are thick and green with few exceptions.  I can't tell how many people I meet who are amazed at how dense it is compared to their former understanding of "Eastern Washington"

[Billy74]

I’m  a pretty novice hunter but have spent some time up there.  I probably have more questions than anyone.  Public land can be pretty thick, a lot is close to roads so even when you think your “off trail” 4 wheelers go blasting by.  A lot of deer but finding a spot to pattern a buck constantly takes time and then come oct pressure will move them around. 


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[Scheindogg]

Not those types of questions, haha. Appreciate the insight though.
More unit specific questions, received a couple DMs so far, thanks for the help everyone

[Scheindogg]

Thanks to everyone to have DMd me so far. Still have a couple questions for ppl with experience in a certain unit up there. Thanks

[bhawley76]

If you have ever been to a Seahawks game, that will give you an idea of how many people you will run across. get as far from the roads as you can and you be able to avoid the crowds.

[Scheindogg]

That’s what I keep hearing, haha!

Thanks for the advice 

[hunter399]

Can't help if you don't spit a gmu or some kind of area.
Advice is spot on so far.
Good luck.!

[Jimmer]

If you have ever been to a Seahawks game, that will give you an idea of how many people you will run across. get as far from the roads as you can and you be able to avoid the crowds.

I have more than 15sq. miles behind my property that is open to the public and last year was the first person in many years I have seen another hunter.. Why??, because it’s walk in only.

[CAMPMEAT]

I’m  a pretty novice hunter but have spent some time up there.  I probably have more questions than anyone.  Public land can be pretty thick, a lot is close to roads so even when you think your “off trail” 4 wheelers go blasting by.  A lot of deer but finding a spot to pattern a buck constantly takes time and then come oct pressure will move them around. 


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I've seen more animals on my 4 wheeler than I have walking. I lived there for 16 years.

[Jimmer]

I’m  a pretty novice hunter but have spent some time up there.  I probably have more questions than anyone.  Public land can be pretty thick, a lot is close to roads so even when you think your “off trail” 4 wheelers go blasting by.  A lot of deer but finding a spot to pattern a buck constantly takes time and then come oct pressure will move them around. 


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I've seen more animals on my 4 wheeler than I have walking. I lived there for 16 years.

More animals sure, but quality bucks I doubt. No offense.

[Mudman]

They smart critters.  We have seen some great bucks in the 101 but its a glimpse at night mostly.  Only 1 of us ever got a shot off hunting, a miss.  Game pics prove they are up there.  Just avoid wolves and get isolated away from roads in dense draws it seems.??  Of course that was in Sept so pretty difficult.

[CAMPMEAT]

I’m  a pretty novice hunter but have spent some time up there.  I probably have more questions than anyone.  Public land can be pretty thick, a lot is close to roads so even when you think your “off trail” 4 wheelers go blasting by.  A lot of deer but finding a spot to pattern a buck constantly takes time and then come oct pressure will move them around. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've seen more animals on my 4 wheeler than I have walking. I lived there for 16 years.

More animals sure, but quality bucks I doubt. No offense.

There was no mention of quality bucks, so your answer is mute..

[Mudman]

Define quality! Horns are horns.  But they are hard to chew!   They are there, all I can say.

[Jimmer]

I’m  a pretty novice hunter but have spent some time up there.  I probably have more questions than anyone.  Public land can be pretty thick, a lot is close to roads so even when you think your “off trail” 4 wheelers go blasting by.  A lot of deer but finding a spot to pattern a buck constantly takes time and then come oct pressure will move them around. 


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I've seen more animals on my 4 wheeler than I have walking. I lived there for 16 years.

More animals sure, but quality bucks I doubt. No offense.

There was no mention of quality bucks, so your answer is mute..

My bad.. “animals” it is carefully on the hair pin turns, a lot of hunters out there.

[Scheindogg]

Just have a question about some of the campsites in 117, let me know if any of you have experience there. Thanks.

[slowhand]

Tag

[huntnnw]

always cracks  me up how every piece of state land is a zoo.. Somehow I can manage to hunt and very rarely see anyone

[bearpaw]

The northeast is home to most of the units with the highest deer harvest in the state. 121 and 124, usually the two highest producing deer units in WA both have large human populations but whitetail thrive in close proximity to humans. 117 is also very good and has more public accessible land than 121 or 124. Yes there are a lot of hunters in all of the NE, there are also a lot of deer. With whitetail it's not imperative that you hike for miles into roadless areas to find deer or even big bucks. I honestly think more whitetail live in close proximity to humans than in remote country, just hunt smart and find the little hiding spots other hunters miss. Almost all areas hold deer in the NE, just make sure you are hunting areas that are not posted, you should have a reasonable chance of taking a deer no matter what unit or area you hunt.

This talk about hunter density reminds me of another issue, the roadless and wilderness issue. If the state and USFS continue to reduce access by closing and/or removing roads, and by designating more roadless areas, you will see hunter density increase dramatically in the areas that can still be accessed by most hunters. This is one of the main reasons I support the current access and road systems that we have and oppose the creation of additional wilderness/roadless areas.

Another thing I'll mention, it seems to me there are only about half as many hunters during the early general season. During late buck is when we get the biggest influx of hunters from all over the state. We actually kill bucks the entire season, early and late, yes I have access to a lot of private land, but we also kill some of our deer on public lands during both early and late seasons. My personal largest whitetail was killed on public accessible land on the second weekend of the early season in an area that gets a ton of public hunting pressure, the tactic I used was to get back into the brushiest overlooked spot that most hunters were driving past on their way to hunt big logging cuts, I killed that buck at about 11am on a Saturday, he was with two other very large bucks that were all bedded down together. Additionally, if you want to hunt mule deer in the NE you will have to hunt during the early season, the late season is whitetail only.

Good luck, I hope some of this info helps.

[CAMPMEAT]

I’m  a pretty novice hunter but have spent some time up there.  I probably have more questions than anyone.  Public land can be pretty thick, a lot is close to roads so even when you think your “off trail” 4 wheelers go blasting by.  A lot of deer but finding a spot to pattern a buck constantly takes time and then come oct pressure will move them around. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've seen more animals on my 4 wheeler than I have walking. I lived there for 16 years.

More animals sure, but quality bucks I doubt. No offense.

There was no mention of quality bucks, so your answer is mute..

My bad.. “animals” it is carefully on the hair pin turns, a lot of hunters out there.

No problem......