Washington Mule Deer

[Miles]

Washington Mule Deer...

The only state in the west with uncapped OTC general hunt Mule Deer for both RES. and Non Res.                   
 ( Except CA, and TX.) They don't count any way.

You can probably count on both hands how many NR's are pouring into WA to hunt the amazing herds of Mule Deer we obviously must have!

I’ve got one that was worth the price of admission as a non-resident.  I’ve actually thought about going back some day and hunting the same area.  Low pressure, and odds are when you see one it’s going to be big.

[Dan-o]

It must be really bleak where you all hunt.

I routinely see 100-200 mule deer per day.

It can be hard to find any mature bucks,but I'd never considered them as anywhere near a threatened species.

How many mule deer do you see in an average day of deer hunting?

[mburrows]

I'd love to see the state go to a similar type season structure as Colorado, various rifle seasons, various archery seasons, muzzleloader season, etc. vs general over the counter seasons and very few limited entry permits.  Would increase hunt quality and the state wouldnt loose any income and you'd better be able to manage the hunter pressure.  Would also allow people to use their points more often. Just my 

[ThurstonCokid]

First you have to get hunters to ditch all antlerless harvest.
Then protect migration routes and winter grounds with predator hunting that we are currently allowed.

With that said..........................
I do agree Washington needs better predator management ,but Washington is a lost cause in that respect.
I honestly hate the permit idea for all mule deer.
Without major changes for many species, permit only is the future of Washington.
Antlerless permits,all antlerless harvest, should of been gone ten year ago.
ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY 💰
When the resources are dang near endangered species ,then you will get your permit only ,WDFW will be stacking the gold bricks till the last deer is standing.
Deer counts done on private land should be exempt in my opinion. If you did deer counts on public Hunting land ,we would be way below sustainable populations for all deer species. I consider deer on private land to be like an off shore savings account,retirement fund for future generations of hunters.

This is my exact thoughts.. more about protecting the does and protecting wintering grounds. 100% on board with predator management and don’t want to give up our muley season..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MADMAX]

It must be really bleak where you all hunt.

I routinely see 100-200 mule deer per day.

It can be hard to find any mature bucks,but I'd never considered them as anywhere near a threatened species.

How many mule deer do you see in an average day of deer hunting?

Very bleak
We hunt the Methow valley
In the woods 2-5 deer is a good day
Private you see more, but it’s still a shadow of what it once was
Pretty frickin sad but that’s why now we put in for Montana

[idaho guy]

You need to change the mentality of your hunting community. I prefer predator hunting lions,bears, coyotes and wolf. We hunt Idaho and Montana successfully every year for deer and elk but we spend more time killing predators in Idaho than anything. There is an ingrained mentality of hunting deer and elk in most hunters but Washington really is a predator hunting Mecca. I realize you can’t hunt wolves or use hounds on cats but you have probably the best spot and stalk bear hunting and season of any state. I think me and my boy will pay the out of state for bear this year. Washington has to be the best state in the nation to kill a cat without hounds. Coyotes numbers appear to be ridiculously high when I am driving around eastern Washington.Hunt what is in abundance and leave the deer alone or just strictly hunt for only trophy deer and kill the heck out of predators. You are in the best predator hunting in the lower 48 in my opinion. Shift your focus and enjoy. Killing stuff with fangs and claws is more fun and bears and lions taste great 👍

[Dan-o]

It must be really bleak where you all hunt.

I routinely see 100-200 mule deer per day.

It can be hard to find any mature bucks,but I'd never considered them as anywhere near a threatened species.

How many mule deer do you see in an average day of deer hunting?

Very bleak
We hunt the Methow valley
In the woods 2-5 deer is a good day
Private you see more, but it’s still a shadow of what it once was
Pretty frickin sad but that’s why now we put in for Montana

Wow.   Unreal.

Never really hunted the Methow, but have been here 35 years and remember people talking about it as awesome way back.

[ctwiggs1]

It must be really bleak where you all hunt.

I routinely see 100-200 mule deer per day.

It can be hard to find any mature bucks,but I'd never considered them as anywhere near a threatened species.

How many mule deer do you see in an average day of deer hunting?

Very bleak
We hunt the Methow valley
In the woods 2-5 deer is a good day
Private you see more, but it’s still a shadow of what it once was
Pretty frickin sad but that’s why now we put in for Montana

Wow.   Unreal.

Never really hunted the Methow, but have been here 35 years and remember people talking about it as awesome way back.

Dan-O be like “Dude it’s this simple: you buy a Washington tag and then hunt in Idaho.  It’s totally cool. 200-300 deer a day.  They love us over there.  They call us “coasties” as a sign of respect.”

