Highest deer success rate cross state

[ljsommer]

If you had one week to hunt any state within a 16 hour drive for OTC public land, which state has the highest success rate for deer? Next year my time and funds are going to be more limited and after throwing so much cash at WA this year I am going to need to make my time in the woods count.

Thinking Idaho but that's just based on what forums members have mentioned.

[vandeman17]

with a little bit of leg work and a week of time to hunt, you can have a good amount of success in the northeast corner of wa. Hang cameras, put out a little feed and put stands on most productive spots. Sit a week and you will kill a deer and save on out of state tags

[Stein]

If success means killing a legal deer, you could do that in ID, MT, WY or even WA if you had a week.  Find an area with with ample access, doe legal regs and a relatively high success rate.

I wouldn't look for state level success rates, it will differ dramatically from unit to unit and depends a bunch on what you are willing to shoot.

[ljsommer]

with a little bit of leg work and a week of time to hunt, you can have a good amount of success in the northeast corner of wa. Hang cameras, put out a little feed and put stands on most productive spots. Sit a week and you will kill a deer and save on out of state tags

I don't know anything about how to hunt (well, anything really) muley/whitetail deer. I see some of the eastern units have insane success rates, like upwards of 40% and I assume that's farmland. I know lots of folks are muley crazy but I'd feel like the luckiest man alive to get *any* deer, and a whitetail is great in my books.
Should I be planning some sort of treestand hunt?

Here's why I ask: I think I am realizing that I need to start small and just get a deer, any deer, on the ground. I need a win to reinforce all this time/money/effort.

[Bango skank]

If you just want any deer, id advise against northeast corner, as all doe harvest is done away with.

[ljsommer]

I have a pretty neat climber treestand I've used before for archery on the westside. Even though i didn't see any deer, sitting sunrise to sunset was a really neat experience and I enjoyed my time up there. I imagine I'd enjoy it even more in the beautiful east side of the state.
My favorite hunt thus far has been turkey on the east side, and I didn't see any turkey. I just enjoyed the scenery. It was a big playground.

[vandeman17]

with a little bit of leg work and a week of time to hunt, you can have a good amount of success in the northeast corner of wa. Hang cameras, put out a little feed and put stands on most productive spots. Sit a week and you will kill a deer and save on out of state tags

I don't know anything about how to hunt (well, anything really) muley/whitetail deer. I see some of the eastern units have insane success rates, like upwards of 40% and I assume that's farmland. I know lots of folks are muley crazy but I'd feel like the luckiest man alive to get *any* deer, and a whitetail is great in my books.
Should I be planning some sort of treestand hunt?

Here's why I ask: I think I am realizing that I need to start small and just get a deer, any deer, on the ground. I need a win to reinforce all this time/money/effort.

For whitetail, start hanging cameras and getting feed out in the summer. Explore the area and look for game trails and follow those to either a pinch point or place were multiple trails might converge. From there, either a tree stand or ground blind will work and if you have the patience to sit all day for a week, chances are high at least one buck will cross in front of you.

[ljsommer]

All day I can do....all day for a week sounds a bit more challenging! Is it acceptable to read a kindle while in a treestand?!?
 

[Karl Blanchard]

If you just want to go knock out a buck then go to MT. You have better odds of hitting a buck with your truck in MT then you do of actually killing a deer in WA I joke but ita probably not far off.

[ljsommer]

If you just want to go knock out a buck then go to MT. You have better odds of hitting a buck with your truck in MT then you do of actually killing a deer in WA I joke but ita probably not far off.

That's good info, thanks Karl! The closest I've come to killing a deer was last week when a doe jumped out in front of my truck on Weyco land! How's Montana's seasons? Should I plan on rifle? I've never been to Montana but it's always held a romantic mystery for me as this land of endless outdoor opportunity.

[Karl Blanchard]

Go anytime after the 5th of November with a rifle and hunt eastern montana. Dont even entertain another state. Just save for Montana and go get the monkey off your back. If you draw message me and I can literally tell you where to hunt.

[vandeman17]

Only issue with montana is you still have to draw a deer tag 

[ljsommer]

Oh ok. What's the draw odds like? Anything in particular/location I should be putting in for?
There's a possibility I may have to sit out next year entirely, so if I don't draw that's fine.

[Stein]

I mostly agree with Karl but would shoot for whitetail as there are units in the west side that are less of a drive and high odds.  Look around for harvest stats and cross reference that with public land and Block Management areas.  Most people hunting will not touch a doe and you can go into heavily pressured areas and still round one up.

That said, it's not a cheap endeavor and one of the reasons most people won't shoot a doe.

I would leave the treestand at home, drive and walk.

[vandeman17]

Oh ok. What's the draw odds like? Anything in particular/location I should be putting in for?
There's a possibility I may have to sit out next year entirely, so if I don't draw that's fine.

They are good but not guaranteed. If you didn't draw and bought a point, you would ALMOST be 100% draw for the following year. Nothing particular as you would just want a deer tag. Like Stein said, we hunt an area in Western Montana that has both wt and md but more wt and fill our tags consistently. Its a 4.5 hour drive from wenatchee