What happened to pearrygin and okanogan deer hunting

[NOCK NOCK]

Wdfw makes way too much $$$ to ever dump multi tags. Think about it, they invest nothing and collect whatever price they put on it. Too easy of a source of income to waste. Sad days we live in

It could be done if alternate funding was supplied. Would have to do the math but,
1. reduce # of available permits, then increase cost of ones left to = same $amount

2. Completely do away with multi, increase all other fees across the board to make up the loss. Guessing this would be a very minor increase if spread out thru all users/fees.

[bigmacc]

I try to stay out of these discussions,  but one of the biggest predators is the hunter.  Before WW2 almost every hunter had open sights, 150 yard shots were long ones.  Then after the war hunters started showing up with scopes on their rifles, fast forward to today, every body has a scope and lot's of them use phones, radios to communicate with their partners.  Now they brag about 500 yard shots.  So the deer used to have a 350 yard more or less safe zone that they don't have today.
Is there any body on here that remembers the game reserves they used to have?  8 mile, including falls creek was no hunting.

I 100% agree with the whole technology part of Idabooners statement here, more and more advantages are being offered to hunters nowadays, I killed my 1st buck with a 6mm with a 4 power weaver scope scope while using a set of 8-35 Sears binos. I do have a better pair of binos nowadays but still use the 4 power scope on a pre 64 270 that was owned by my great grandpa, I don't wear camo, use scent stuff, own a range finder, spotting scope, walkie talkies and I got my first I phone 2 years ago(because my wife made me ) but it is not used while hunting except for an emergency, yep, I,m old school and it hasn't hurt my hunting one bit, I,ve killed 56 Methow bucks, 1 every year  that I,ve had a license and tag in my pocket and have only taken 2 shots over 300 yards, the only 2 years I haven't killed a buck is the last 2 and thats because I did not buy a tag(my little protest ). I AM NOT knocking anyone who does use technology, I,m just agreeing with the point Idabooner was making about how the scale has been tipped for the hunter COMPARED to what it once was....... Yes I also remember my dad talking about the "safety zones" that were set up back in the day to protect those huge migrations, he told me once that he and grandpa went up on 8 mile in a certain spot they knew of, they packed some sandwiches and some apple juice and left their rifles at camp. Huge storm had hit 3 days prior, my dad said they got up into "this spot" at daylight, after about an hour he said you could hear them coming down, walking in the crunchy snow. My dad said they were a mile away at least but in the quietness you could hear them moving there were that many. About 3 hours later my grandpa and my dad had seen over 3000 deer come down that route, dad said it got to the point they couldn't keep counting, he said a few hundred were bucks with many, many real monsters, until the day my dad passed a few years ago, he said it was the biggest migration herd he had ever seen over there. He and grandpa went back to camp with the "report" and they came up with the plan for the next day. They knew of 2 different places these deer would show up once they crossed the Chewuch, they had some family members and some friends go into one of the areas at about 3 hours before daylight and had some other family and friends go into another area, guessing the herd would split when they crossed the river which 9 times out of 10 they did. Once across the river, one route would take some deer a little to the north and east then they would make a right turn and head south, the other route was almost an immediate right turn after crossing the river and maybe traveling just short of a mile going east, once split each route would end up on different parts of the "winter range" over 10 mile apart. My great grandparents had this particular route coming out of 8 mile figured out like clockwork going back to the early 1920,s and knew exactly the areas where the majority would settle in for the winter. Well, by dark everyone had made it back to camp and 27 deer were on the ridge pole(I posted the picture on here a few years ago and pulled it down), my dad was with my mom posted on the 2nd route and said the trail they were watching had about 800 come through with around 150 of those being bucks of all sizes.  Later in my dads life (after the North Cascades pass opened in the mid 70,s) when more and more people(and hunters) were discovering the Methow he was actually instrumental with getting a lot of the gates we see nowadays put up. He spent hours and hours in meetings, on rides and in conversation with many different folks from all levels of the Department of Game. He told them that if a lot of these roads were left accessible along with the influx of all the new hunters along with there trailers, motorhomes etc. it was going to be inevitable that traditional migration routes were going to be disrupted by folks with huge "trailer parks" camped within them and deer would absolutely be slaughtered, back then the seasons were still open into the 1st week of November. I told a few stories on here about guys killing bucks from their campfires while siting in lawn chairs sipping on whiskey, while a hundred deer would cross a road less than a hundred yards from them. They started putting up gates a few years later. Many of the gates you see nowadays in the north valley are gates my dad pointed and said"heres a spot that should have one". I am very proud of what my dad did for his beloved Methow mule deer. He caught a lot of flack from "lazy hunters" (he called them) but once he explained things most folks were on board......As far as we as hunters nowadays loosing our seasons to draw only, limited tags, shortened seasons etc. in certain areas, I have always said something needs to be done, I like the every other year idea in some of the "premier" units, based on the odd-even scenario based on the last digit of your wild ID, it immediately cuts the pressure in half within those units. Cut out all doe tags, multi season tags and late hunts within those units but also open those units to 2 weeks again for those who get to hunt them that year, always ending on the 31st of October. Speaking for myself, I would be willing to pay extra for my lic. and tag that year I was able to hunt that particular "premier unit" because I know I would be seeing quality animals with half the people. That being said, I don't think we as hunters should go along with any cutbacks unless the predator issues are addressed and something is done to decrease the problem, I think it should be a "partnership" and a little give and take from each side, hunters and WDFW, both should work together. There I go again, I still remember the Department of Game

