6020

[Thenewguy]

Deer unit that is. How much public land is there in the unit? Does anyone know about any firearm restrictions? Thanks in advance, I just found out my late blacktail area is closed.... =-(

[Thenewguy]

I jumped on gohunt and I am not sure if the county land there is huntable

[Thenewguy]

thanks Jimmy

[croix]

the clallam county firearm restrictions are difficult to muddle through. there are NO Firearm zones and RESTRICTED firearm zones. here is what it says about RESTRICTED:

RESTRICTED SHOOTING AREA 1
(North of 101)
The area north of Highway 101, and bounded on the west by the Elwha River, on the south
by Highway 101, on the east by the east county line, and on the north by the Strait of Juan
de Fuca.
Restricted Activity: It is unlawful to discharge, fire or shoot rifles, pistols or firearms of any
type whatsoever, except for the use of shotguns, for hunting purposes with either shot or
ball.

i scouted the diamond point area last friday and yes there were deer but they were 5 ft from paved road eating in peoples yards.  ALL of the area around diamond point is either private or state park land. there is actually a LOT of state park land  in that peninsula and it is ALL posted NO hunting, NO camping, NO Firearms, NO campfires, NO mororized vehicles. One of the locals told me that a lot of people ride horses in the area. i also searched tax records and found some timer company land around cat lake, but when i got there i discovered that it has been re-zoned and is being sold off as private property and is posted NO Hunting and NO trespassing. i thought that i might be able to access the DNR land from there but talking to one of the homeowners/tree farm at the end of the road and he told me that it's all private around the DNR land and nobody wants hunters.

trying to get to the DNR land on the peninsula is like solving a friggin rubik's cube. almost every road on the map that looked like it went to DNR ultimately ended at somebody's private property and you would have to cross it. a couple of times i could see the DNR land across some yard but signs for "BAD DOG" or the feeling that my mouth was to "purdy" kept me from knocking on some doors.

all in all - there is approx 1000 acres of DNR land on the peninsula and it is surrounded by private or has private mixed in. at the end of the day i had found 2 access points to the DNR. the west side of the DNR is mostly VERY dense reprod. there is one clear cut on the east side of DNR land off of Pierce Rd. that had deer sign near the top but didn't see any actual deer. btw - on the map Pierce Rd appears to go all the way north from 101. That's not exactly true. It ultimately hits a gate at private property and Pierce Rd becomes a trail after that (at least for as far as i was willing to try.

BOTTOM LINE - Not as much DNR land as you might think, it's hard to access, and didn't see any actual deer on DNR. Of course I only scouted the peninsula portion of the 6020 deer unit because i thought that's where the most DNR was etc. and the NO FIREARM zones of Clallam county are in and around the Sequim area so i wanted to avoind that. A little deeper research into the area immediatley surrounding Sequim might reveal something but I wasn't willing to try it.

I think that there are other areas of the oly unit and the coyle unit that have better opportunites. Good luck.

[croix]

There is public land in 6020.  There is some along the Dungeness River over near the Game Farm (so I've been told--but haven't verified), but you would need to check with neighbors and the county, etc.  There is also a new duck area near the mouth of the Dungeness River (leased by WDFW--private?) 100% Private and in all the years that i've gone there i've not seen any deer, not sure on the rules for deer there...I think WDFW just put up the new parking lots a couple of months ago.  The Miller Peninsula has the most land that I can think of in that area.  If you turn north from 101 onto Diamond Point Rd, then the first 'real' right (east), you can follow until you see DNR gates. Based on my scouting last friday these are State Park gates and they all say no hunting etc.  There are trails all around that area for hiking that go all the way to the beach.  The cover is low and thick, elevation is relatively easy.  Not much in the way of water in there.  There is an explosive test site in the area (Also on state park land - which i found to be very odd) that has workers who drive a few of those roads that might be of help to you.  The company is NTI out of Port Angeles.  Diamond Point has lots of deer, because they live in yards and some people feed them.  There is a small airport and deer-plane collisions can be a problem, might want to ask some of the residents in that area.  

[BushMonster]

Croix is correct.  My family has a place on Diamond Point and I lived out there all summer.  The deer are a major pain in the a$$ out there, but so many greenies that don't want hunting and all the land is private.  The big chunk of land in the middle of Miller Peninsula is state park owned land and I just received a call back from them to clarify things and it is No Hunting due to its State Park status.  The GoHunt app is displaying this incorrectly per the guy from State Parks, and DNR said they don't own any land out on Miller Peninsula.  The land is managed by the folks over at Sequim Bay State Park and they can be contacted for more information, but since the parks own it, its no use.  I mountain bike all over that park area and some great trails, but access is all gated and No Hunting signs everywhere.  I asked about the non-official looking No Hunting signs and the reply was that since the land is undeveloped they use the cardboard signs.

Its pretty silly to have a deer specific area, where there are no lands to hunt them.  I guess I can sit in the backyard with my bow, lace an arrow through it, and let it spray blood all over the greenies driveways.  Some people are very annoyed by the deer, but others feed and protect them like their own.   There are a few larger land parcels, where I've thought about asking for hunting permission, but never got around to it.  Tomorrow morning headed elsewhere, but if its last day and I'm still empty handed....

[fair-chase]

Well, the sporting goods store was right about the electronic calls. But as far as baiting and scents you should be good to go. Baiting can be subject to the property you are on but not against the rules by any means. You would think that a requirement of working at a sporting goods store would be to have a basic understanding of the regs. Just not the case these days. I cannot count the times I have been in sportsmans and had an employee spout off a ridiculous comment about the rules.

[fair-chase]

Yeah, you are right. This topic was under deer hunting so I assumed he was telling you it was illegal for deer.

Especially illegal for predators? You should have slapped him.

[robodad]

From the Clallam/Jefferson county line at Diamond Point east there is no firearm restriction, only west of the county line to the Elwah River North of Hwy 101 !! See page 75  in the regs for the types of weapons you can use in the restricted area during the respective season, in Modern season you can use Bows & Arrows including crossbows, also Muzzleloaders and revolver type hand guns (meeting equipment restrictions) and shotguns firing slugs or buckshot !!

As for access, there is very little in terms of public land, even the local tree farms are so small and all private surrounding them it is really hard to get access to them.  

[croix]

here is a  link to the clallam county ordinance which further restricts the use of firearms beyond what the hunting regs allow

http://www.clallam.net/board/ordinances/Ord764.pdf

it also includes maps of restricted and no discharge areas

as robodad mentioned, this does not apply east of diamond pt road since that is jefferson county, but i couldn't find ANY public land to hunt east of diamond pt road.

[robodad]

There are a couple "No Firearms Discharge" areas that I know of but they are on the south side of 101, I don't remember seeing any on the north side and I have lived here 18 years, that doesnt mean there aren't any but I haven't seen one, Perhaps Diamond Point there could be one but I'm not sure. These areas are completely different then a "Firearms Restricted" area so be sure you know the difference !!  

"No Firearms Discharge" areas must have signs surrounding it with the ordanances written on the signs so they are very hard to miss !!

[croix]

no problem. i did a ton of research on the unit when i saw "any deer" (because i have that kind of time  ). my best friend's 10 year old boy is hunting for the first time this year and we really want to get him on something so that he can have a little success. problem with the 6020 is that the boy would have to  use a shotgun with buckshot or a bow and he isn't proficient with either. not to mention all of the access issues and limited open areas within dnr land. we will figure something out.