makes you think what it takes

[boneaddict]

I was shooting a pm to a friend and it dawned on me to post the comment.  Basically what it takes in this state, or any state for that matter, but particularly this one with the type of hunting pressure we put on them.

I wonder if our 190 buck made it......  all he has to do is survive Poachers, coyotes, cougar, wolves, sickness, the weather, and general season from Sept 1st to the end of October and then all the permit guys. LOL

I probably should have added roadkill.

[jjhunter]

I don't have as much experience as you do Bone......but Washington does have a lot of big, nasty wilderness country.   I think there are probably some gigantic deer in the this state, and more than most of us think.  But, if there is a 190 deer and you have seen him more than once, he was lucky to make it to that age/size and probably won't be with us long. 

The biggest deer that I have seen in ID, MT, and CO (all 185" plus kind of deer) lived in places that would make it literally impossible to go in after and kill.   Even during the rut, these deer left the does at first light.   I think more big deer regress and die of old age than get shot.  The poaching variable is one that would be hard to measure?  We will probably never know the impact it has.  Even around our ranch, I know animals get poached.  I don't know how many times I have come around the corner and seen someone with a rifle on a big buck in December or January.   "We were just looking"   Yeah, ok.

[huntnphool]

The last time I checked the roadkill count in the Methow was up to 252, anyone seen it in the last week or so?

[mazama]

In all my years of hunting i have only seen one big buck in this state, he was migrating up on blewett pass in knee deep snow, that was 25yrs ago and i still remember sight of him.I have cut a trail into an area that holds deer all the sign is down low but i know they bed up in rocks, tried twice to get up there but gets to steep and dangerous, over the years i have been happy i didnot shoot anything in some of places i have been.

[sako223]

The hunters legal or moral or not are the worst impact. YTC shows a comparison. Even though we have less hunters now, there are maybe to long of seasons around the state.
I support reassessing the seasons. I personally don't like the 3 pt minimum restriction. Seems like we had more bucks before the restriction.
There are big bucks around some accessible by helicopter, some by car, a few right near houses.
The largest muley we have ever seen was crossing the road at night. His nose was about two inches above the road. Second one would have to rappel in with rope or winch into the rocks. These must be part goat. third one we watched it bed down at light after season. Easy access flat ground. 20 minutes later 6 mexican hunters passed this buck within feet. I am sure the bucks blood pressure maxed but he never moved.
Of all the variables, the worst to me is to see developed permit areas lose large animals to unregulated hunting groups.

[huntnphool]

Even though we have less hunters now, there are maybe to long of seasons around the state.

Are you kidding me? 8 days for general mule deer is too long?

[elkaholic_74]

Even though we have less hunters now, there are maybe to long of seasons around the state.

Are you kidding me? 8 days for general mule deer is too long?

no kidding

[sako223]

Are you kidding me? 8 days for general mule deer is too long?

Where did I say that?

Deer seasons start on or about Sep 1 and go through on or about Jan 30.

[fishunt247]

  He could be talking about late archery though, which is too long. As far as the three pt minimum being taken away, not wise. Gives the bucks another year to get smarter before they can be shot at. But I don't know if that's what this thread is about. I think it's just an AWE statement of how some bucks still make that magic giant mark in this state with everything going against them. Congrats to the bucks that do make it, and to the ones that die of old age. My dad shot a regress benchleg in 2006. I doubt it would have ever been anywhere near 190 ever in its life, but at one time it was probably a great buck. It was a 26" 3pt, heavy at the bases then morphed way out, nubbins for teeth. It lived in an area that that had general seasons for all weapons, a 4 day late rifle hunt, and a 15 day late muzzleloader hunt. Amazing.

[mossback91]

I was shooting a pm to a friend and it dawned on me to post the comment.  Basically what it takes in this state, or any state for that matter, but particularly this one with the type of hunting pressure we put on them.

I wonder if our 190 buck made it......  all he has to do is survive Poachers, coyotes, cougar, wolves, sickness, the weather, and general season from Sept 1st to the end of October and then all the permit guys. LOL

I probably should have added roadkill.

Pics??

[sako223]

The problem with short rifle season is rifle hunters. And I am a life long rifle hunter. Will consider Crossbow though. Rifle hunters seem to stand on the fact that having guns is a right so hunting is the same. Rifle hunters as a rule will not group up to address changes but often just react when things look bad.
With the announcement of shorter rifle seasons we bitch to friends and fellow hunters.
Talk about Wolves and we attend meetings.
Bow hunters have banded together and achieved longer seasons and bigger voices with the WDFW. They have accommodated those organizations pressures.
I was told this by the WDFW.  

[Swiftkid]

6 mexican hunters passed this buck within feet.

thanks for letting us know they were mexican, wtf is up with that?

[sako223]

6 mexican hunters passed this buck within feet.

thanks for letting us know they were mexican, wtf is up with that?

Am I supposed to say Mexican American hunters? The term Mexican is widely used.

30.7 million Americans listed their ancestry as Mexican as of 2006.

The United States, six of whose states historically were part of Mexico, is home to the second largest Mexican community in the world.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_American

[fishunt247]

I think he is just saying that if they were white hunters, would you have said "6 white hunters passed within feet of this buck?" Probably not. I walked within 20 yards of a buck that I ended up missing this year, didn't know it until this guy came over and told me I was right above it before. He didn't point out that I was white though.

[Galpster]

So what. So he said Mexicans. What is wrong with that. He was just giving us a mental picture of the scene.

Lighten up with your racist accusations!!