Any #218/#224 quality tag pictures ???

[wilywin]

anyone have any luck with those tags this year??? 

[wilywin]

Guess not.....lol

[7mmfan]

I was hoping to see some too, but each of these hunts are getting tougher and tougher every year. I know two guys with these tags this year that ate them.

[hunter399]

Seems like more and more "quality" tags ,are OIL tag opportunity.
Or mega millions opportunity,on if see a good one.

[Ridgerunner]

The quality tags for deer and elk are becoming OIL for sure, they are also no slam dunk for oversize animals, they never really were but its getting tougher and tougher.

[no.cen.wa]

Always thought it would be great to get the 224 tag. I've hunted that country for years. Still do. I was also born in Twisp so that would be special.
Hum, started putting in for the Quality Tag every year since it started, I was 48 I think. Now am 75. no tag drawn, lots of points though! Sad.
But the dept has totally ruined hunting so bad probably wouldn't fill the tag anyway.
John G

[Skyvalhunter]

So called quality tags are turning more and more like Buck tags and/or get some exercise and not see animals tags. Quality is a  much more watered down word when used with WDFW tags anymore.

[raydog]

After this season, I was reading up on some of the quality tag experiences and comparing them to my experiences with out-of-state hunting. I'm not saying general out of state tags are better than a wa quality tag, but it'd be hard to convince me otherwise.

Yet I keep throwing money into the Wa pit 

[dilleytech]

So called quality tags are turning more and more like Buck tags and/or get some exercise and not see animals tags. Quality is a  much more watered down word when used with WDFW tags anymore.

This is how I always saw Washington quality tags. Just another opportunity to get out and get an animal. Which is why it seems crazy to put in for a deer tag for 25 years. Lots of fun quality tags that can be drawn every 5 years or so. But not if your expectation are a Washington 180.

[ghosthunter]

I think all comments are spot on. I have around the general area since my 30 s and now 72.

I have 25 Quality points. Started putting in 3 years ago when I retired and planned to spend the general and draw hunt in a unit.

Now every year I consider where to put in. Always thought I knew but not so sure.

Also given the times if I did harvest on one of those tags not sure I would post. A lot of people getting any Buck are running silent these days to avoid the crowds flocking.

[MADMAX]

My buddy had the Chewuch couple years ago
This was best deer we saw
Never came off private
He passed a bunch and ate his tag

[boneaddict]

You think that’s silly, I haven’t even been putting in, just buying points.  I don’t want to accidentally get drawn.   I keep hoping for a rebound in quality.  I know, I grew up on lead paint. 

[bigmacc]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

[High Climber]

What a cool picture and tank of a deer 

[jstone]

So sad how bad it has gotten

[greenhead_killer]

Good grief! That thing is built like a linebacker.

[JakeLand]

Great pic bigmacc !! I know I know but more pics !!

[boneaddict]

Awesome photo!

[teanawayslayer]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

good grief that thing is a tank! Thanks for sharing!

[Alchase]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

Killer photo 

[C-Money]

Such a great photo!

[HntnFsh]

Friggin eye popper buck!

[bigmacc]

Thank you all for the comments, I appreciate them.👍

It was truly a special time, up until the 90,s/early 2000,s, that’s when, imho, the decline started to very slowly happen, hardly even noticeable to some. Numbers we were seeing started becoming more sporadic in quantity. Dwindling every year going forward. Herds of 100,s when all the stars aligned during migrations that would last for days, maybe seeing 5-700 total deer moving through a particular saddle slowly became dozens then a handful here and there, then to a migration that is pretty much unnoticeable. Sure they end up in lower elevations eventually when Mother Nature gives em a kick but the numbers in no way warrant the big migrations we had pre-90,s. Some on here remember, they were truly something to see, being in the right spot at the right time would put you in a front row seat of watching 5,6,7 hundred deer move through an area in a 2-3 hour period. Our “Game Department” was done away with in the mid 90,s, then predators became coddled and now we have a WDFW that takes its direction from politicians and folks who are not hunter friendly. I truly fear for what my grandkids will have as far as hunting goes in this state. The way it’s going, it looks bleak. As hunters, and firearms owners we must realize what’s happening and vote accordingly.

