5 FIRST TIME HUNTER, WHERE TO START?

[BIGINNER]

OK, this is gonna be my first year actaully hunting big game,  and my wife and 2 brothers and a close friend of ours are all signed up for hunters ed. this spring,  we're planning on making a deer hunting trip this fall (modern firearm season). i'm the most experienced hunter out of the group. i've hunted for one season before, but mostly upland birds and one duck hunt.  i also hunt yotes whenever i can,  i know the basic tecniques for deer hunting, and i know how to do all the field prep,  my question is,...  where would you guys sugjust first time hunters to go? east or west of tri-cities?  west side of cascades is out ofther question since we are alot more confortable and familiar with dryer climates    

i know several good spots that we are actually leaning towards going to, (in the blues/dayton) area,    but since there is no deer or elk in the blues, where would be a good places to go for high sucess probabiltiy? or would you guys sugjust we stick to our spots in the blus/dayton area and not get anything?   

[bobcat]

Since you're somewhat familiar with Dayton, I'd suggest private land in that area- whether it's "feel free," "register to hunt," "written permission only," or some private land you get access to simply by knocking on doors (that would be best.) Since you don't live too far away you should have plenty of time to scout and talk to landowners in the area. Avoid public land at all cost if you want the probability of high success.  

[h20hunter]

I may catch some hell for this but a few things I would do is don't pick any of the most popular/productive areas. I would look around and find some big open country that produces deer but not a ton. My thinking is that you can do some road hunting/scouting, learn some areas while you are out, and get out and really hunt some productive ground when you find it. Your first time out solo or with a group you are not going to fill all the tags.

[NW-GSP]

read your regs and read them again and after that do it again, alot of laws and regulations to absorb

[billythekidrock]

I would suggest slowing your roll and not put the cart ahead of the horse.

Focus on Hunters Education.

What happens if anyone of your partners does not pass HE?
Does everyone have their own gear or money to buy the things needed?
What about vacation time? Who is really committed and who will bag out at the first opportunity?

Those are some of the things I would worry about first. With out knowing the answers to the above questions it won't matter where you plan to hunt.

[gaddy]

if you are looking for success i would try the north east for deer. a gal i worked with husband & son always go to deer camp for the first weekend by CleElum to be with family & then go NE to fill a tag at the end of season. for elk head to the clockum. why would you bother with the blues as you have already stated that you know there are no deer or elk there unless you are just wanting to camp.( and remember that it's dangerous up there for the inexperienced.watch your azz). the foothills come to mind for deer  but they had that disease that hit the touche a while back and i haven't heard if they have recovered, what with the feet & now wolves in the area.

[JKEEN33]

Take some weekend camping trips to different areas. Do some hiking and learn the area well ahead of time. Do a lot of scouting. Some guys spend all year looking for the deer they are going after during the open season.

[BIGINNER]

i'm pretty confident that they'll all pass,  if they don't  well then more deer for me  
and they all have their own gear.  we go shooting all the time together, and the know and follow all safety rules.  but right now their studying hard.  as for vacation, i have a couple weeks saved up for myself and my prothers and buddy work on their own scedule (self employed).  so once they pass hunters ed, its pretty much a go.  

i kinda agree with bobcat, we know the dayton/southeast of the state the best,  i know its really difficult terrain in areas,  but i think we can manage that.  

[couesbitten]

You've got all summer to scout, I'd spend as much time in the woods as possible to find an area with acceptable numbers of deer in the kind of terrain you'd like to hunt.

[timber tiger]

since you like killing the dogs go ask local ppl for permission to hunt dogs and if you're respectfull and safe some will likely let you hunt deer also just my 

[WSU]

Go the area you are familiar with, especially if you know it has animals.  No reason to complicate things by trying to figure out the area and the hunting at the same time.  Half the battle is becoming familiar with your area and the animals that are there.

[steen]

Go where there are lots of deer and don't be picky on antler size.  It will build confidence if you are sucessful and give you experience watching more deer, counting points etc...  The more pairs of binos the better, if you don't have one for each hunter you almost need to hunt together, especially with the kids.  Good luck!

[Black Plague]

as for not passing hunters ed....I am not sure I have ever heard of someone not passing it... does that happen?...I mean come on 10 year old kids pass it all the time... seems to me that they just about give licences away... yep ask around for some private land but have the public land scouted out for your fall back ....get out in the woods wherever you can legally go and  start looking for sheds while familiarizing yourself with the country... draws, watering sources, food, lookout points places to set up for multiple people...etc, etc...

[jagermiester]

make sure you start putting in for some special permits as a group now so that you can start building points.

[timber tiger]

Seriously what i think you should do is take a self defens / tactical assult coarse if you are planning on elk hunting in this state!!!!!! after a few hunts on the wet side of WA for elk i personally made the choice to quit... yes if it was just me i would not of MADE THE CHOICE !!!!! I am also a foster parent and was getting my boys into hunting butt to many crossfire situations and absolute ignorance for laws by people that hunt the units i was in made me put a halt to taking the kids into the woods weather it was tweekers cooking dope at campgrounds and the fact that when ever we saw elk there was a fire fight like WW2 with me holding the kids down behind burms i said enough is enough... i think personally and i say personally only from experience if an anti ever gets hit in an elk fire fight in colockum or the Nile or the American river area we will have alot of explaining to do to the media and it will never be the same after....like the bear hunt not too long ago... i feel if those kids could of studied the animal before shooting it would not have Ben a person they shot...but from what i saw while hunting this state it has always been "if its brown its down"and that truly is sad for me personally.. this is a sad day for me to write this as i remember the situations i have been involved in and i will never do it again because of my fellow hunters actions but yes i realize this is the unthinkable here among *censored* foots and rightys who are really to me sissy Lefty's at heart it wont be the same for me again not since the 70s and i know those days are long gone my friends

Timber T out for good with this state in the state it is no i say no more !!!!!!!LIKE I SAID IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS REPLY THIS IS MY OWN EXPERIENCE PERSONNALLY AND NOT THAT OF ALL OTHERS JUST ME!!!!!