Maps and Strategy

[Magnus]

Good morning everyone! I’m new to the forum and have just gotten out scouting public lands by Lake Whatcom. I’ve noticed the DNR sells quadrangle maps of Wa locations, but does anyone know if these are good enough to use when looking for public lands access? Also is there a simpler way to find a parking spot, hike out and verify you are actually on public land? (GPS device maybe?)

My strategy is to find 2-3 different land sites that I’m familiar with scouting and focus my first weekends trying to get a buck in those locations. Is there a better way to go about planning?

Happy hunting!

[Skyvalhunter]

So if you are in the Lake Whatcom area I take it you found one or many of the gated roads you plan to park at and hike in correct? or will you be hunting a clearcut near a drive in road? There is a fair amount of State land up in that area. You should probably get a map then go check out some areas first. Some might be private with no trespassing. But your best bet is a hike in on a gated road.

[fowl smacker]

OnX will show you boundaries

[Mr Mykiss]

You can probably find a free 30-day trial of onX somewhere out there

[TheStovePipeKid]

I use paper maps during my planning phase at home and use a garmin with the onX chip as well as my phone with the onX app while in the field. If you plan to hunt and scout several times a year having a GPS or phone app with boundaries and landowner info is something I consider essential. I always bring my paper maps to reference at camp as well. Something about handling a paper map and marking it with a real pencil.

[BeerBugler]

I love paper maps but it’s getting very hard to justify there use. As others have said, OnX is the answer your looking for. $15 a month, I  use it almost every day.

[pianoman9701]

I love paper maps but it’s getting very hard to justify there use. As others have said, OnX is the answer your looking for. $15 a month, I  use it almost every day.

Monthly? Is that for a smart phone? Multiple states? I paid $110.00 once for GPS and Basecamp downloads,  and if I feel like I need to update it, $30/year. I haven't yet in 5 years.

[BeerBugler]

Monthly for smartphone, all states

[pianoman9701]

Monthly for smartphone, all states

Are you able to suspend the account during off months?

[BeerBugler]

No idea, I probably use it more in the off season than I do during hunting season. More of a planning tool than a hunting tool for me.

[fishnfur]

Magnus - if you pick a large area of public land, park your rig and go for a hike, there's little chance you're going to hike/hunt your way off public land.  WDFW used to maintain a good mapping tool that was excellent for planning hunts.  I have no idea why they did away with it.  They now have printable maps that show public land if you zoom in.  Combine that with Google Earth and you have enough information to find a few likely looking spots to hunt that are isolated from private lands.  https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/locations/gmu#region4gmu

OnX is in the App Store or online for download and 30 day free trial.  I hunt public and my own private land so I have no need to pay for mapping areas I already know.  This would be a great addition to your arsenal for finding some hunting spots.  Ultimately though, boots on the ground is what gets it done.

[predatorG]

I use ONX for just washington, Which is like 30 bucks a year. I remember cause I saw a charge on my card that confused me in August but then I remembered 

[goldenhtr]

Just used ONX on our Elk hunt and it was only a 7 day free trial. I have the chip in my GPS but wanted to see how it looked on my phone. Prefer the phone BTW.

[Magnus]

Thanks everyone for great tutelage! I found a lot of gated roads on the north side of lake Whatcom but only hiked up the wickersham truck hill road because the others looked to be crossing private lands. I found a couple trails that branched from the main trail and head towards public lands, but I didn’t follow them all the way. On the south east side of the lake, north of Anderson Mtn. I found a great piece of DNR land which i traversed and found no deer. I’m going to add ONX and continuing scouting land for good local hunts. Super motivated to hit the ground running on opening day! Thanks all!

[fishnfur]

Don't forget - finding deer is not paramount in scouting.  Finding fresh sign/evidence of heavy deer use is what you're after.  Lots of tracks, dung, browsed plants, old rubs etc. will tell you more than seeing a couple deer while you're in there.   If you see a huge buck though, give me a call and I'll go check out the area for you and make sure it's OK to spend time there.