[bigmacc]

Another “quality” buck that a person never had to be drawn for. I think I’ve posted this one before  :dunno . Another buck that went over 400lbs, for perspective my great uncle was 6’5” tall and weighed over 280lbs. this was a year that just my clan had 23 bucks hanging, my dad said Little Bellingham had over 70 bucks hanging all together, our bunch plus another 4 clans(about 60 more people). Some folks talk of the good ole days, believe it or not, they reall did exist in this state once upon a time. Like I’ve said numerous times, there was a time that I would put this state up against any other mule deer state for quality and quantity. For instance, believe this or not, the Methow herd at one time was the largest migratory mule deer herd in the country, numbering around 40,000 head (give or take) I remember my dad saying that it wasn’t far fetched to hear some folks say the numbers were closer to 45-50k in the hay days. Theres some perspective for what they’ve let happen to this herd.

[MADMAX]

Mac
I love your pictures
Thank you
You should take a try at writing a book sir 👍
Can’t imagine how good the Methow was back then


I first hunted it in the early 80s
We were seeing good amounts of deer, 100 deer days up in the timber

[bearhunter99]

Thank you for sharing bigmacc!  Love seeing your pictures.   


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[HntnFsh]

I dont know whats more incredible. The size of that deer or the fact that it came out whole!

Love those pics Bigmacc!

[hunter399]

Mac
I love your pictures
Thank you
You should take a try at writing a book sir 👍
Can’t imagine how good the Methow was back then


I first hunted it in the early 80s
We were seeing good amounts of deer, 100 deer days up in the timber

Yup, your pictures are awesome.
Thanks for sharing.
That buck is a giant,stud,bigin.
The body size dwarfs the rack. Which if you seen it in real life,or on the hoof.
The rack on that buck is huge,just the body size makes it look small.
Great picture,just proof that an over the counter tag back then was great.

[bigmacc]

I dont know whats more incredible. The size of that deer or the fact that it came out whole!

Love those pics Bigmacc!

My dad used to joke the “good ole days”, for him it was the 30,s and 40,s , he would say back then when the weather hit and the migration was in full tilt there were so many deer that you only shot them uphill, just keep walkin if they were downhill I know he was joking cause there’s a lot of pictures of bucks that we have that are cut up into a variety of configurations that were killed in areas that were/are ridiculously close to impossible to get out of. There’s a story of a big buck that our camp killed in one of these areas that took 3 guys almost 11 hours to get him out, the distance, a little under a mile!! I know it’s a fact, I was one of the 3 guys on that “death march”

Where this buck eventually died, consisted of all the “fun stuff” all rolled into one. A river, a creek bottom, jack pine thickets, thistles, an area full of blowdowns, two rockslides complete with shale AND boulders the size of cars and about a foot of snow and ice with temps in single digits. Yep!

[Fidelk]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Obviously.....that's a bear.

[bigmacc]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Obviously.....that's a bear.

👍

[blindluck]

Love these mega buck pictures, the good old days, how envious we are!,

[Katmai Guy]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

Thanks for posting.  Your photos are always great to see.  When was the season back then, about the same time as now?

[bigmacc]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

Thanks for posting.  Your photos are always great to see.  When was the season back then, about the same time as now?