[buckfvr]

People.......not just hunters ruined the Methow, same as most other winter ranges across the west. 

WDFW needs to quit managing people and their money, and focus on managing wildlife correctly......scientifically.......not politically.

[mountainman]

I agree they should be gone as well.  I also think it contributes to "slob" hunting, people hunting with a method they arent proficient with.   I hate to take away opportunity, but on the flip, using archery or muzzel used to be away to avoid the crowd possibly having a better hunting experience.  I also agree I dont see them losing the cash

I remember when you could hunt all 3 seasons without a special permit..

[buckfvr]

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I remember when you could hunt all 3 seasons without a special permit..
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There is that also.........sure seems like current wdfw management practices cram too many folks into small windows of opportunity with low likelyhood of success.

[bigmacc]

People.......not just hunters ruined the Methow, same as most other winter ranges across the west. 

WDFW needs to quit managing people and their money, and focus on managing wildlife correctly......scientifically.......not politically.

Been saying that for years, 1975 is when it slowly started, can't tell you how many out of state/anti hunting folks have set up shop here, most, not all but most of the "old guard" has left us or moved out. As far as "managing wildlife correctly", I,m afraid that won't happen unless they form a Department of Game again, that their number one priority is our "Game" which I don't ever see happening because of this states politics, unfortunately I think all we can hope for is to find some middle ground and have some give and take from both sides to try to improve hunting and opportunity, I don't agree that we should give up everything as hunters, this predator issue(especially cougars and bears) needs to be addressed and addressed aggressively, especially in areas that populations are booming and they have made obvious dents in game herds(I am only talking Methow here, thats what the topic is), as far as wolves, unless something is addressed about their growing numbers and territory in the Methow by the WDFW I,m afraid this could be the final nail. I told it here a month or so ago, we seen a ton of UCARS(white rigs with UCAR decals on the side) going up and down the north valley this year, they were traveling in 2-3 rig convoys, we were told they were in charge of checking traps etc., we ran into numerous signs(some 3-4 miles in) telling folks to keep their dogs on leash, "traps were set in the area that attracts canines"....HMMM, boy they sure take care of them, like I said, the deer herd has slid way down the ladder as far as priorities.

[boneaddict]

I agree they should be gone as well.  I also think it contributes to "slob" hunting, people hunting with a method they arent proficient with.   I hate to take away opportunity, but on the flip, using archery or muzzel used to be away to avoid the crowd possibly having a better hunting experience.  I also agree I dont see them losing the cash

I remember when you could hunt all 3 seasons without a special permit..

