First Year for Winthrop

[glowaski81]

The boys and I decided to go to Winthrop this year for modern deer hunt. Any suggestions on a camping location up there in the mountains? So many places to choose from just like to narrow it down a bit


thanks for the help

[chevysquid]

Never a shortage of places to camp around there.  Lots of places along the road to go to.  Yuo have a general area picked out?  I'm fairly familiar with the area.  Down low you will find mini cities sprout, so if you are looking for company at night thats an option, otherwise stay high off the side of a spur road.

[AudiDat]

It's my first year up in that area too, my hunting partner & I will be hunting [Deer-Mod] out of Mazama this year.
Oh, and hello everyone 

[JackOfAllTrades]

Dang it! Just when the economy, wolves, lack of deer took its toll on the amount of orange in the woods in the Methow, now Ya'll 'll be back in droves. It's not as good huntin as it used to be.

-Steve

[let.it.fly]

check out the area around the gardner hut on randevuex.

[chevysquid]

You know, 2 years ago on the last day of the modern season I saw an guy and his wife dragging a nice 4x4 out of the rendevoux area.  Never count out the public ground right around town.

[methowman]

Follow the East Chewuch road out of town & you have some options... You can go toward Pearrygin lake, camp there at one of the campgrounds or drive past the lake to forest rd 100 its usually packed with hunters on opening weekend but thins out quick on sunday night. Or keep driving up E Chewuch road & it eventually turns into forest rd 37 about (4-5 miles out of town), that road goes for miles all the way to Conconully. The further up that road you travel the less hunter camps you will see.

[Special T]

I bow hunted to public land across the road from the state park.... I almost ran over more deer getting to the mountains than i saw in them. 

[glowaski81]

Thanks guys appreciate the help. WFW says they have 40 bucks per 100 does out there this year the best they have seen in 10 years. We are staying the entire modern week so we are all excited. you run across us stop in for a beer!

[mulehunter]

Thanks guys appreciate the help. WFW says they have 40 bucks per 100 does out there this year the best they have seen in 10 years. We are staying the entire modern week so we are all excited. you run across us stop in for a beer!

Interesting.  Hope you will get one.  Good luck.

Mulehunter   

[chevysquid]

I'm probably going to be up there the whole season too.  Or at least as long as it takes me to find a legal buck and put him down.  Good luck!

[Chewack Slayer]

Wow sounds like a lot of people are headed to the Methow Valley, another Pumkin patch zoo! 

[tralam]

Wow sounds like a lot of people are headed to the Methow Valley, another Pumkin patch zoo! 

Are you surprised?

[Ripper]

Just to let everyone know, I'm taking 300 friends along this year to that area up the Chewuch rd. Ya'll might want to stop for shots of Jagermiester on your way out to hunt. Not to worry , they've all got experience with their rifles. They've put 4 or 5 shots through them so far at the range. The prehunt shots help them hold more steady, you know, calm the nerves! Good hunting everyone. 

[WDFW-SUX]

Im partaking... its a fun hunt zoo included

[glowaski81]

Thats pretty funny, because I have a beer at camp after a long day of hunting, then obviously I have never shot my gun before and I must be ignorant! 

[Armadillo]

I know thats quite an assumption huh. It must also be that you're not a real hunter until you have more then a couple posts I guess 

[grundy53]

God forbid someone has an ice cold beer after a long day of hunting....

[BlackRidge]

Wow sounds like a lot of people are headed to the Methow Valley, another Pumkin patch zoo! 

better there than where I'll be 

[h2ofowlr]

Look for the pumpkin patchs and you will have located the public hunting areas?

[k_rex]

We'll be up our property this year.  Hope those who trashed it in the years past will show....

[glowaski81]

We'll be up our property this year.  Hope those who trashed it in the years past will show....

Nothing more disgusting then vandals. Its bad enough when you find it on public land (beer cans, household garbage, couches etc) but even worse when they are destroying someone elses personal property!

[Twispriver]

Is this Scott?

[KINGWOODROW]

Thanks guys appreciate the help. WFW says they have 40 bucks per 100 does out there this year the best they have seen in 10 years. We are staying the entire modern week so we are all excited. you run across us stop in for a beer!

What the WDFW wont tell you is that count is in town... or there are only 100 deer left that the wolves havent ate...lol  Just kidding, had to throw it out there, good luck.  I was thiking about going around there, but even thought theres no monsters where i go, i tag out every year.... its hard to change what works

[Armadillo]

Wow sounds like a lot of people are headed to the Methow Valley, another Pumkin patch zoo! 

better there than where I'll be 

Vail?

[boneaddict]

I've watched the migration for 39 years.  Thats the migration of bumper to bumper campers, jeeps etc.  The only real change are the deer numbers, the amount of public land, and the amount of 4 wheelers in the back of trucks and towed behind. 

[WDFW-SUX]

Do the deer even do that migration thing anymore?  I thought we ended that a few years back with consistent over harvest / mega winter kill

If anyone see's a wolf please shoot it so SF can concentrate on somthing else.

[Whitenuckles]

Have fun!

[wilywin]

Cryin shame!  Just about the time you think everyone will go somewhere else???    Looks like the weather aint gonna cooperate any either!!!! 60 and sunny!

