Somebody explain Vail to me

[jackelope]

I don't want to go there so don't worry about giving away secrets.
What is it?
Why is it so popular?
How many people hunt there usually?
Is it worth the crowds and traffic?
Is it possible to get away from roads? A mile? a few hundred yards?

Wow I just don't get the attraction.
Forgive me for sounding like an idiot.

[Todd_ID]

And here I thought it was just a concept.  You mean there's actually a place called Vail?

[GooNiEs]

lol dont waste your time....   marched the entire thing all day sunday.. only animal seen was a dead buck in a truck at the check station.... one guy claimed to have seen 6 does... but....  hard to find animals when nimrods are shooting their rifles maybe due to boredom ...?  sunday they said 24 animals came through as of 17:00 hours... thats like after about 1500 hunters....

[bobcat]

I don't want to go there so don't worry about giving away secrets.
What is it?
Why is it so popular?
How many people hunt there usually?
Is it worth the crowds and traffic?
Is it possible to get away from roads? A mile? a few hundred yards?

Wow I just don't get the attraction.
Forgive me for sounding like an idiot.

"It" is Weyerhaeuser's Vail Tree Farm.
It is popular because there are lots of roads to drive and lots of clearcuts, and it used to have more deer than just about anywhere in western Wa. Maybe it still does, I don't know.
How many people hunt there? Too many! It is not worth it to me. I don't live that far away and I won't hunt there.

Here is some info: 

http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/pdfs/businesses/recreationalaccess/Vail%20-%20Weyerhaeuser%20Recreational%20Access%20Guidelines.pdf

[Sneaky]

Endless system of roads + active logging operation with lots of clearcuts. The first time my dad and I went there he shot a buck, haven't been back since due to the massive crowds.

[Mike450r]

I blame Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, .................  Basically all hunting publications and newspapers that put out a deer forecast and have said for the last 20+ years   "if you want to find a blacktail go to Vail"

I have hunted it for over 30 years as it is only a 20 minute drive and it used to be pretty much like any other privately owned forest land,  hunted by locals.  Everybody in western Washington lives within reasonable driving distance of a good blacktail hunting area but since they are a hard deer to hunt they want an easier option and think Vail is it.

Well it isn't any easier it just has a large area of good blacktail habitat that used to mean 10+ years ago you really could just drive around and expect to see a spike or forkie around every fewother corner.  Not anymore as it  has been way over hunted and lots of cats.  My advice is go ahead and hunt it if it is close to you but if you have to drive past a viable hunting area to get there you are wasting time and fuel.

[BlackRidge]

Mike summed it up rather well

It was THE local place years ago, but nowadays is just loaded with road hunters and has few deer left. Who knows, maybe the deer are just used to the constant pressure and have gone nocturnal or moved out of the more easily accessible areas, but its nowhere near what it used to be.

Heard it got hit HARD this year too, more so than the usuals Ive spoken to expected

[Hunterman]

At one time Vail was a nice place to hunt..I have kill quite a few big deer out of there..I have not been in there sence they closed it to camping..With the amount of traffic that Vail gets, I would not be caught dead in there,,at lease not without a traffic report..Too many road hunters, and drunks..

Hunterman(Tony)

[donimator]

I used to hunt vail every weekend except opening until I got a Kapowsin pass.  I would show up at the gate, wait through the line and head 30 miles in as fast as I could go to "my area".  Stay there all day spotting clear cuts, walking timber, walking rds etc.  Would see just a few people usually asking how to get back out .  I was luck enough to know a tiny corner of vail that only has one way in and one way out.  Got my deer 5yrs in a row from there. I took very few people there and we pulled out lots of deer over the years.  My buddy got a real nice 4pt last year.  If I didn't pay for the Hancock Kapowin pass, I would be in vail.

[Ihuntelk2]

CIRCUS!!! 

[Axle]

hard to find animals when nimrods are shooting their rifles maybe due to boredom ...?

The Freemasons trace their societal roots all the way back to Nimrod.

[deerslyr]

+1 donimator
When i used to rifle hunt thats the only place id go because it was so close and I never had a problem gettin way back in there where there were only a few hunters and tons of deer. I have several spots like this up there. Most people seem to drive around or sit at the top of the clear cuts where you cant even see the bottom, I never saw many people once i was in the woods.

