lack of deer

[blacktaill]

Worst year i have ever had. We hunt 621 and pull nice deer every year. This year we saw no bucks and 4 does!! Some of our problems are two years ago they started opening the gats and that has made all the deer go nocternal! Looking for a new area!

[XJcoug13]

I hunt the 648, Hiked in behind a closed gate the second weekend of deer season and shot a buck in pouring down rain, 2 hours later my uncle shot his buck. Another guy in our hunting party shot his deer the next weekend just 15 minutes after daylight. Theres still deer...This is my first buck in 2 years so I was saying the same thing.."WHeres all the deer?"

[JimmyHoffa]

Worst year i have ever had. We hunt 621 and pull nice deer every year. This year we saw no bucks and 4 does!! Some of our problems are two years ago they started opening the gats and that has made all the deer go nocternal! Looking for a new area!

Yep.  I as well as most I talked to in 621 said the same.  There was a lot of pressure in there this year, but most thought the weather was keeping them nocturnal for the first 10 days or so of the season.  Fewest number of deer I've seen in there.  I did hear that lots of bear and bobcat were shot in 621 and 624 this year.  Also seen more cougar and poached deer in 621 than in years past.  But for the westside OP units I saw more deer than have ever seen over there.

[OEFvet1986]

I hunted 653 for a week with my buddy and we only saw 2 dead does (poached). We hunted all week there and did not see one deer, I saw 3 rabbits and that was all. It was very depressing. Also i would like to add we heard a cougar one night we were camping up high. Pretty creepy when your taking a piss in the dark and hear one for the first time in your life.

Did it scare the Piss out of you... 

Yes it scared it out of me, the really bad part was i only had one boot on. So i had to quickly hop back to my tent and grab the rifle.

[OEFvet1986]

I think this means i have to kill alot more coyotes, maybe that will help the deer population. But probably not considering once the deer repopulate the mucks will probably poach them.

[PlateauNDN]

I think this means i have to kill alot more coyotes, maybe that will help the deer population. But probably not considering once the deer repopulate the mucks will probably poach them.

Maybe, if the population rebounds maybe they'll leave the east side alone for a while and go back across the mountains.

[Armadillo]

I saw 4 does today, they were all up high around 2k ft.

[sirmissalot]

If you are looking for deer those are the wrong units. There haven't been many deer in there for years.

 

Areas with a lot of elk there are not a lot of deer. I saw several deer sunday when I was going up to check trail cameras, one of them a dandy buck (blacktails) he was bedded in a clear cut enjoying the weather, he finally got up from his bed when I was within about 30 yards.

Are you glassing a lot? My experience this time of year is the deer (including bucks) are bedded in clear cuts resting from the last few months of being chased around by hunters and chasing eachother during the rut. They are tough to spot this time of year but they are there 

[ouchfoss]

It does seem like deer numbers have consistently gone down around here (638 and 642 to be specific). Although there has been some poaching going on locally, I would think the predator numbers would have a big effect on deer numbers as well. There was a mommy cougar with 2 kittens that killed several elk from a local herd and who knows how many deer. I was told the momma was killed around this time of year last year but by then, the kittens were already big enough to take care of themselves. I have heard from several people this year that have seen cats in the same area of 642 that the momma was killed. Plus Humptulips killed a cat in Wynoochie so that just tells you how many cats there actually are out there. Seems like every year there is that many more sightings and that many more killed. Not a good trend in my opinion. 
I went down hunting in Winston creek this last weekend and saw several fresh cat tracks in different areas over the weekend. I wouldnt mind if they allowed hound hunting to get the cat numbers down to alot lower numbers.

[44 Flattop]

I remember vividly about 15 years ago I saw 42 blacktail bucks during season and ended up taking an awful nice once.  My hunting buddy the same year, we didn't have a chance to hunt togather, after season ended asked me if I had killed one.  I told him about it and about seeing all the bucks that season.  He was stunned as he and his two boys saw 2 does all season long and they hunt the same basic area that I do. 

Next year I saw one doe and one little buck, which I killed.  My hunting buddy killed a dandy, one of a couple dozen or so that he saw. 

This year I saw 3 bucks, period.  That doesn't mean there aren't any does anymore...

[jason4429]

I remember vividly about 15 years ago I saw 42 blacktail bucks during season and ended up taking an awful nice once.  My hunting buddy the same year, we didn't have a chance to hunt togather, after season ended asked me if I had killed one.  I told him about it and about seeing all the bucks that season.  He was stunned as he and his two boys saw 2 does all season long and they hunt the same basic area that I do. 

Next year I saw one doe and one little buck, which I killed.  My hunting buddy killed a dandy, one of a couple dozen or so that he saw. 

This year I saw 3 bucks, period.  That doesn't mean there aren't any does anymore...

[SkookumHntr]

-I hunt 667 and that aint the wrong unit! I hunted saturday, sunday of late buck and 4 days in the general season and didnt see a deer! We have some major MAJOR Lion problems! My bud did slick one lion off and I know of three more that were seen! WDFW better make some changes around here real quick!

[Turner89]

I hunt 448. This year i was thinking the that deer #s were down there also (at least in my small area of 448). I wasnt having a lot of luck with my cameras compared to previous years.  Most of that was because of camera failure, but i still felt like I should have had more buck action on my pics.
    I take the last week off for blacktail evry year, and this year aside  from a couple spikes i didnt see alot of deer, untill the last 3 days of mod season.  Than it was back to normal (for my area). Ended up shooting nice 4x4 on halloween. I think weather was stange this year. Been out scouting every weekend since , and been seeing deer.

     

[SkookumHntr]

I remember vividly about 15 years ago I saw 42 blacktail bucks during season and ended up taking an awful nice once.  My hunting buddy the same year, we didn't have a chance to hunt togather, after season ended asked me if I had killed one.  I told him about it and about seeing all the bucks that season.  He was stunned as he and his two boys saw 2 does all season long and they hunt the same basic area that I do. 

Next year I saw one doe and one little buck, which I killed.  My hunting buddy killed a dandy, one of a couple dozen or so that he saw. 

This year I saw 3 bucks, period.  That doesn't mean there aren't any does anymore...

-I live in the middle of my unit and tromp around pretty much every weekend and its pretty odvious the deer numbers have been falling for a few years now! In 667 that is..

[Muskrat]

I was at Cabelas in Lacey in September. The WDFW was there in force They had on display a beautiful 4x4 pickup that was towing a large trailer. Inside the trailer was a display that was named "WDFW Wall of Shame". This wall had numerous trophy deer antlers hanging. It also had mounts of every wild animal in the state, including wolves. According to the Game Warden on duty, every one of the mounts on display were confiscated from poachers. The 4x4 pickup mentioned above, was also confiscated from a poacher. There is little doubt that poachers, judging by the trophy antlers, have taken innumerable animals out of the herds. Especially troubling is the lost of the genetics of these animals. More troubling is the fact that many of these trophies were confiscated from taxidermist shops where no proof of legality could be found. Attached picture does not really do justice to the display, but does point out the enormous problem that exist with poachers. If you have never seen the entire display, you will be appalled at the enormity of the problem. Muskrat