The I'm discouraged thread

[hunter399]

Well just got home a bit ago
5 miles in,5miles back out,closed motorized vehicles area, too steep for other hunters.
So it's an area that has very little hunting pressure,even though it is public access timber lands . Because of the steep access to gain access. I'm 100 percent positive nobody is gonna climb in there to poach animals,very few climb it to legitimately hunt.

Freaking zero deer,zero fresh tracks or sign,zero other hunters.
Only thing I can say that is positive is I can check it off the list.
I don't have to wonder the whole year ,that I missed out on a buck cause I didn't climb up there.
With that said , NE Washington is a predator @#$$ hole.

Here is a pic.
Yes I'm slow,I stop and eat,glass areas , generally take my time to look things over. And I'm in my late 40's ,and smoke cigs.
And I forgot to turn on at truck, about a half mile in.
But turned it off at the truck on the way out.

[hughjorgan]

Well just got home a bit ago
5 miles in,5miles back out,closed motorized vehicles area, too steep for other hunters.
So it's an area that has very little hunting pressure,even though it is public access timber lands . Because of the steep access to gain access. I'm 100 percent positive nobody is gonna climb in there to poach animals,very few climb it to legitimately hunt.

Freaking zero deer,zero fresh tracks or sign,zero other hunters.
Only thing I can say that is positive is I can check it off the list.
I don't have to wonder the whole year ,that I missed out on a buck cause I didn't climb up there.
With that said , NE Washington is a predator @#$$ hole.

Here is a pic.
Yes I'm slow,I stop and eat,glass areas , generally take my time to look things over. And I'm in my late 40's ,and smoke cigs.
And I forgot to turn on at truck, about a half mile in.
But turned it off at the truck on the way out.

You think some of your spots got hit hard by droughts and disease the past few years?

[hunter399]

Well just got home a bit ago
5 miles in,5miles back out,closed motorized vehicles area, too steep for other hunters.
So it's an area that has very little hunting pressure,even though it is public access timber lands . Because of the steep access to gain access. I'm 100 percent positive nobody is gonna climb in there to poach animals,very few climb it to legitimately hunt.

Freaking zero deer,zero fresh tracks or sign,zero other hunters.
Only thing I can say that is positive is I can check it off the list.
I don't have to wonder the whole year ,that I missed out on a buck cause I didn't climb up there.
With that said , NE Washington is a predator @#$$ hole.

Here is a pic.
Yes I'm slow,I stop and eat,glass areas , generally take my time to look things over. And I'm in my late 40's ,and smoke cigs.
And I forgot to turn on at truck, about a half mile in.
But turned it off at the truck on the way out.

You think some of your spots got hit hard by droughts and disease the past few years?

Just got back from some road hunting,checking out some stateland parcels.
Figured I put in enough boot miles.
Not one deer spotted all day.
My luck is horrible this year.

To answer your question....
Ya they most likely did get that bluetongue.
Alot of people say we are recovering well.
Public land ,I haven't seen much recovery.
So who knows.

But I'll be up a 5 in the morning again.
Heading to some chunk of scab land.
Looking for some dink bucks to harvest.
Which is starting to seem like I'm on repeat. Bad song playing over and over. Cause that's what I do everyday.

[highside74]

Haven't hunted the 1st week of modern blacktail season in years. Deer movement is sparse at best and the grind would wear on me. By the time the best days of the season would roll around I was already over it and found it hard to even get up in the morning. So now I just wait and hit it hard the last 5-7 days of October. So much more deer activity in the last few days of October I never miss not hunting the 1st week and a half.

[hunter399]

Haven't hunted the 1st week of modern blacktail season in years. Deer movement is sparse at best and the grind would wear on me. By the time the best days of the season would roll around I was already over it and found it hard to even get up in the morning. So now I just wait and hit it hard the last 5-7 days of October. So much more deer activity in the last few days of October I never miss not hunting the 1st week and a half.

That's what I need too do.
That's how I feel right now.
Always gets better as season goes along.

[highcountry_hunter]

Haven't hunted the 1st week of modern blacktail season in years. Deer movement is sparse at best and the grind would wear on me. By the time the best days of the season would roll around I was already over it and found it hard to even get up in the morning. So now I just wait and hit it hard the last 5-7 days of October. So much more deer activity in the last few days of October I never miss not hunting the 1st week and a half.

That's what I need too do.
That's how I feel right now.
Always gets better as season goes along.

It’s picking up. I saw 4 does opening Saturday-Thursday. Friday I saw 19 muley does and a spike. Today I saw 5 muley does and 3 bucks, including the biggest mule buck I’ve ever had a shot at. Which may I add, I completely blew at 140 yards.