[ser300wsm]

To damn many people for me.  

[bobcat]

The problem with Vail in addition to all the people driving everywhere, is that with it being closed to motorized vechicles year 'round, it's impossible to scout it and learn it. I won't hunt somewhere that I can't scout first.

[Armadillo]

just look at the statistics, thats why theres so many people attracted to the place  

[Antlershed]

I have hunted it twice this year. I hunted it opening morning and I hunted it this past saturday evening. I don't hike around a lot. I drive around to the different clearcuts that I know hold deer, and glass for a long time. Sure I see deer while I'm driving from clearcut to clearcut, but its usually just does, and driving around isn't one of my hunting tactics. The landings I glass from, I can see well over 1000 yards. This last weekend I spotted two different does that I ranged at 650 yards away. Trucks were driving by on the road about 100 yards above them and they never looked up (and those trucks never spotted them cause its too steep and they never got out of their truck). Opening morning I only spent 3 hours up there and I saw 11 does. This saturday I was up there for another 3 hours in the evening and I saw 12 does. The closest deer to me was around 200 yards. Most people don't glass clearcuts, they just drive around and hope one crosses the road in front of them.

[Ihuntelk2]

Yah they do sell bino's for a reason.!

[gasman]

Its a circus thats for sure, but if you learna rareas over teh years ypu can go amd hunt be succesfull. I have a few aras that I know of that produce bucks regularly for those of thus that get out and hunt it. Huntlakewood and family have taken some decent bucks amd does from teh area over theyears but last time any of was up there they cosed off teh area and you can't get to with in 5 miles of teh area 

Lots of deer, and lots of people. If you a meat hunter, then its the place to hunt 


I don't hunt it much any more, have not been there in 3 or more years but Grumpymerien took a nice buck the first time i took him out there. They keep closing areas and condensing the hunters in to smaller and smaller hunting areas. I sure do miss the days you could camp out there, thats for sure.

[Antlershed]

Its a circus thats for sure, but if you learna rareas over teh years ypu can go amd hunt be succesfull. I have a few aras that I know of that produce bucks regularly for those of thus that get out and hunt it. Huntlakewood and family have taken some decent bucks amd does from teh area over theyears but last time any of was up there they cosed off teh area and you can't get to with in 5 miles of teh area 

5 miles isn't all that far to hike..... 

[GooNiEs]

yea good luck finding a map of that place... i was told sunbirds had it ...also online... but i dont plan on going back ... to the circus...

[1buckdown]

too many road hunters for me

[bobcat]

Yeah too many road hunters. I hate getting caught in those traffic jams when I am trying to road hunt. 

[Antlershed]

yea good luck finding a map of that place... i was told sunbirds had it ...also online... but i dont plan on going back ... to the circus...

They were selling maps up there on opening morning.

[toothfangclaw]

yea good luck finding a map of that place... i was told sunbirds had it ...also online... but i dont plan on going back ... to the circus...

They were selling maps up there on opening morning.

Complaint fail!  jus playin  Sun birds, ace hardware just south of Vail loop road,also rainer's local hardware store gets them typically. And there is a map store close by that could have it.

[bankwalker]

all you have to do in vail is hunt creek bottoms, or 3-5 year old clear cuts and let the people push deer to you. ive seen at least 1 spike everyday there. usually its really easy to see a few branched bucks a day if you get out of the car and actually hunt

the deer harvest is way down in vail though, 20+/- a day is horrible. even 5 years ago use to bring 60/100 a day

[toothfangclaw]

How is it during late buck?

[PolarBear]

Better

[Jellymon]

One day in late buck there, me and my dad both got decent deer in there. They were rutting and it seemed like there were bucks everywhere. We saw two other bucks that morning and my brother almost got a shot at a really good 3pt. Almost had a 3 deer day! Go a decent ways back, hunt the woods and creek bottoms and vail is actually a great place to hunt. I hear a vehicle once in a while but I actually dont see any people. The deer are thick in there in the right spots, I think the harvest is going down because the deer are in the trees, and the hunters are in their cars. Ive seen groups of deer just stand there and watch as cars drive by, they dont even run, so the traffic dont bother me. I say go for it!