First ever tag- ritzville buck

[notellumcreek]

I almost was starting to think there was no way drawing a special hunt tag was real until I got the official “selected”. excited to hopefully put down my first muley. I have a few private places that should be lined up come season. Any input on how to hunt the area or just some success stories would be appreciated! I will keep everyone posted come season if I am successful. Congrats to all the other tag holders and good luck!

[NRA4LIFE]

If you got private lined up in that unit, you're half way there.

[blackdog]

Got my buck when I hunted it.

[outdooraddict]

congrats on this tag, i really really really want this one lol.

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

Congrats man!  I was able to draw the late Archery version of this tag, so the hunt is December 1-18th.  I'll try to line up some private in the meantime.

My plan is to do some scouting on some of the public areas and get some new glass (old binos)  Find the highest hill in the area and sit and watch.  Come December the deer will be acting a little different than August.  Might hunt it a bit in early September to see what's up but I also drew a early cow tag on the Turnbull so I wanna focus on that one pretty hard.  Any way, best of luck to everyone out there this season. 

[swanderek]

My dad had that tag last year.
We hunted south of Ritzville and hunted later in the season. We saw lots of rut activity.
The good: lots of deer and lots of bucks.
The bad: The area we hunted is also hunted very hard during the normal
Seasons, meaning we saw a lot of spikes and 2 points.
Mature sized deer were much harder to find and when we did, they were all on the leased land from the hunting club down there.

[MeepDog]

Is there a lot of resident deer around ritzville or are they all part of the washtucna herd? The big herd moves a long ways so you might see 2x the deer in the late season.

[trophyhunt]

Tough to find a nicer guy than this one, best of luck to you Hank, I hope you find the one!!  And if anyone has reservations about helping this kid, he's earned my respect!!  I hope our mutual friend comes through for you on some private ground!

[ThurstonCokid]

Sweet tag imo. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Buck Rub Jr]

Hank I hope you shoot right over the back of a big 4pt and tip over a spike. I’m not jealous.

[bigmacc]

That’s a great tag, especially if you have some private lined up.👍

[notellumcreek]

Tough to find a nicer guy than this one, best of luck to you Hank, I hope you find the one!!  And if anyone has reservations about helping this kid, he's earned my respect!!  I hope our mutual friend comes through for you on some private ground!

Jerry I truly appreciate the kind words.
I’ve tried to keep up with helping people like I was able to for you and your wife but with kids coming into the picture the last few years it’s been hard to get out a lot.

Hank I hope you shoot right over the back of a big 4pt and tip over a spike. I’m not jealous.

It’s probably gonna turn into a reality with my shooting skills 

My dad had that tag last year.
We hunted south of Ritzville and hunted later in the season. We saw lots of rut activity.
The good: lots of deer and lots of bucks.
The bad: The area we hunted is also hunted very hard during the normal
Seasons, meaning we saw a lot of spikes and 2 points.
Mature sized deer were much harder to find and when we did, they were all on the leased land from the hunting club down there.

Did your dad end up getting one? I’m planning on being there every weekend of the season and hoping that some of those mature bucks start popping up and running around a little more the later it gets.

[swanderek]

Yes took some time and like.
Average sized mule deer

[HntnFsh]

Congrats man!  I was able to draw the late Archery version of this tag, so the hunt is December 1-18th.  I'll try to line up some private in the meantime.

My plan is to do some scouting on some of the public areas and get some new glass (old binos)  Find the highest hill in the area and sit and watch.  Come December the deer will be acting a little different than August.  Might hunt it a bit in early September to see what's up but I also drew a early cow tag on the Turnbull so I wanna focus on that one pretty hard.  Any way, best of luck to everyone out there this season.

A guy on Ifish has a set of new Nikon Monarch M7s I think 10x42. for $300. Good glass for a smokin deal.

Unless you are thinking about moving up a notch or 2 from there.

