2018 seems very lean

[Karl Blanchard]

I think we are mostly on the same page my friend and even though I heartily disagree with you about fire suppression your points are all spot on.  Even with all of those plans in place I would still want a permit system.   

Another thing I don't get is the thought that somehow these established camps that have been hunting for Generations would just stop because only half the guys in Camp had tags. I know that if my old man had a deer tag and I didn't I would still be going because I love the hunt. Many other states successfully run draw only systems. I would love to have over-the-counter hunting everywhere but it's just not reality. We've had over the counter hunting since I've been alive and it's not working. We have to actively start attacking these different aspects of management if we want our grandchildren to hunt mule deer in Washington.

Correct me if i'm wrong but aren't we pretty much the only mule deer state with untlimited tags? Off the top of my head it seems like every other state has some sort of quota, cap, or controlled draw in place.

Montana.  They manage for opportunity vs trophy potential in general.  You can hunt mule deer in the rut with a rifle every year if you are a resident and just about every year as a non-resident.

theres still a quota on NR tags and the population to animal ratio can sustain the limited amount of resident harvest.  I'm not up on my MT stats but they used to have more deer than people

[jjhunter]

I’ve only gone on one of my 4 deer hunts for the year so I can’t speak from direct experience, but this is as slow a year as I can remember across the West.

We’ll see how things finish out down the stretch.

[M_ray]

I think we are mostly on the same page my friend and even though I heartily disagree with you about fire suppression your points are all spot on.  Even with all of those plans in place I would still want a permit system.   

Another thing I don't get is the thought that somehow these established camps that have been hunting for Generations would just stop because only half the guys in Camp had tags. I know that if my old man had a deer tag and I didn't I would still be going because I love the hunt. Many other states successfully run draw only systems. I would love to have over-the-counter hunting everywhere but it's just not reality. We've had over the counter hunting since I've been alive and it's not working. We have to actively start attacking these different aspects of management if we want our grandchildren to hunt mule deer in Washington.

Correct me if i'm wrong but aren't we pretty much the only mule deer state with untlimited tags? Off the top of my head it seems like every other state has some sort of quota, cap, or controlled draw in place.

Montana.  They manage for opportunity vs trophy potential in general.  You can hunt mule deer in the rut with a rifle every year if you are a resident and just about every year as a non-resident.

Yeah but your leaving out that Montana has a quota cap, it’s not open to the whole world. You still have to be drawn for the opportunity. So yeah WA is the only western state with the flood gates wide open.   

[NOCK NOCK]

@NOCK NOCK in regards to your question on whether or not I would be as for restricting hunting if I was not successful I'm feeling tags my honest answer is I do not know. I invest far more time into trying to understand mule deer thena lot of folks and all that time investment is probably why I feel so strongly about this. Perhaps if I hadn't made it such an important thing in my life maybe I would feel differently.  I just know that if in some hypothetical world were at the snap of a finger I can never hunt again I would still be out there watching mule deer.

Totally agree. I eat sleep and breathe hunting, even got married in my old elk camp....wearing dressy camo.  funny but true.
In fact I will be out tomorrow, watching deer, just for the fun of it.

@bigmacc  I think my feelings/beliefs are very very similar to you and others on here, I just want to "start the puzzle" with different pieces than others.

Glad ya'll didn't totally blast me  LOL

[bigmacc]

@NOCK NOCK in regards to your question on whether or not I would be as for restricting hunting if I was not successful I'm feeling tags my honest answer is I do not know. I invest far more time into trying to understand mule deer thena lot of folks and all that time investment is probably why I feel so strongly about this. Perhaps if I hadn't made it such an important thing in my life maybe I would feel differently.  I just know that if in some hypothetical world were at the snap of a finger I can never hunt again I would still be out there watching mule deer.

Totally agree. I eat sleep and breathe hunting, even got married in my old elk camp....wearing dressy camo.  funny but true.
In fact I will be out tomorrow, watching deer, just for the fun of it.

@bigmacc  I think my feelings/beliefs are very very similar to you and others on here, I just want to "start the puzzle" with different pieces than others.

Glad ya'll didn't totally blast me  LOL

All due respect,   All due respect .........We need to meet up one day.

[heavyhorned]

i find this interesting. isn't hunting about finding that trophy every year? is it not as a hunter to pass on small animals to at least try and let them get bigger? is it not the hunt and the time hunting/scouting that make it memorable? so i guess what i am getting at is if we as hunters dont try something ie ( control predators, limit tags, or even pass on small legal animals) we wont have hunting memories or stories just camping memories and stories. when i saw this thread and replied i was interested in if others had ideas on what we as hunters might be able to do. for me i am not going to call anyone up and wine about how they are miss managing the deer. god know i am not an expert. but the one thing i can do is go hunt coyotes, get a cougar tag and a bear tag and at least try and help. i past on three small legal bucks this year with no regret. i helped one young lady take one of those small bucks for her first. i loved every minute of it and felt i was rewarded by watching my wife take a really nice 4x4 for her first deer. i wish this thread was more about what others might try and do and not so much about trying to explain to me what hunting means. so to all of you out there on this thread GO GET THAT TROPHY. no matter how big or how small it is. sorry my rant is over.

[The Marquis]

I prefer food to trophy. 

[Rainier10]

Either guys aren’t sharing their success or it was a bleak year out there.........it’s more quiet than normal around here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe some guys or kids are waiting to fill their late tags.

[Seabass]

I might enjoy scouting more than the hunt it's self...it's at least a tie. I am a self proclaimed WT junkie. I have only hunted MD twice in my life...both times in WY. I have ZERO opinion on the current state of affairs when it comes to MD or BT in our state. I believe we have a MD haven't the foggiest notion how to fix it. My guess is the solution wouldn't be popular by most.

To answer the OP....2018 does seem lean...at least where I hunt WT.

I had a feeling this year could be tough. Most years I find 2, sometimes 3 bucks that to me, are "no-doubter's". If they show, I'm shooting. Normally, there are 4-5 more that are getting close and only need a year or two to make the list.

Last year I had 4 "no-doubter's" on camera....all of which I had hunted or had pics of for multiple years. One of them was WAY past his prime (I expect he's dead), Two were both at least 6.5 years old and the fourth that was making the list for the first year. I found him in 2015 as a 3.5 y/o 6x5 with trashy brow tines. Last year he was a real stud!

On the last day of the season I was fortunate enough to kill one of the 4 (albeit the least interesting of the 4). The bummer about last season was that there were no "next year" bucks in terms of up and comer's. I had no bucks in that 3.5-4.5 y/o class.

Last week I pulled 3 cameras from my best areas and had ZERO bucks that I would even consider pulling back on.