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USWA0497

[glowaski81]

Most of the public land I have hunted is full of road hunters anyway... Doesn't matter where you go orange vests are everywhere

[upriver]

I hunted Winthrop one rifle season and that was about it for me. My daughter hunted so I put down my bow to go hunt the same as her. What a mistake. It was a pumpkin patch.  I saw a nice 4 pt. shot on private land that my daughter and I had seen that morning on the same private land. A game warden was out with the guy so I think he got his. I also ran across a huge 2 pt that was left for dead since it was ina 3 pt area.

I go there sometimes with my bow but it's a different enviroment. Less people and very few get out and cover much beyond the roads.
 

[grizzlyadams]

Ya ya.....you all need to stick to methow and entiat. There's tons of deer in there. Go get em. Just stay away from 328 ok. There's absolutely no deer there. He he......that's why I wont be there either. So You can all go there as well. Just don't go to 133...no deer there either. That's why I wont be there...so you can all go there too. Just don't go to 121.......no deer there either. That's why I wont be there. So you can all go there. Just don't go were I'm going!!!!! Figured out where that is yet?

[Skinnyman]

They close a lot of the roads now (years ago they didn't used to). But there are A LOT of hunters on the roads that are open and hunters hiking around the close in areas. If you want to avoid the pumpkin patch hike in to hunt each day. Statistically 80% of hunters are found within 1 mile of the road. Use your legs, not the wheels of your car and it gets much better.

[muleyhunter]

Hope you can run fast!!!!!!! When a legal buck steps out there is a group of hunters shooting at the same buck. It's a race to see who can get there first to put a tag on it. Hope you have fun. It's a frickin zoo over there 

[WDFW-SUX]

I've seen more than afew fistfights over 2pts with an eye guard!  Its crazy in the valley. How bout the midnight shooting over at perrygin lake cant beat that!!

Cant wait till the opener bush light 40 packs in my camp!!

[rickomatic]

I used to hunt that area for over 30 years. My father in law introuduced me to hunting and that area in the early 70's. He'd been hunting it since just after WWII, when you needed to pack in on horses.
Remember when they opened it up for "any deer" for youths a few years back? Had some guy shoot a 2 pt. for his cousin or something on an open hillside, just to the left and above where my son was. There was no way they couldn't see my kid there. That same year we were just coming out of the treeline onto an open hillside when we heard bullets zinging over us. We hit the deck and rolled behind a tree for that one. The next year, I was watching a draw about 200 yards up from a forest service road when I hear shots coming from behind me. A little doe ran right past me not 10 yards away. Fortunately I was backed up to a rock and sitting down. I gingerly crept over the hill so see a bunch of "adults" parked on the road with their rifles pointed in my general direction. I haven't been back since. Too many people doing too many stupid things. Like i said, I'd been going there for over 30 years, and it's only gotten worse within the last 10.
All 3 of those incidents happened on the Perrygin side of Bowen, within 500 yards of the old wdfw office and farm for those of you who know the area.
We now hunt the open sage and scablands around Quincy.

[rickomatic]

Do the deer even do that migration thing anymore?  I thought we ended that a few years back with consistent over harvest / mega winter kill Dunno

As stated earlier, I used to hunt that area. I started hunting the Blue Buck Mtn/Cougar Lake/Campbell Lake/Perrygin Ridge area in the early 70's with my father in law. He told me stories from the 60's of watching herds of "100's" of mule deer tracking across  Bowen Mtn. (lower Blue Buck Mtn.) migrating through. I took a nice migratory 4 pt. there in the late 70'. Problem is, that those were the days when the general season ran through the 1st week of November. We don't even get close to a time when the migratory mulies come into that area. Go to Winthrop in the mid winter time, and you'll see the migratory deer. Not earlier than that though.

[Skinnyman]

Do the deer even do that migration thing anymore?  I thought we ended that a few years back with consistent over harvest / mega winter kill Dunno

As stated earlier, I used to hunt that area. I started hunting the Blue Buck Mtn/Cougar Lake/Campbell Lake/Perrygin Ridge area in the early 70's with my father in law. He told me stories from the 60's of watching herds of "100's" of mule deer tracking across  Bowen Mtn. (lower Blue Buck Mtn.) migrating through. I took a nice migratory 4 pt. there in the late 70'. Problem is, that those were the days when the general season ran through the 1st week of November. We don't even get close to a time when the migratory mulies come into that area. Go to Winthrop in the mid winter time, and you'll see the migratory deer. Not earlier than that though.

Agreed, it is usually just the resident deer that you get a crack at for general season. The migratory deer dont start moving down off the mountains until there is lots of snow that pushes them down to find food. I have yet to see cold enough weather/enough snow to push them down early enough to hit the general season.

[WDFW-SUX]

I think the clown show is part of the allure.


I saw a guy taking a dump in the middle of a major Rd last year...Why?? who knows...but it shure was funny

Been shot at? yup 2x..

Had someone shoot at a deer after you did? yup.

I could go on all day...

[methowman]

The madness around Winthrop ends by Monday or Tuesday after the opener, most of the rookie hunters leave Sunday afternoon. Saturday at dawn on opening day you can expect to see the hillsides covered in orange dots, shots flying everywhere. The deer are scattered in the thick stuff after the war zone on Saturday. Get up high & off the main roads to get away from the crowd & have a chance at a nice buck.

[alecvg]

   I am going in for opening weekend, leaving sunday, and coming back again EARLY wendsday morning.  Camp is five miles in, so we rarely see other hunters.