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

Congrats man!  I was able to draw the late Archery version of this tag, so the hunt is December 1-18th.  I'll try to line up some private in the meantime.

My plan is to do some scouting on some of the public areas and get some new glass (old binos)  Find the highest hill in the area and sit and watch.  Come December the deer will be acting a little different than August.  Might hunt it a bit in early September to see what's up but I also drew a early cow tag on the Turnbull so I wanna focus on that one pretty hard.  Any way, best of luck to everyone out there this season.

A guy on Ifish has a set of new Nikon Monarch M7s I think 10x42. for $300. Good glass for a smokin deal.

Unless you are thinking about moving up a notch or 2 from there.

Was thinking of going Vortex because of the guarantee I heard about. Any other ideas? Thanks for the tip though I might be interested great price!

[HntnFsh]

Love my Meopta Meostar B.1s 10x42. Lot of people would put them right up there With top tier glass.

I also think if you could find a pair of Nikon Monarch hg I think you would be extremely happy. Sometimes you can find them used for $5-600.

The Vortex warranty is nice but there is a lot of good glass with good warranties. Have heard many times that it good that Vortex has such a hood warranty because there's a good chance you will need it.

[blindluck]

Come on y’all, let’s see some success pictures.

[bman940]

I'd definitely take the Meopta Meostar B1 Plus 10x42's, but if I hadn't yet made a purchase,I'd take and I did, the MeoStar B1 Plus 12X50 HD. As someone who has hunted the big open country of Eastern Oregon, it's nice to get as good a look as possible before you start what could be a long stalk. A decent spotter would be nice as well. Best of luck and I'm sure we will be hearing about your hunt.

[dvolmer]

My son a few years back late season Ritzville. 2012 or 2013

[Jimmy33]

My son a few years back late season Ritzville.

Nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dvolmer]

My daughter in 2015 late buck Ritzville.  Not a monster (3x3) but she only had one day to hunt. A baby back at home.

[dvolmer]

Ritzville late buck tag is a decent buck tag but nothing all that great. I have never had the tag but my son, daughter, brother, and hunting partner have all drawn the tag in the past.  It has been 6 years since we last had it so maybe something wonderful has happened since then.  If you have nice private property to hunt then it could be possibly real good.  Another option is to try and pay an access fee for some good hunting land from some of the hunting clubs that have literally taken over most of the good hunting ground around Washtucna and Hooper.  If you are a DIY hunter hunting on public ground you probably will be let down.  It's easy to get a buck because the tag is for "any buck" and spikes and two points will be easy to find even on public property.  But good quality 4 points and bigger will be very hard to come by.  With the four tags we have drawn we have shot a 4 point, two 3 points, and one 2 point.  We did have permission to hunt some private.  I hunted all over the Hooper area for many years in the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's.  Every ranch that I used to hunt have had the old ranchers pass away and the kids have put them all in hunting clubs.  Like i said, it is a decent tag but nothing great in my opinion.  Lots of the hunting by written permission landowners will not return your calls or let you hunt because they are just using the game dept to post their land for free.  It amazes me the drawing odds and the number of applicants that apply for it.  Good luck on your hunt.  I don't mean to be negative, just realistic and honest.  If you can get permission to hunt on Beckly's, Blankenship's, Gray's, Clinesmith's, or the Bar-U ranch it would be a real good hunt.  Make sure when you ask for permission that they know you are hunting a late hunt after the regular season is over.  That might get them to listen to you longer.  You probably will have to pay for access but you might get lucky.

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

I almost was starting to think there was no way drawing a special hunt tag was real until I got the official “selected”. excited to hopefully put down my first muley. I have a few private places that should be lined up come season. Any input on how to hunt the area or just some success stories would be appreciated! I will keep everyone posted come season if I am successful. Congrats to all the other tag holders and good luck!

Hi just wondering if you had an update on this tag, scouting or otherwise. I’ve got the late bow tag so kinda gettin pumped to go kill a big 2!