deer numbers down

[deerhunter_98520]

ive been out everyday...seen 7 deer between sat/sun at my usual spot...weyehauser decided to yellow dot my huntin area..thats screwed me pretty good...my backup spot is to overgrown and there really isnt to many other places open close by....i havent seen 1 deer since monday...found lots of chantrels though..atleast i havent come home empty handed

[andrebeergog]

I think more predator hunting is the key. The Coyote population seems to be exploding everywhere leading to massive fawn predation.  The area we hunt south of Republic had coyote poop all over the trails/roads.  Way more than we have ever seen.  I also just saw my first Coyote ever this weekend while hunting.  I have never gone a single day over there and not seen a single deer.   I went 2 days in a row this year.  Something is definitely up.   We only saw 1 deer hanging in the state campground, whereas we usually see 10+.  Cougars have been almost unchecked for a good number of years. Do you think it is just a cooincidence that the WDFW has just reopened Cougar hunts in the eastern GMU's? 

[deerbandit]

Myself and 2 other friends hunted GMU 111 and 117 opening day and the next three days, and never saw a deer.  There was a lot of moon light all those days I know, but this is the first time we have never seen deer not even a doe at all. Three of the 4 nights we heard coyotes sometimes nearby sometimes farther away, seems like we might be going back there after deer season and try to thin the coyote herd a bit.  When we got back we heard about the guy who recorded a wolf on his I-phone up in 117 but I am not sure where in 117 he recorded it.  I like how people think re-introducing wolves wont cause any harm to hunting.

[dibbs]

I cant speak for the rest of the state, but in Okanogan county the numbers are down substantially in the past few years. I 'm out in the woods all the time, no animals, few tracks, very little sign!  I Part of it is predators, both the two and four legged variety, part of it is winter kill, and part of it is loss of habitat.
 However I believe the biggest problem is that our seasons are too freeking long, and the WDFW issues way too many special permits!   Our state population continues to grow, and the deer are hunted from September thru December.  While I love to hunt just as much as the next guy, I believe the wildlife comission needs to give each venue (rifle, archery, muzzleloader) a one week season, period.  Do this for several years until populations come back a bit, and manage for healthy herds, not dollars from license sales. 

The way the deer herds have dwindled, I may very soon not purchase a deer tag, and if WDFW thinks they are going to generate additional revenue with increasing license and tag fees, with crappy herd numbers, then they're sadly mistaken. My $0.02, rant off.

[muleracks2]

I saw a report that 20 years ago WA had about 55,000 deer hunters and now it's only about 11,000.  Even with increase technology I suspect that over harvest by hunters is not the problem.  We pack hunter drop camps, 17 camps with 22 bucks so far this season.  Deer sightings in our area does not seem to be down (dry side of the Cascades).  Antler growth may have suffered this year because of the late snow and stress that put on the bucks at a time when they should be storing energy for growing antlers.

Kudos to those who favor a prudent use of late season permits for all weapon classes.