I shot a small buck on Fri. The cliche of the WA hunter who comes over and kills the first buck he sees, ha ha! Although, in my defense, I had spent about 15 days hunting in WA (deer, bear, archery elk) and haven't harvested anything so far and really just wanted to get something in the freezer. Headed back out in November for elk.
Couple observations: it's pretty hot right now. In 7 days of glassing, I didn't see a single animal. I'm sure this is partially not being a very efficient/patient glasser, but I usually see something. Animals are not moving around in the open right now very much. I had much better luck still hunting mid-day. Set up on a spot with fresh elk sign just outside a bedding area but had a bull came in from behind me and busted me at around 5:30. Walked up or down depending on thermals and came across a few deer groups feeding during the day. The first was all does except the buck I shot. The second day I saw a doe, a 4x4 (buyers remorse on that one), and a spike. Kind of an interesting group there...makes me think pre-rut is already on in some places.
Anyway, glass, but don't be afraid to still hunt with the wind in your favor if the weather stays the same.
