Your Biggest Chelan/Okanogan County Muleys

[hunter_sean08]

Now that the regs are out and we're all trying to decide what tags to pick, I'm starting to get pretty stoked for the 2011 deer season. Every year I hope I'll get drawn for the late season modern firearm Chiwawa tag. I know it's going to take several years, so all I can do is sit and wait. In the meantime, if anyone has any of their favorite Chiwawa, Entiat, Swakane, Alta, or Okanogan late season pics of their bucks to share, I'd like a little reminder of why I'm waiting for one of those tags!

[Deep Forks]

There are know deer left in the Chiwawa Unit.  Only a few spikes, stunted two points and a few skinny does.  All the elk that moved in from the Westside ran the few that were left out.    

[400out]

I'm sorry Hunter but this could very well be a lost cause  Maybe search through this section and you will find all that you need 

[Skyvalhunter]

Your better off to just search thru the different pictures. You probably wont find alot of big buck pictures in your coveted Chiwawa tag. Alot more people hunt the Entiat and I think overall there have been more tags given out thru the years and people like to go up there just to look at the bucks even if they don't have a tag. Besides all the Chiwawa bucks went into the Entiat to find some loving!!

[hunter_sean08]

I beg to differ. I've had pretty good success in the Chiwawa Unit in the last few years. I know other people have to have had success in those units! The 1st pic is my most recent 2010 buck that's with the taxidermist. The 2nd pic is of my first muley buck 3pt. killed in 2004. The 3 bucks in the third picture were all killed within 24 hours of each other by my hunting party of 4 in 2004. The 4th pic is of my 2009 buck, and the 5th pic is of my grandpa's masher from 2004. All of these bucks were killed within a mile of each other in the Chiwawa Unit.

[6x6in6]

Well, no wonder there is no deer left in the Chiwawa.
You guys got the last of them.   

[Deep Forks]

Least it happened to some nice guy's and you wern't even in the burn.  Those boys looked pretty happy.  I wondered who took the last good bucks out of there.  

[hunter_sean08]

What you have to do in a unit like the Chiwawa, is find a spot that has a lot of deer traffic (migratory and resident deer). It should also produce bucks. I'd say that 70% of hunters in units like the Chiwawa or the Entiat hope to come across Mr. 3pt while driving around on the numerous forest service roads in the area. While luck can come to your side, I wouldn't count on it. GMU 245 (Chiwawa) has a lot of thick brush, whether it be slide alder, buckbrush, or viney maples. This vegetation provides a ton of cover for the big boys, so you really just have to find a spot with peepholes and some open country where they'll come out to feed. Another issue with all of the roads is that they take you into some steep country that is incredibly difficult to hunt. Looking over some of the edges up near the Sugarloaf lookout will take some of the air out of your lungs, especially when there's snow on the road. There are also just way too many yahoos and weekend warrior hunters that cover the roads, so find some country that is closed off to that crowd (get out of your vehicle and hike) and be prepared for some hard work. Be patient and do a lot of glassing. It's worth it in the long run.

One more thing to remember about hunting these units is the weather. If it's going to be crystal clear with cold mornings and a relatively warm afternoon, hunt the morning hours and evening hours extensively. Those deer will literally feed all night and head straight for their beds as soon as the sun comes over the horizon. I've seen many deer disappear into the brush/timberline just an hour into the hunt. If you get some rain or some substantial cloud cover, they'll be out for a little while longer, but with their winter coats building up, don't expect them to be standing out in the open at noon on a sunny day. Obviously the main difference maker between a highly successful season overall in a unit like the Chiwawa and a poor season is winter weather. I'm not the expert on the migration, but heavy snow will push deer out of the high country and that's what any hunter hopes for. The last time I witnessed any sort of heavy migratory activity in the general season was in 2004, when there was a considerable amount of snow already beginning to fall by the second weekend, and my party ended up taking 3 bucks in 24 hours. I haven't witnessed anything like it since, though we've had our success taking what would appear to be resident bucks. That's why I'm trying to draw one of those tags. I know where the bucks are, and I know there will be more of them during the migration/rut in November.

[6x6in6]

Hey hunter.  You really didn't need to go out of your way to post that.  It's not like it's any big secret.

WE ARE JUST JOKING WITH YOU!!!!

Or maybe not.   

[hunter_sean08]

Hey hunter.  You really didn't need to go out of your way to post that.  It's not like it's any big secret.

WE ARE JUST JOKING WITH YOU!!!!

Or maybe not.   

Joke taken haha. I know a lot of hunters get fed up with some of those units. It's not easy hunting by any means. I threatened to go elsewhere for years. I'm just saying there are still deer to be found in places like the Chiwawa. And to Deep Forks, we need some more burns!

[hunter_sean08]

Here's one more pic. This is my uncle's 2010 buck, also from GMU 245.

