newbie to deer

[TannerBoy92]

heys guys, so to start off the new year im done thinking of things i wanna do and now im gonna do them! i used to hunt when i was little with my dad but through sports, work, school etc i lost track and now i wanna start it up again, im 19 and have shot all my life etc and comfortable in woods but hunting deer is new. I plan on buying my deer elk bear cougar combo and gonna hit it hard with my bro and friend who are both hunters...now im not asking for hunny holes because i wanna do the grunt work myself and not expecting to shoot everytime i go out but is there any certain areas, towns, part of the woods that may be good to look at? after this post im going to look at the wdfw records etc but just thought i would throw this out to some real hunters that know more then I do..i live in western washington so would hunt mainly here but want to experience eastern as well.

do calls help? which kind? certain times?

hope you guys dont mind me picking your brain but just wanna learn as much as i can!

thanks for any info....really helps!

ps.. im guessing im after mule deer and blacktail for western wa right?

-tanner

[Clancy]

what kind of deer are you hunting? and where ya located?

[TannerBoy92]

what kind of deer are you hunting? and where ya located?

western washington so mule deer and blacktail right?

i will hunt in eastern but mainly in western because i live in western

[Fowlweather25]

No muleys over here, just blacktail. Gotta go east of the hump for muley and whiteys. It's hard to harvest a nice blackie but if you do it will have been well worth it.

[bobcat]

For blacktails I'd just recommend hunting as close to where you live as possible. Find some private property and get permission to hunt it, or look for public land spots that rarely get hunted, either because it's too far for most people to hike to, or because it's so close to the pavement that everyone ignores it. If you concentrate on hunting areas that are close to home, you can scout more often, which is the key to success. It's either that or you could do the Vail road hunt along with everyone else, and kill a little spike from the road in a clearcut. As for muleys, look at Okanogan and Chelan counties.

[wraithen]

If you're willing to drive a bit the peninsula holds a lot of game. Can't really drive much over in that part though.

[TannerBoy92]

hey thanx guys, ill look around here and especially around elbe, i saw a nice buck today up where i dont see alot of people so ill just keep a look out for signs etc.   

[Kingpuck]

I'm pretty new to the whole hunting thing in general but have been turned onto some good books that should point you in the right direction. Try getting your hands on "backcountry bowhunting" and "blacktail trophy tactics". Sometimes its more about learning the behavior side then trying to figure out where the animals might be. Once you know what their behavior is then you can understand where to find them. Hoping to get out and do some scouting myself. Thinking of getting the deer + bear tag just in case I run across one while out there. Hear that some areas have real bear problems.

Good luck figuring it all out. There is a learning curve but the payoff is definitely worth it. Where have you hunted before?