49 degrees north late rifle WT permit

[vandeman17]

Has anyone drawn this tag? I have hunted the unit since I was little, both rifle and archery and know that it seems like the last few days of late general rifle, the rut is kicking into gear and going full by late archery. Those 5 days days between seasons with a rifle in hand could be pretty good but not sure its worth it

[Buckhunter24]

I have not hunted the tag, but have spent time in the unit in the woods around Thanksgiving week. Definitely a good chance to get a mature buck with those dates. How many points do you have? It looks like avg points to draw last year was 13, if I had that many points I would probably look at other hunts myself. That said I don't think it would be a waste of points because its primetime for whitetail and you'd have virtually no one else hunting there

[vandeman17]

I have not hunted the tag, but have spent time in the unit in the woods around Thanksgiving week. Definitely a good chance to get a mature buck with those dates. How many points do you have? It looks like avg points to draw last year was 13, if I had that many points I would probably look at other hunts myself. That said I don't think it would be a waste of points because its primetime for whitetail and you'd have virtually no one else hunting there

I have 15 points

[Ridgerunner]

Primetime for whitetails, wish I lived closer, if you had good intel I think it could be worth the points. 

[vandeman17]

Primetime for whitetails, wish I lived closer, if you had good intel I think it could be worth the points.

I know the unit well and have killed a lot of deer in there in the last 25 years. Those 5 days with nobody in the woods, rut kicking into gear and a rifle in hand could be fun

[MtnMuley]

It would have been a lot better hunt had WDFW not dropped the minimum point restriction a couple years back.

[trophyhunt]

Quality or buck permit?

[hunter399]

It would have been a lot better hunt had WDFW not dropped the minimum point restriction a couple years back.

Agreed
X10

[hunter399]

Primetime for whitetails, wish I lived closer, if you had good intel I think it could be worth the points.

I know the unit well and have killed a lot of deer in there in the last 25 years. Those 5 days with nobody in the woods, rut kicking into gear and a rifle in hand could be fun

Ya but every deer in the woods has been extremely spooked for many days.
It's your quality permit ,If you draw it.
And yes I've seen some big ones right after season closes .But rut or not they don't stand around long ,be quick on the gun and get yourself a nice one.

[vandeman17]

Quality or buck permit?

Quality.

[bearpaw]

It would have been a lot better hunt had WDFW not dropped the minimum point restriction a couple years back.

  and if there was better predator management

But this tag is still probably one of the best chances to take a nice mature whitetail in WA. 

[vandeman17]

I did kill this buck last season on opening morning of late rifle. Would gladly kill one similar with a permit in hand

[dlabelle0609]

The biggest issue, like one commented already, is the amount of hunting pressure before this raffle hunt would take place. The last few years, the amount of road hunting pressure has been insane. I also have hunted this unit for 25+ years and dont know if I would use a Quality tag on this hunt. Definitely potential to get a mature buck, but everyone and their brother hunts the late season in 49 degrees north and the Aladdin units. I wish they would go back to 4 point minimum, when they had that, the amount of branch antler bucks was on the rise, but once turned back to any buck, the hunting pressure and small deer getting shot has skyrocketed. Plus, id love to be able to hunt wolves in this unit as well. That number is on the rise as well!


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[dlabelle0609]

I did kill this buck last season on opening morning of late rifle. Would gladly kill one similar with a permit in hand

Nice buck. That deer would be shot with any tag!


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[bearpaw]

That's a nice buck, congrats, but there is potential for much nicer bucks too, there's just not as many deer as there used to be. But, that's also a problem in much of the state. 

[vandeman17]

That's a nice buck, congrats, but there is potential for much nicer bucks too, there's just not as many deer as there used to be. But, that's also a problem in much of the state. 

I was actually surprised how many deer we had on our camera in a one week soak in this spot. Two cameras about 300 yards apart had 10 different bucks and numerous does/yearlings. With that said, I agree in potential for bigger bucks and there aren't as many deer overall as in the past.

[buckfvr]

I did kill this buck last season on opening morning of late rifle. Would gladly kill one similar with a permit in hand

Don't need the permit to kill bucks like that, heck, those can be had in October.  Hard concept for most to grasp, but you cant kill a big mature if you keep killing bucks like that.  Provided your goal is a big mature, otherwise, great meat buck for sure, even better had you waited til the end of the season.

[dmoua]

Worth it in my opinion. Hopefully it'll go back to 4pt min in the future.

[vandeman17]

That’s a shooter!

[OutHouse]

Vandeman how old do you think that buck is that you posted in this thread? Great buck by the way

[vandeman17]

Vandeman how old do you think that buck is that you posted in this thread? Great buck by the way

My guess would be 3.5-4.5 based on body size/build and teeth condition

[OutHouse]

Vandeman how old do you think that buck is that you posted in this thread? Great buck by the way

My guess would be 3.5-4.5 based on body size/build and teeth condition

Interesting. Hard for me to judge whitetail age. I read an article chronicling the growth of a buck over its lifetime and was surprised to see its peak antlers were at age 6 or so. I figured it would be around 4 but am no expert. I say go for it you'll probably nail a monster and then we can see it on here hopefully!