vail hunting

[smitty8202]

i have seen a couple posts on here about people hunting in vail. im hopeing its not colorado and the vail here in washington dowm by rainer and mckenna. can anyone point me in some directions of where some good spots are to hunt out there or at least a general area.

[KimberRich]

I'm sure one of the other 6,000 people that hunt down there, are on here and can give ya some info but I think there are pretty good maps available for that area??

[BuckFreak]

The best advice i can give you about vail is too avoid it at all cost. Its just not worth it.

[kenbell27]

I agree with buckfreak try to stay away, but if you still want to sunbirds in yelm carries a vail tree farm map.

[Yelm hunter]

CABELAS IN LACEY HAS A AREA WERE YOU CAN PRINT YOUR OWN MAP...It's VERY RESONABLE!! $10 or $15 bucks!!

I've gotten a decent buck 2 or 3 point out of Vail everyyear in the SAME SPOT!!

Last Year I got a 5x6 that was crossing the road with 8 does and a spike....lol

[smitty8202]

thanks for the info. i know it produces but is it worth it to go out there and take a look around?

[New England Native]

well my hunting partner had a baby boy this summer and used up his vacation time for that. I did not want to go to the east side alone and never really found anyone else that was interested or available I stayed over here this opener. For some damn reason I decided to go to Vail. I knew to expect alot of people but I was also told I would see alot of deer. WRONG! I saw very little wildlife. At one point some people were target shooting a pistol in the clearcut below me if you would call it that. They were unloading the magazines as fast as they could. *censored*'s    The only good thing was around 11:30 the place dramatically emptied out. Still lots of hunters but alot less than first daylight. Then some started rolling back in around 3:00. I'm not saying there is no deer but after hunting the eastside since I moved to this state and grew up hunting all around New England it is certainly a change.

[actionshooter]

If you go into Vail, drive a little, then, GET OUT OF YOUR TRUCK and WALK. It can very productive. 

[Thefisherman83]

I took my brother up there this weekend to try to get him on his first deer.  There were people everywhere on the roads, but we did not see another "hunter" as soon as we got a couple miles between us and the roads.  Get a map and get away from the main lines and you should see some deer. Vail can be very productive if you get up in the woods early and let the road hunters push the deer to you.     

[Tom Tamer]

Like others said if you get off the road you'll virtually have the place to your self, vail gets a bad rap because of all the road hunters, but I grew up hunting there and still go back almost every year. Since it's closed most of the year there are some dandy bucks in there you just have to be paitent and lucky because it's hard to scout.

[bankwalker]

yep vail is a great place once you get out of your truck and hunt. the hardest part is not letting the amount of people get to you.

it took me a few years to figure it out. but i got a few spots that hold alot of deer and i know when and how they move through the area. and i seen some very nice bucks every year. missed a 3x4 this year 

[turkey buster]

just remember that its only open to vehicle traffic on the weekends but it is open to hike in during the week you will see the occasional dick head driving in during the week but its still worth hiking

[Thefisherman83]

just remember that its only open to vehicle traffic on the weekends but it is open to hike in during the week you will see the occasional dick head driving in during the week but its still worth hiking

   They have forest patrol out there looking for those "dick heads" every day. 

[Pugetsound]

What about the use of mt. bikes during the week?

[Tom Tamer]

What about the use of mt. bikes during the week?

 I do it during turkey season and I see other folks out joy riding.

 Most those 'Dick Heads"  are probably employees that have gate keys....whether they're allowed to I don't know???