First Hunt Spokane Area

[JPOL]

Hi all, new hunter checking in here, looking for some pointers from you all. I'm 44 and not a super experienced hunter, it wasn't a part of my family's life growing up in the south. I have limited experience hunting in Texas, but that was just driving to a tree stand near feeders. I love spending time outdoors, hiking, going out to lakes etc, so I'm looking forward to getting into western style hunting where you hike in and pack out. I've got a 308 bolt action rifle that I plan on getting zeroed in the next week or so. Going to get a pack as well.

The questions- what would you guys recommend as an entry level type of hunt within a few hours of Spokane? I was thinking of trying some of the feel free to hunt type places in the Palouse are but I'm not sure if that's a great idea, or if it would be better to give it a go in the forests up to the north. I'm interested in hunting deer, black bear and maybe elk (I don't really know what to expect). I've never hunted public land so i'm a bit intimidated not knowing the etiquette of walking through someone's area or disturbing others.

Anyway, I would be grateful for any tips of advice for a novice. Thanks in advance!

[johnbmyersii]

Welcome! Step one download the app and subscribe to onX maps, its a service that shows who owns what property and is a good gauge on where the public land is to hunt. Step two pick some areas and scout. Nobody will give up their honey holes but north of Spokane is probably your best bet. Etiquette wise, if someone beats you to a spot then go somewhere else so always be sure you have multiple areas. Give others the respect you'd like to be treated when out hunting but don't always anticipate others returning the favor. Generally the deeper you go off a road the less people. Go have fun and enjoy, there's an endless supply of information on here if you search for what you want. Good luck out there!

[boneaddict]

Deer can be had all around you.   I've seen giant whitetail in the city limits.    Might look at investing in IEP pass.  Just need to find some access somewhere and you have the chance at great whitetail hunting all around you.   Lots of bear up north of you, towards chewelah etc.   Elk, well good luck on that.  You might stumble into something great.  Pretty much the only thing left in washington which is tight lipped.   There are some good elk spots, but those that know em, wont even tell their mothers.    Have fun

[JPOL]

Welcome! Step one download the app and subscribe to onX maps, its a service that shows who owns what property and is a good gauge on where the public land is to hunt. Step two pick some areas and scout. Nobody will give up their honey holes but north of Spokane is probably your best bet. Etiquette wise, if someone beats you to a spot then go somewhere else so always be sure you have multiple areas. Give others the respect you'd like to be treated when out hunting but don't always anticipate others returning the favor. Generally the deeper you go off a road the less people. Go have fun and enjoy, there's an endless supply of information on here if you search for what you want. Good luck out there!

Thanks for the warm welcome! onX, thanks for reminding me of that as well! I will be searching through the forums here to glean what I can.

Just to be clear, I wasn't asking for the lat/long of your favorite spots  , just kinda wanted to see if I should focus on the woods to the north or the plains to the south. I'm planning on checking out the WDFW hunting prospects, hopefully that will help too. Thanks again!

[buckfvr]

First off, wdfw harvest reports.

See where the animals are harvested and choose an area that suits you.  Google earth and on-x from there.

[Billy74]

Welcome!  Im kind of in your position.  I’m 48 and Started hunting in 2018 so take what I say with a big grain of salt.  As you start reading tips you’ll notice you’ll get a lot of the same advice so take.   I like the national forest up north because it’s close, has lots of roads through logged timber and good dispersed camping.  Not sure you could do a true backpacking hunt but you can get pretty far off the beaten path.   Get a couple cheap trail cams to put out in the spring and summer just to get a general inventory of the area you want to hunt.  I get deer, bear and turkey tags.  I’m not a bear hunter but it gives me a reason to be out there and double as scouting.  I always see bears so seamed like a good plan.  Same for Turkey except I accidentally fell in love with it.  Great to get out after a long winter and they are really everywhere around Spokane. You can also fill any leftover tags in the fall with hens or toms. 
If I was going to give myself advice 5 years ago it would be to scout all summer, find as many areas you can sneak into in the dark and watch all day.  I tried still hunting timber first couple years and just bumped more does than I can count and never saw a buck.  Look for clear cuts and logged areas on OnX. 
If you have a buddy or can find one who hunts your in good shape.  Most of what I do is solo so my leaning curve has been steep.  I have learned a lot in five years and almost all was from mistakes.  Having someone with experience would have helped a lot.   
Lastly,  there are some really good YouTube channels that cover Wa and Eastern Wa. Very entertaining and you get a good sense of what hunting here is like.


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[JPOL]

Thanks again, I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond and sharing their perspective!

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

Welcome and good luck! Couple things: shoot your weapon of choice with confidence to ethically kill a big game animal. Might seem obvious but many hunters don’t and wonder why they miss or wound animals. OnX is gonna get you everywhere. Download offline maps you can use when out of cell range and use airplane mode on phone to save battery. Learn gutless method of cleaning- dragging big animals for a mile sucks I’ve done it! The Palouse south of Spokavegas is mainly private but has a few public areas, FFTH and HBR lands. These can be hit or miss. West of town is farm country and sage brush mulie country mainly, some private land opportunities exist within the WDFW system. Up in the north woods are more variety of game, bear, cougar, moose, elk and deer. Whitetail country that direction, and plenty of them. Some great late rifle opportunities up north when bucks will respond to calling and rattling. Plus it’ll look the least like Texas so that’s a good thing, good to get out of comfort zone and learn new habitats. Legal to bait in WA for deer and elk so setting a cam on corn usually produces for me. Check regs on baiting, can’t set out a truck load.  If you learn to still hunt correctly you won’t bump deer, they won’t know you’re there. That’s when you know you’re going slow enough. After a few seasons of seeing some pumpkin patches out there gimme a holler if you wanna get into bow hunting or black pow, better seasons no orange and less people. Be safe and have fun out there!

[mburrows]

Get yourself some trail cameras, get out in the woods as much as possible at all times of the year.  The more you can learn about animal behavior in your area the more likely you are to be successful. If youre hunting big game keep the wind in your face.  Learning how animal's needs change throughout the year and how to use that to your advantage is something I wish could go back in time and tell myself.

It doesnt always take massive expanses of public land either. Some great hunting can be had on smaller pieces of state and federal ground.

[nwwanderer]

Second on the IEP permit, lots of area close to Spokane, walk a little you will be by your self and great critter variety.  Elk often show after being chased out of the private canyons.  Whitetail are the norm but mule deer have been showing up in recent years.  Far from easy, steep and thick.  You are welcome to come look from my porch at the west slope of Mica Peak.  Good luck!!!