I know, I remember being excited when we got that opportunity back.      The herd has slid several rungs down the ladder since then

[bigmacc]

Just a little add on to the story I shared up above about one of the migration routes we know of. There are actually a few different staging areas in this turf, all at different elevations, up until 25 or so years ago I remember going into these staging areas and seeing hundreds of deer just milling around, one area would be full of does and small yearlings, another would have some small bucks and does and another area would have bigger bucks and does, it truly was something to see. After a few days(depending on weather) they would all eventually meet and form a huge herd that was on the move to get from point A to point B. I believe it was in the early 70,s   when my dad and I went into these areas and counted around 900 during the 2nd week of November, the weather had been spitting and sputtering for a few days but nothing to really kick them in the butt and bunch them up to move out. The season had already ended and we were just there to do our counts. About a day or two later the weather turned and a cold, cold wind came out of the Frazier in Canada, the temps dropped to below zero but no snow. My dad said we would go a little farther north and hike into a different route that brought deer in from Canada, he said they would be on the move before the others but he said in about 2 days we would go to a spot by the river and he predicted there would be something that would be very rare to see and something I would never forget, he said these 2 different groups were "going to have a collision" right in a particular spot of the Chewuch river. We went up north (about 16-17 miles and sure as could be we ran into about 700 head that were just strolling, we watched them for about 2 hours and then hiked back out. My dad said the herds in the staging areas that we had already found were going to start bunching up and would probably be moving within the next day or two and he had it pin pointed where the "wreck" was going to happen. A couple days later we were purched on a rock bluff looking down at the river about 400 yards below us, we watched for a few hours, nothing. My dad said "It'll happen by noon, if not, you can sue me" . Well about eleven or eleven thirty(all I know it was before noon) we spotted the 8 mile herd working its way down a little ridge counted it at around 950, about 10 minutes later we seen the Canadiens moving in from the north, we actually counted them at around 500(we figured some had split off and took another route). We watched as both herds got real nervous as they got closer and closer, it was actually 2-3 hours before they all hit that spot at the river, bunched up together and crossed the Chewuch to go on their way to the winter range, it really was something to see and I only seen it that one time. My dad knew exactly where those herds would cross and the miles and miles and days each herd had to get to that spot was a long shot to predict to say the least, well he missed it by a couple hours, I didn't sue him but was impressed to say the least . We still go into these "areas" but nothing or the numbers have been seen like that since, the most we have seen was a couple hundred or so back in the 90,s and it has gotten worse every year since. Seeing triple digit head counts in these migration routes nowadays is unheard of. Once again, I feel very blessed and fortunate to have experienced what I have but with that comes the sadness I feel for what it has become.

[boneaddict]

That would have been amazing. 

[mossback91]

I always dreamed of drawing the pearrygin late tag.....haven’t put in for it in years now sadly. Sad to see the decline in deer even in the years I hunted as I’m a lot younger than many posting on here. I truly believe social media has impacted these hunting areas also....see more and more people show up in areas that there was hardly ever another soul besides myself. I wouldn’t mind seeing many of the mule deer units going to draw only hunts.

[bigmacc]

That would have been amazing.

It really was bone, I had goosebumps just typing it. It was a treat to see and it was a treat watching and listening to my dad figuring the whole ordeal out, he really was an amazing "deer man" and he really cared about that herd.

[no.cen.wa]

Thanks bigmacc, your stories always paint an amazing picture in my mind!
  Thanks again,
John G

[Skyvalhunter]

That would have been amazing.

Yea and in the same token disappointing that it has come to this!!

[boneaddict]

I know!   I've seen some amazing migration stuff myself, even been in the middle of them several times.   I'm not seeing any of that activity anymore.   

[huntnnw]

I always dreamed of drawing the pearrygin late tag.....haven’t put in for it in years now sadly. Sad to see the decline in deer even in the years I hunted as I’m a lot younger than many posting on here. I truly believe social media has impacted these hunting areas also....see more and more people show up in areas that there was hardly ever another soul besides myself. I wouldn’t mind seeing many of the mule deer units going to draw only hunts.

as much as the general season guys would push back on this its what needs to be done to start trying to save some deer.