Sick of Capital Peak unit

[kglacken]

This is where I usually resort to come late archery season just because of the access it allows, but the number of deer there is so low that it is almost a waste of gas to go there! I wish I knew the deschutes unit! I think anywhere would be better than capital peak at this point. If anyone has any info they would be willing to share i would really appreciate it! I would love to fill my $180 multiseason tag  thank you!

[gotshot]

Is Vail in the deschutes unit? If it is it would be a walk in or bike in deal but things have probably calmed down in there quite a bit.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Is Vail in the deschutes unit? If it is it would be a walk in or bike in deal but things have probably calmed down in there quite a bit.

 Vail is not deschutes, but is skookumchuck which is open as well. Im sure there may be some public land in deschutes, but my experience with it has been all on private land, which makes up the bulk of the unit.

[PolarBear]

Yep, plenty of good hunting land in Skookumchuck.

[JimmyHoffa]

How far would you drive?  GMU 624 is open until the 31, and has a few places to hunt.

[DoubleJ]

PM sent

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Then cross the highway and go into the Minot Peak unit. There should still be good access there and a pretty good deer population.

[Eli346]

 There's a lot of deer in the Capitol Peak unit but they're just so used to seeing people that they hang in the bottoms of those canyons. Hard to hunt with a bow but you can do some drives with a couple of people or set up a blind or stand and wait them out. Big deer, deep canyons. Skook is a good unit but the crackheads up there like to steal anything and everything so I try to stay away from it.

[Lcl 66 Tinner]

Ive heard from a state cruiser that its only going to get worse. They plan on logging 70% of Capital forest

[bobcat]

Ive heard from a state cruiser that its only going to get worse. They plan on logging 70% of Capital forest

Logging goes on up there on a continuous basis. Logging can only help the deer population. More feed = more deer. The problem with that unit is all the open roads and the lack of anywhere else to go around here. There's always so much human activity going on in Capitol Forest, with the brush pickers, horseback riders, motorcyclists, ATV'rs, campers, hikers, mountain bikers, shooters, etc.

To hunt up there you need to really hunt smart. It's not a place you can just drive around and see deer, especially this time of year.

[wrongway]

I agree with bobcat, you need to put in good smart hunts, I have hunted this area for years and have taken out lots of deer with my bow in the late season, hunt the steep and deep clearcuts and the timber next to the clearcuts.

[MAVsled]

it is a last resort season for those late archery deer seekers...or tag fillers.
blacktails are blacktails, same anywhere on the wet side....except in the Cap forest. For one reason; pressure from people.

times I've hunted here, target shooting on the weekends is prevalent. It seems every push out/clear cut that someone is shooting near or on. and why? Because most target shooting isn't available but prohibited on private timberlands. so on the wetside, other than a range, the CAP offers free shooting like the old days. Just have to drive to get there.
What disgusts me is the trash they leave behind; spent casings, including the clay shooters, plastic milk containers once full of water now shot to pieces, etc, etc. Some of these push outs look like red neck trash depots.
it was tough hunting late season for me last year with all the target shooting going on around me.

Great looking blacktail area; lots of clearcuts, timbered edges etc. And as someone posted, deep canyons are where the deer go. With all the roads, it is surprising to have to pack a buck up through a brushy, steep canyon to a road.
but that IS where the deer are....until nighttime when they make their way up to those prime looking areas to feed.
I've had game cams there in some good looking area, trails, deer sign etc. And some nice bucks on cam, does too, but at o'dark thirty on the images time stamp.

+ during last Jan-Feb scouting, I found several recent gut piles by observing birds-ravens. Most just off the roads. Knowing how nocturnal these deer are, I assumed poachers.

now in the 667, with gated roads mostly, a nice hike or bike in and you'll have better opportunities for a late deer.

[sirmissalot]

Ive heard from a state cruiser that its only going to get worse. They plan on logging 70% of Capital forest

Thats great news. The lack of logging IS the reason there are not a lot of deer in that unit compared to other units that are mainly private timber company lands.

[bwhntr350]

it is a last resort season for those late archery deer seekers...or tag fillers.
blacktails are blacktails, same anywhere on the wet side....except in the Cap forest. For one reason; pressure from people.

times I've hunted here, target shooting on the weekends is prevalent. It seems every push out/clear cut that someone is shooting near or on. and why? Because most target shooting isn't available but prohibited on private timberlands. so on the wetside, other than a range, the CAP offers free shooting like the old days. Just have to drive to get there.
What disgusts me is the trash they leave behind; spent casings, including the clay shooters, plastic milk containers once full of water now shot to pieces, etc, etc. Some of these push outs look like red neck trash depots.
it was tough hunting late season for me last year with all the target shooting going on around me.

Great looking blacktail area; lots of clearcuts, timbered edges etc. And as someone posted, deep canyons are where the deer go. With all the roads, it is surprising to have to pack a buck up through a brushy, steep canyon to a road.
but that IS where the deer are....until nighttime when they make their way up to those prime looking areas to feed.
I've had game cams there in some good looking area, trails, deer sign etc. And some nice bucks on cam, does too, but at o'dark thirty on the images time stamp.

+ during last Jan-Feb scouting, I found several recent gut piles by observing birds-ravens. Most just off the roads. Knowing how nocturnal these deer are, I assumed poachers.

now in the 667, with gated roads mostly, a nice hike or bike in and you'll have better opportunities for a late deer.

 ^Great post! This is exactly how I see that place. I used to have a tree stand up in there. Would get picture's all summer long but the bucks were nocturnal. Also, I was not far from a horse trail. Every nice weekend day I would hear horses go by. I could hear the people talking.  The garbage was enough to put me over the edge. I finally moved out of there. A few people have no respect for the outdoors and it ruins the place for others. I do not blame any private timber company that gates their roads.