[Skyvalhunter]

Well congrats on some nice deer!! Looks like you know what your doing and where to go in the unit. You will find out that over time some times its best if mums the word. Just keep doing what your doing and good luck with that late permit as there is only 2,420 other people hoping to draw too. You may think more burns are needed but you don't want too many of those Maple Creek fires as the next thing you know the whole valley is burned!!

[Button Nubbs]

There are some dandys in the chiwawa, but I personally have seen a decline in the deer population and an increase in the hunter population in the past couple years. Maybe its just me

[hunter_sean08]

Yeah I'd have to agree Button Nubbs. Without wildfires, and with a few heavy winters in the last 5-7 years, deer numbers have gone down.

[Cougeyes]

Well congrats on some nice deer!! Looks like you know what your doing and where to go in the unit. You will find out that over time some times its best if mums the word. Just keep doing what your doing and good luck with that late permit as there is only 2,420 other people hoping to draw too. You may think more burns are needed but you don't want too many of those Maple Creek fires as the next thing you know the whole valley is burned!!

It's actually 1,580 but who's keeping track.....I plan on being one of the ones drawing that tag this year with 13 points.

[6x6in6]

There are some dandys in the chiwawa, but I personally have seen a decline in the deer population and an increase in the hunter population in the past couple years. Maybe its just me

That decline actually started in the mid 80's.  The first of the two really big fires took a heavy toll on the cover.  The second one a few years later did too.  And then the hunter orange was everywhere.

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea i guess I was looking at the year before. So there fore I am sure that it will be up around 3000 after this but i am feeling really lucky this year. But then I have said that in the past too!!

[Cougeyes]

Yea i guess I was looking at the year before. So there fore I am sure that it will be up around 3000 after this but i am feeling really lucky this year. But then I have said that in the past too!!

No kidding, I think this is my year as well for my muley tag, it's the only tag I really care about getting. 

[Armadillo]

Actually in the 94 fire the biggest decline of all took place when the WDFW let anyone with a tag loose in the area because the deer wouldve supposedly starved due to all the food getting burned up... actually i get all burned up just thinking about it 

[Armadillo]

they couldnt shut it down fast enough and I had heard that a couple thousand deer were harvested just in the Chiwawa entiat and Swak..

[grundy53]

I'll be up there during the early bow season.... and no not because I read this thread.

[6x6in6]

Actually in the 94 fire the biggest decline of all took place when the WDFW let anyone with a tag loose in the area because the deer wouldve supposedly starved due to all the food getting burned up... actually i get all burned up just thinking about it 

I completely forgot about that game management disaster. 

[Skyvalhunter]

Was that the time when they were allowing anyone with a valid tag go over and shoot a doe?

[Button Nubbs]

You and me both grundy just waitin for my road to open...

[6x6in6]

Was that the time when they were allowing anyone with a valid tag go over and shoot a doe?

Yeah, if I remember correctly they had something like a 2000 head count quota and within 3 days they were WAY over that.

[Button Nubbs]

There are some dandys in the chiwawa, but I personally have seen a decline in the deer population and an increase in the hunter population in the past couple years. Maybe its just me

That decline actually started in the mid 80's.  The first of the two really big fires took a heavy toll on the cover.  The second one a few years later did too.  And then the hunter orange was everywhere.

I was still shi++in yellow in the mid 80's

[6x6in6]

There are some dandys in the chiwawa, but I personally have seen a decline in the deer population and an increase in the hunter population in the past couple years. Maybe its just me

That decline actually started in the mid 80's.  The first of the two really big fires took a heavy toll on the cover.  The second one a few years later did too.  And then the hunter orange was everywhere.

I was still shi++in yellow in the mid 80's

Some fun times for me in the late 70's and early 80's were had here.  Seeing 100+ easy per day. 25-30 of which were bucks.  Seeing virtually no other humans.  Mule deer hunting in mid November.  No ridiculous draw format to deal with.  Sugarloaf Mt lookout peeked out over the trees instead of a burn.  Couldn't see all the way down to the Mad.  The drive in from Eagle Cr you could count the vehicles you saw on one hand.  French Corral still had a corral. 
Ah, the good 'ole days.........

[hunter_sean08]

6x6in6- It's always awesome to run into guys like you in the woods over there and hear stories about the good ole' days. My grandpa has stories going all the way back to the early 50's about hunting over there and they never get old. I've heard my fair share of horror stories regarding the mismanagement of the deer in the Chiwawa unit including a story about the number of doe tags they used to hand out back in the 70's. Unbelievable.