It varied back in those days if I remember right. My time in camp started in the 1950,s.  You usually had 2 weeks, although my dad said he remembered some seasons being 3weeks, a 1st week, a middle week and the last week, my dad remembers stories my great grandpa told, they started hunting it in 1917, my dad in the 1930,s. I remember always trick or treating around Little Bellingham because the season was always during Halloween. I remember seasons usually going into the first week of November, I have many notched tags I’ve saved that are notched on dates between the 1st and the 10th of November. I also remember there was just one season but it was almost like having two seasons, you had folks that liked to come over for the first week of the two week season because you usually had nicer weather, these consisted of older folks with trailers etc and they would pull out the following (middle) weekend and then the next wave would come in consisting of folks more prepared for crappier, colder weather. The first week folks were usually hunting a robust local herd and the last week folks were usually hunting the migratory herd if the weather cooperated. Which it usually did. Our bunch usually went over for 4 weeks back then, with folks coming or going depending on work, school etc. My great grandparents and a few other members of Little Bellingham who were retired usually went over for 4-5 weeks, a couple weeks prior to the season until 1-2 weeks after the season. Back before Stevens Pass was paved and I-5 didn’t exist, it was a 2day trip to get from Bellingham to the Methow, with an overnight stay at a friends orchard in Cashmere, so they made the best of their “vacations” when they retired. Lots of scouting, hiking, fishing then the hunting weeks then a week or two of more hiking, scouting, learning routes deer were migrating through, where they staged, where they ended up and how long these stays and movements lasted, depending on weather. Then packing up, burying many items in crates etc like wood stoves, lanterns and other camp supplies, basically stuff they didn’t want to haul back and forth. Usually all the rigs were loaded with bucks by the end of the season anyways So burying stuff for the next year became a necessity. A lot of the camps within Little Bellingham consisted of relatives and friends that were either from Alaska, worked in Alaska or had spent a lot of time in Alaska, so packing, storing and water proofing “stuff” was a known art to these folks. We still to this day have dug up different items that were either forgotten, lost or just forgotten about, everything from old bullets, to lanterns, cooking utensils, cast iron skillets, skinning knives to a wood stove cook top, a lot of people have asked where the Little Bellingham camp was, this is why I don’t tell, we’re still finding stuff 

[Birdguy]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

Thanks for posting.  Your photos are always great to see.  When was the season back then, about the same time as now?

It varied back in those days if I remember right. My time in camp started in the 1950,s.  You usually had 2 weeks, although my dad said he remembered some seasons being 3weeks, a 1st week, a middle week and the last week, my dad remembers stories my great grandpa told, they started hunting it in 1917, my dad in the 1930,s. I remember always trick or treating around Little Bellingham because the season was always during Halloween. I remember seasons usually going into the first week of November, I have many notched tags I’ve saved that are notched on dates between the 1st and the 10th of November. I also remember there was just one season but it was almost like having two seasons, you had folks that liked to come over for the first week of the two week season because you usually had nicer weather, these consisted of older folks with trailers etc and they would pull out the following (middle) weekend and then the next wave would come in consisting of folks more prepared for crappier, colder weather. The first week folks were usually hunting a robust local herd and the last week folks were usually hunting the migratory herd if the weather cooperated. Which it usually did. Our bunch usually went over for 4 weeks back then, with folks coming or going depending on work, school etc. My great grandparents and a few other members of Little Bellingham who were retired usually went over for 4-5 weeks, a couple weeks prior to the season until 1-2 weeks after the season. Back before Stevens Pass was paved and I-5 didn’t exist, it was a 2day trip to get from Bellingham to the Methow, with an overnight stay at a friends orchard in Cashmere, so they made the best of their “vacations” when they retired. Lots of scouting, hiking, fishing then the hunting weeks then a week or two of more hiking, scouting, learning routes deer were migrating through, where they staged, where they ended up and how long these stays and movements lasted, depending on weather. Then packing up, burying many items in crates etc like wood stoves, lanterns and other camp supplies, basically stuff they didn’t want to haul back and forth. Usually all the rigs were loaded with bucks by the end of the season anyways So burying stuff for the next year became a necessity. A lot of the camps within Little Bellingham consisted of relatives and friends that were either from Alaska, worked in Alaska or had spent a lot of time in Alaska, so packing, storing and water proofing “stuff” was a known art to these folks. We still to this day have dug up different items that were either forgotten, lost or just forgotten about, everything from old bullets, to lanterns, cooking utensils, cast iron skillets, skinning knives to a wood stove cook top, a lot of people have asked where the Little Bellingham camp was, this is why I don’t tell, we’re still finding stuff 

I love this history, the pictures, and the stories!! What a fantastic legacy. I hope someone in your family takes up the torch of this history. No, hunting will never be the same for so many reasons but these things will be lost forever by so many out of lack of interest or unfortunate circumstances, the fact you have yours and so much is something special and very cool. Thank you again for sharing with us 

[BigredRusch]

Hey everyone, I want to get on here and encourage anyone with a cool story or historical memory of WA hunting and how much it has impacted your life to sing up for public comment during the WDFW commission meetings every month via Zoom.

This is clearly important to all of us and your history and experiences are so valuable in showing the others outside of the hunting community that this is important in WA.


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