Free: Contests & Raffles.
Here was a special trip with my father probably 15 years ago. We both got nice bucks and spent time on the mountain in one of the greatest places on earth. We will both have memories forever.In fact the buck I shot was in full velvet when I pulled the trigger, after rolling 200-300 yards from the top he cleared the velvet and his antlers look like they have been clear for a while
I hunt New York every year for whitetail.I take a whole month off of work for deer hunting.My nonresident hunting license ( small game/ big game license) cost me $100. You get a buck tag and a bear tag, then yfor $10 you can apply for two Deer Management Permits (Doe tags) .Four years ago i invited a friend from Anacortes to come deer hunting .This will be his 4th year hunting New York. Last year I invited a friend from Oregon to hunt deer with us.His vacation is all tied up this year, he is planing on coming back to New York next year.Our hunting party generally consist of four guys.They hunting licenses go on sale August 1st, they quit selling doe tags on August 31st. November 1st they give you two more deer tags for free.Doe tags are transferable.This year the four of us have four buck tags, four bear tags and we will have sixteen Doe tags.Plus my brother archery tag and a muzzle loader tag. So he can shoot an additional two bucks or two does.We only shoot what we will use up through out the year.Last year we shot three bucks and six does.I buy a round trip airline ticket from Seattle to Binghamton New York and it usually cost $350 to $375.A friend has a small eight room motel back there. I have a room reserved for the whole month. $250 a week. We have two double beds and a single bed in the room. Our hunting spots are with in a ten minute ride from the motel.I bought a four door 4x4 Nissan Titan pickup truck that I will get shipped to new york for our hunting truck. I generally shoot two to five deer a year. They charge $100 to cut a deer up. We cut our deer uo. So that saved us $900 last deer season.just that savings paid for two of our airline tickets and hunting licenses.This year I am thinking of offering to do some deer butchering on my down time to help cut down our expenses. I will have three to four hours of dead time every night after we are done deer hunting.So I would like to cut three to four deer up a week. I leave all of my guns and cloths back there in New York, so does my friend from Anacortes. So we both can bring back two ice chest (50 pounds a piece) full of boned out venison. I quit deer hunting Washington state twenty some years ago.It cost to much to hunt this state and the deer are about gone.Washington state the average deer harvest is 26,000 deer a year. New York State the average deer harvest is 220,000 deer a year. We hunt close to the Pennsylvania border, some years we will hunt Pennsylvania the nonresident Pennsylvania small game/big game hunting license cost $100, doe tags run $26 a piece and in some areas you cal buy up to six does tags.Pennsylvania the average deer harvest is 330,000 deer a year. Since my friend from Anacortes came back to new york to go deer hunting he quit buying a Washington hunting license.This year, one of my cousins from Pennsylvania will be hunting with us
Quote from: HighlandLofts on August 02, 2025, 10:10:00 PMI hunt New York every year for whitetail.I take a whole month off of work for deer hunting.My nonresident hunting license ( small game/ big game license) cost me $100. You get a buck tag and a bear tag, then yfor $10 you can apply for two Deer Management Permits (Doe tags) .Four years ago i invited a friend from Anacortes to come deer hunting .This will be his 4th year hunting New York. Last year I invited a friend from Oregon to hunt deer with us.His vacation is all tied up this year, he is planing on coming back to New York next year.Our hunting party generally consist of four guys.They hunting licenses go on sale August 1st, they quit selling doe tags on August 31st. November 1st they give you two more deer tags for free.Doe tags are transferable.This year the four of us have four buck tags, four bear tags and we will have sixteen Doe tags.Plus my brother archery tag and a muzzle loader tag. So he can shoot an additional two bucks or two does.We only shoot what we will use up through out the year.Last year we shot three bucks and six does.I buy a round trip airline ticket from Seattle to Binghamton New York and it usually cost $350 to $375.A friend has a small eight room motel back there. I have a room reserved for the whole month. $250 a week. We have two double beds and a single bed in the room. Our hunting spots are with in a ten minute ride from the motel.I bought a four door 4x4 Nissan Titan pickup truck that I will get shipped to new york for our hunting truck. I generally shoot two to five deer a year. They charge $100 to cut a deer up. We cut our deer uo. So that saved us $900 last deer season.just that savings paid for two of our airline tickets and hunting licenses.This year I am thinking of offering to do some deer butchering on my down time to help cut down our expenses. I will have three to four hours of dead time every night after we are done deer hunting.So I would like to cut three to four deer up a week. I leave all of my guns and cloths back there in New York, so does my friend from Anacortes. So we both can bring back two ice chest (50 pounds a piece) full of boned out venison. I quit deer hunting Washington state twenty some years ago.It cost to much to hunt this state and the deer are about gone.Washington state the average deer harvest is 26,000 deer a year. New York State the average deer harvest is 220,000 deer a year. We hunt close to the Pennsylvania border, some years we will hunt Pennsylvania the nonresident Pennsylvania small game/big game hunting license cost $100, doe tags run $26 a piece and in some areas you cal buy up to six does tags.Pennsylvania the average deer harvest is 330,000 deer a year. Since my friend from Anacortes came back to new york to go deer hunting he quit buying a Washington hunting license.This year, one of my cousins from Pennsylvania will be hunting with usWhat’s the hanging weight of these deer?
Definitely better hunting out of state. No question. That said, it's not necessarily a gimme either, especially going in blind to a new area if you aren't already at least somewhat of an accomplished hunter. Most hunting skills translate regardless of state, even species often times. Once you find success and can replicate it here, you can do the same anywhere. If you are struggling to find success here, I'd dissect that and try and understand why. If you're truly just meat hunting, finding a legal animal still isn't difficult here in WA once you figure it out. Just trust your skills and have patience. Finding a mature animal consistently is another story though.You comment on endless local drives... Are you driving to/from University Place to Aberdeen/St. Helen's each day? If so, consider camping in the unit. Less mental pressure to get headed out early and starting the long drive home, and you can be where you want to be at daybreak without getting up at 3:00 am. Less travel time dwelling on not having success can help with maintaining a positive attitude and keep burnout at bay.
And $20k for a guided whitetail hunt??? What's the story behind that if you dont mind sharing?
That’s your problem. Your spending more time driving then hunting. Camp in an area for 4-5 days where you want to hunt. No different than out of state. I personally don’t pay access fees because there’s millions of acres that are free to hunt and hold animals too.
Quote from: Longfield1 on October 19, 2025, 07:26:58 PMThat’s your problem. Your spending more time driving then hunting. Camp in an area for 4-5 days where you want to hunt. No different than out of state. I personally don’t pay access fees because there’s millions of acres that are free to hunt and hold animals too.I must not be driving far enough away to public, because the public land blocks I've found that are within a 2 hour drive are very heavily hunted. My most recent public land excursions in Aberdeen were always very populated and the locals were always upset to see someone hunting "their spot".
Public is over hunted and over-poached in areas that aren't gated. Tribal folks also have extended seasons and gate keys to otherwise walk-in areas for quite a bit of public land. For blacktail, I wouldn't worry too much about other people at gates since the deer hide so well. A hunter ahead of you can very easily glass right over an animal and move on down the road. Also, a walk-in area with 5 rigs at it still has less pressure than areas that are not gated. The 3x2 blacktail I harvested yesterday morning at about 9:30 was bedded in a young (2-3 y/o) clearcut with several sets of that morning's pickup tracks driving by around the rim above. I guess my point with that is traffic isn't always as much pressure as perceived.