[6x6in6]

The first couple times I ever went deer hunting was over there in the Chiwawa.
My best friend in high school invited me.  We had been duck hunting for years together and he said wanna go?  I didn't even own a rifle yet and borrowed one from his Dad.  A .308 of some manufacturer with Tasco 4X on top.  Never did squeeze the trigger that first 2 week deer hunt back in '76.  But I did the next year with a brand spanking new Ruger on a little 2x3.  I was hooked!!!
My friends Dad hunted that area since he was kid in the early 60's and his father had started hunting it back in the '50's too.  It was a tradition to go there for deer camp.  At the time, I had no clue, young and dumb.  I sure do respect now days that the offer that was extended to me and what a wealth of information those 2 taught me about that country over the following 8-9 years. 

I still go back from time to time.  In fact, I did just this last season for the closing weekend of the season.  It's just amazing how much different it looks now just to to the post fire days, let alone the pre-fire days.  I even went out and sat at the same spot I shot my very first deer at until shooting hours were up.  Hadn't been back to that very spot since probably 92 or 93 I guess.
I did see a doe at about 1500 yards though.  And a lot of orange!!

[Skyvalhunter]

I ran into this old timer that lives at Lake Wenatchee and BSed with him for quite some time. Boy the stories he told me about the good old days. He had his favorite spot he used to sit at and wait every year and he said sooner or later a nice buck would come by. I ran into his son waiting at the base of the same tree. I remember when I was a kid and drew a doe tag for over there. Wasn't a problem filling that tag for sure.

[SkookumHntr]

2004 was a increadable year! I shot a big Cinnamen bear my first 10 minutes at camp, then the next morning got a 25" 4x4!  That was the Best year I have ever seen!

[Armadillo]

 my dad and uncle would hang their bucks in camp and people would always drive by and ask where they got em. They'd always say moon cnyn. They would run across some of the people again later in the week and the people would be all pissed cuz they wouldve hit the area all week long and not seen a single animal 

[hunter_sean08]

Man I wish I could've seen the land back then. I'm always so jealous of my dad, grandpa, and my uncles for the experiences they had. Then again I've had some pretty great experiences there myself in the last ten years. I will never forget sitting on the dock at my cabin on Lake Wenatchee in '94 watching the Entiat fire come over Miner's Ridge. I was only 4 years old but I can remember seeing those flames move quick. It was either that fall or the fall after that my dad took us up the Maverick Saddle to Sugarloaf, and I remember it looking just like the moon.

[windygorge]

Well, no wonder there is no deer left in the Chiwawa.
You guys got the last of them.   

[golfguy0912]

Here is my 2003 Chelan Co. Archery. The first one is in the field, but not really a good pic. Second is on the wall. I will see if I cant find a picture of my 2001 Entiat late rifle buck.

[hunter_sean08]

Nice bucks golfguy. I'd be so stoked to draw one of those tags!

[golfguy0912]

Thanks, he was the first (and so far only) buck I have taken with a bow.

[crazyantler]

I got this one last year on the draw and there was no shortage of bucks from what I experienced.  This was not even the biggest, but I got trigger happy!

[Lowedog]

The wolves have eaten all the deer here in Chelan and Okanogan counties.  They are all gone so don't waste your time.

[WAmuleyHunter]

agreed..

[Ridgerunner]

That is one of the goofiest/coolest looking bucks I've seen, I think I would have been trigger happy too.

[wsucowboy]

I got this one last year on the draw and there was no shortage of bucks from what I experienced.  This was not even the biggest, but I got trigger happy!

Nice buck, a lot of character. I think i would have gotten trigger happy also

[NWBREW]

I probably would have missed.   

[MtnMuley]

It must have been nice to run into a local with the same tag that helped you out.

[Jburke]

I probably would have missed.

[crazyantler]

I had to wear a mitten on my hand just so I would not should the first nice buck we saw.  My brother also ended up with a nice 28" buck.  I agree the wolves have eaten all the deer.  Nobody should put in for the area so I can find that one last buck deer that remains on my next draw!!  Just playin, good luck.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I beg to differ. I've had pretty good success in the Chiwawa Unit in the last few years. I know other people have to have had success in those units! The 1st pic is my most recent 2010 buck that's with the taxidermist. The 2nd pic is of my first muley buck 3pt. killed in 2004. The 3 bucks in the third picture were all killed within 24 hours of each other by my hunting party of 4 in 2004. The 4th pic is of my 2009 buck, and the 5th pic is of my grandpa's masher from 2004. All of these bucks were killed within a mile of each other in the Chiwawa Unit.

  Well i would say your doing O.K .. awesome .. but this one looks more like a blacktail than mule deer .. short ears and all .. cross bread ....

[BOWHUNTER45]

I had to wear a mitten on my hand just so I would not should the first nice buck we saw.  My brother also ended up with a nice 28" buck.  I agree the wolves have eaten all the deer.  Nobody should put in for the area so I can find that one last buck deer that remains on my next draw!!  Just playin, good luck.

  nice one ..yeah I am praying for this tag someday soon.. my boy has been patiently waiting ...hopefully this is the year !!!

[HighCountryHunter88]

Ill post up mine, November 21st...