[Skyvalhunter]

Respect? More like a hard slap on the back

[skidynastar33]

Limited draw for mule deer will be the final nail in hunting in this state.
We are already out numbered, out spent,out talked by every user group out there.

Mis management, and the giving up of prime habitat to more mountain bike trails,hikers, and other year round users. Predators all are and will over come mule deer in this state, regardless of a draw.

I use to think that if we shut down hunting for a couple years things would rebound. After this past season with the forest service going around FW and allowing private groups to build miles of Mt Bike trails on ridges that only until last year saw limited traffic. Now groups of 2-20 run these ridges from melt to snow fly hunting season or not. Slopes being opened to more erosion above creeks.

It’s sickening.

Maybe a draw would help if anyone gave a hoot in Management agencies. But they don’t. Hunters have no juice in this state.

Don’t even talk about the other western states in this thread. They are no where even close to the forces at work here against hunting and management. This state is smaller, over populated and doesn’t give a hoot about the 1% or  2% of us that hunt.

The only reason we will still have any hunting at all is there are still hunting camps groups that go every year because well that’s what they do. Once you get your final limited draw those camps will fall away.
And the number of folks on are side will fall by 50% or more.

Those of you will have the woods to yourself, alone, just the predators, tribes and you. No more animals because all the other factors will still be working hard to drive you from the woods.

This sums it up perfectly, don’t try to turn it into the other western states, it’s not possible! It has to be an opportunity state.

[skidynastar33]

We grew up in a hunting camp. Been going since I was born. Now I get that same opportunity with my kids. They have a blast when they go over. My 4 year old can’t wait to hunt. Sure we could go to other places where there are more deer, or bigger deer. But I can never see myself hunting anywhere else. To many memories I look forward to.

Hunting is not about big deer, it’s so much more. That’s why I cringe thinking that opportunity could go away if we couldn’t hunt each year.

Also do you really trust WDFW to manage a permit only system how you want it? News flash you will be complaining the same why on here about how something else needs to change or why isn’t wdfw doing this or that

[bigmacc]

It must be really bleak where you all hunt.

I routinely see 100-200 mule deer per day.

It can be hard to find any mature bucks,but I'd never considered them as anywhere near a threatened species.

How many mule deer do you see in an average day of deer hunting?

Very bleak
We hunt the Methow valley
In the woods 2-5 deer is a good day
Private you see more, but it’s still a shadow of what it once was
Pretty frickin sad but that’s why now we put in for Montana

Wow.   Unreal.

Never really hunted the Methow, but have been here 35 years and remember people talking about it as awesome way back.

Heres a good "look back" at the Methow and what it once was. My cousin who earned numerous degrees from the U.W went to work for Idaho F and G back in the day, worked his way up and had some pretty fancy jobs within IF&G, he was in our Methow camp every year as a non resident, even after retirement and up until his passing, would still hunt Idaho every once in awhile but was in our Methow camp every year, he killed a lot of big Methow bucks. This was back in the 50,s , 60,s and 70,s. My great grandparents had numerous friends from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and even Nevada who would routinely be in camp as non residents, many of those pictures I posted on here years ago. People would come to the Methow to hunt with my great grandparents regularly, this was all pre North Cascade pass when a lot of people who lived in this state had never heard of the Methow Valley let alone "the little town at the end of the road". If my cousin was still alive today, he would tell you he would have put the Methow up against anywhere in Idaho as far as quality and quantity, heard him say it many times, but that was a far different time, a real shame what they let happen to this herd, glad he wasn't here to see it.

[Dan-o]

It must be really bleak where you all hunt.

I routinely see 100-200 mule deer per day.

It can be hard to find any mature bucks,but I'd never considered them as anywhere near a threatened species.

How many mule deer do you see in an average day of deer hunting?

Very bleak
We hunt the Methow valley
In the woods 2-5 deer is a good day
Private you see more, but it’s still a shadow of what it once was
Pretty frickin sad but that’s why now we put in for Montana

Wow.   Unreal.

Never really hunted the Methow, but have been here 35 years and remember people talking about it as awesome way back.

Dan-O be like “Dude it’s this simple: you buy a Washington tag and then hunt in Idaho.  It’s totally cool. 200-300 deer a day.  They love us over there.  They call us “coasties” as a sign of respect.”

Play nice, Curtis!   

Nope.  I  hunt muledeer in Washington,and I typically see 100ish mule deer per hunting day.  I guess that makes it obious that I don't hunt the Methow.

I had one day last year where I saw over 200 deer.   75% of them on........   public land.

But mature bucks sure are hard to come by.....

[Skyvalhunter]

 

[Dan-o]

I'm not sure what you're getting at.

I'm simply comparing experiences hunting mule deer in Wa.