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[pd]

Haven't hunted the 1st week of modern blacktail season in years. Deer movement is sparse at best and the grind would wear on me. By the time the best days of the season would roll around I was already over it and found it hard to even get up in the morning. So now I just wait and hit it hard the last 5-7 days of October. So much more deer activity in the last few days of October I never miss not hunting the 1st week and a half.

That's my MO, too.  But the guys & gals on the dry side are not so lucky, their season is shorter, and the rut comes later.  What a tough hand to play over there.

[jackelope]

So far it seems like a great year on the eastside. Plenty of mule deer bucks running around and seems like the whitetail are already making a rebound from the blue tongue

You must be on private property?

Or Lala land...

Well. If it’s La La Land him and his family kill a bunch of deer and elk every year in La La Land. So if it’s really La La Land, I wouldn’t mind traveling there.
In the meantime, I’m going fishing.

[hunter399]

Haven't hunted the 1st week of modern blacktail season in years. Deer movement is sparse at best and the grind would wear on me. By the time the best days of the season would roll around I was already over it and found it hard to even get up in the morning. So now I just wait and hit it hard the last 5-7 days of October. So much more deer activity in the last few days of October I never miss not hunting the 1st week and a half.

That's what I need too do.
That's how I feel right now.
Always gets better as season goes along.

It’s picking up. I saw 4 does opening Saturday-Thursday. Friday I saw 19 muley does and a spike. Today I saw 5 muley does and 3 bucks, including the biggest mule buck I’ve ever had a shot at. Which may I add, I completely blew at 140 yards.


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I'll keep after it.
Thanks for a positive.

I was just explaining that if I do the hard work,get off the road.
Get away from other hunters,into an area that isn't effected by people. Then predators have ate everything.
So I just can't win.
Ohh well, another day starts now.

[hunter399]

Haven't hunted the 1st week of modern blacktail season in years. Deer movement is sparse at best and the grind would wear on me. By the time the best days of the season would roll around I was already over it and found it hard to even get up in the morning. So now I just wait and hit it hard the last 5-7 days of October. So much more deer activity in the last few days of October I never miss not hunting the 1st week and a half.

That's what I need too do.
That's how I feel right now.
Always gets better as season goes along.

It’s picking up. I saw 4 does opening Saturday-Thursday. Friday I saw 19 muley does and a spike. Today I saw 5 muley does and 3 bucks, including the biggest mule buck I’ve ever had a shot at. Which may I add, I completely blew at 140 yards.


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You right bro.
I agree ....
Seen three WT doe.
Ten MD doe today .
Another 8.8 boot miles round trip.
Saturday,Sunday,
I've walked 19 miles.
I'm trying,best hunting day so far
I need some more good days.
Thanks for the encouragement to keep at it.

[pickardjw]

8 does and a forky for us muley hunting in the Methow this weekend. Just glassed, I wanted to do some still hunting but the area wasn't really conducive to it, especially with how dry it was. No so discouraging because we're going to Montana in 3 weeks so we just wanted to get out there. Didn't go too hard.

Muzzy elk down by St. Helens was the real discouraging hunt for me this year. We honed in on exactly where they were bedding and feeding, got in there before dark to listen for bugles, followed them for miles and miles when they were being vocal, they were uninterested in our bugles and cow calls, tried to surround their bedding area with 4 guys and they still slipped by, threw everything I knew to do at them and none of us even saw one. I'm done with westside elk. Might hunt spike on the weekend but not wasting any PTO on them in this state again.

Wish I hadn't left two cameras down there...

[BigGoonTuna]

I usually seem to start the season discouraged until I get back into the swing of things.  Unlike some of the guys on this site I don't get the time to just bum around the woods on a regular basis or get much scouting in.  Yesterday was my first time out this year and I felt a little bummed, went to a spot where I have a gate key and found someone parked in the area I usually hunt.  Did a little exploring and found some new areas to try.  Today the area was swarming with trucks, quads and a side by side, something I've never seen up there.  I did see a couple of does, so that was encouraging.  Lots of sign, but barely any rubs that I could find.

It really boggles my mind the miles some guys claim to put in while hunting blacktails, if I move around that much I don't seem to ever see anything.  Think I maybe went a mile in 5 hours between 2 different spots this morning.  The older I get the less of an itch I have to see what's around the next corner when I'm in a productive looking area.

[Humptulips]

Still not much to recommend on my hunting. Hunted 9 days, saw 4 deer, haven't seen a deer in five days. Hardly any hunters and the few that I talked to told a similar story.
On the positive side, I've lost 8 pounds.

[Humptulips]

Little story about today that proves I must have my seasons mixed up.
I was standing out in the middle of a clearcut probably a mile from any water, bold as brass with my hunter orange pull over on and here comes a flock of geese and sets down right in front of me on the ground.
Never had anything like that happen before.

[hunter399]

Still to be so happy that I seen a doe after a 19 mile weekend.
Doesn't seem right to me.