deer hunting in San Juans

[Laroche]

Does anyone know a place to hunt deer in the islands? I hear Orcas is good, but I hear that there aren't a lot of places where it's allowed or where land owners let you.

[oneshotkill]

I hunt deer out on Shaw Island but that is only because I have friends there.  Almost all of the land is private so unless you know someone there isn't really anywhere to hunt.  Are you talking archery, muzzleloader, of modern firearm season?  ALL of the San Juan Islands are loaded with deer so pretty much anywhere you get permission should be decent.  Depending on what season you are hunting I can give you a phone number of a place on Shaw Island that might let you hunt.  It does not have quite the quantity of deer as the place I get to hunt and it gets a bit more hunting pressure but I have seen some solid (as far as Island deer go) bucks get killed off of it.  Other then that I would just start asking people for permission.  Normally when I am on the ferry going out to the Islands to hunt, people (mostly from Orcas) will see my hunting gear and tell me how they have deer on their property that need to be shot and ask if I want to come to their place.  The place I have to hunt on Shaw is quite prime so I am not all that interested but it shows there are a decent number of people that might allow you to hunt.  You could see if there is an online newspaper or community blog for Orcas and post up that you are looking for a place to hunt and give your phone number.  I would bet you would get a decent number of people offering you permission to hunt just based on the number of people that have offered me permission out there.  People who have never met me before.  You will of course also get plenty of people hating you since the San Juans are pretty liberal but I bet you could find people to let you hunt.

[hillbilli]

i live on whidbey, lots of deer, but nearly all private land, and some of the places I have gotten permission to hunt are real smal, 5ac-25 acre spots.. but I put deer in the freezer.. dont be afraid to ask..

[LCRetrievers]

I have spent three years hunting Orcas, it has been a long process getting permission.  The thing that I have going for me is the kids...people don't want to say no to a kid looking to get a deer!!

[Atroxus]

Aren't all the islands firearms restricted for hunting? I thought you could only use bows or crossbows out there.

[seth30]

Shotguns with slugs during modern

[Bob33]

Aren't all the islands firearms restricted for hunting? I thought you could only use bows or crossbows out there.

San Juan County is all firearm restricted.  Not sure about Island.

[lokidog]

Aren't all the islands firearms restricted for hunting? I thought you could only use bows or crossbows out there.

San Juan County is all firearm restricted.  Not sure about Island.

It is pretty much firearm restricted west of I-5 north of Everett. ==> Island County  The portion of GMU 410 (Island) on Camano and Whidbey islands.  ==> San Juan County  All San Juan County.   ==> Skagit County  All mainland areas and islands in Skagit County west of I-5 and north of the Skagit/Snohomish County line, except Cypress Island. This restriction applies to big game hunting only.

You can use bow, crossbow, muzzleloader, shotgun, or revolver style handgun.

[luvmystang67]

I've done a ton of hunting out there.  Not much permission unless you know people.  Often hard to identify land owners for such permission.

That being said there are a TON of deer out there.  All very small, seriously half the size of most deer on the mainland.  Not a very exciting hunt, more of a drive up, step out of the car and kill where you have permission and then go about your day.

I can hunt there every year and opt not to.  Not exciting, not much meat, too much hassle and I hate using shotguns.  Oh, and people hate you for it, minor detail.

[hillbilli]

last 2 does on the islands dressed 80 lb, 90lb... so not huge, but also close to home for me..

[NWWABOWHNTR]

last 2 does on the islands dressed 80 lb, 90lb... so not huge, but also close to home for me..

There are bigger.. just need to be patient and picky!   

[Thanny78]

One of the biggest blackies I have ever seen was a 4-Point that came off of whidbey. He was a mossy-horned monster, shot by a newbie on his first day of hunting the first season after taking the hunters-ed course...

Thanny.

[lokidog]

last 2 does on the islands dressed 80 lb, 90lb... so not huge, but also close to home for me..

There are bigger.. just need to be patient and picky!   

Whidbey's not a real island... it's essentially attached at both ends.     Seriously though, the deer are a lot bigger on Whidbey than the San Juans, there is a lot more agricultural food available and more deer for a better genetic mix.  The larger islands here, San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez (and maybe Shaw, but I haven't been there) have much larger deer than the less developed islands. 

People think the deer swim back and forth between the islands on a regular basis, they don't.  Between cold water, currents and long distances, I am sure that many that try don't make it or die when they get there from exhaustion (have heard of that once here).  The two biggest bucks we have gotten on Decatur provided just over fifty pounds of meat, each.  Weathergirl's deer from this year was about 170 pounds... full body weight.  A "big" doe will provide maybe 30 pounds of meat.

[grizzlyadams]

last 2 does on the islands dressed 80 lb, 90lb... so not huge, but also close to home for me..

There are bigger.. just need to be patient and picky!   

Whidbey's not a real island... it's essentially attached at both ends.     Seriously though, the deer are a lot bigger on Whidbey than the San Juans, there is a lot more agricultural food available and more deer for a better genetic mix.  The larger islands here, San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez (and maybe Shaw, but I haven't been there) have much larger deer than the less developed islands. 

People think the deer swim back and forth between the islands on a regular basis, they don't.  Between cold water, currents and long distances, I am sure that many that try don't make it or die when they get there from exhaustion (have heard of that once here).  The two biggest bucks we have gotten on Decatur provided just over fifty pounds of meat, each.  Weathergirl's deer from this year was about 170 pounds... full body weight.  A "big" doe will provide maybe 30 pounds of meat.

Ummm....if you want to get technical, all islands are attached to mainlands. Its just the low spots are filled with water.....   It cracks me up when people say.....do you think these continents were ever attached? Maybe if you flip it this way and turn it this way, it looks like they fit together. Hello??  Do you realize they are still attached and always have been? Its just that they are attache beneath the water level....

[lokidog]

I guess the Whidbey's not a real island is a bit of an inside joke.  When we were looking at moving to Decatur, a friend's husband was all "I grew up on an island and it sucked...."  kind of thing.  Of course it was Whidbey, which you really can't compare to a non-ferry served island since you can drive off either end any time you want. 

Sorry to get off-topic.