Post by: Jharstad7182 on April 10, 2018, 09:34:03 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on April 10, 2018, 09:41:12 AM
Post by: Jharstad7182 on April 10, 2018, 09:43:46 AM
Post by: fishnfur on April 10, 2018, 02:18:30 PM
From what I've read here, I think Vail is far and away the top choice. Skookumchuck is at the top BT harvest numbers, and I'd guess that most of that success occurs in the Weyco Vail unit. It seemed like everyone was complaining about the poor hunting there last season, but it was a tough year everywhere. That is probably where I would choose, just based on the numbers. Living in Longview, I hear about a lot of success in the St. Helens Tree farm and DNR areas every year, but I know nothing specific about the Weyco units. That's just where the locals go.
I've come to the conclusion (perhaps incorrectly) that if a unit is considered a great elk unit, then it will be tough finding deer there. Finding a place to hunt close to home makes more sense to me. Then I can get out for a three-hour morning/evening assault if that's all the time I can manage.
Post by: chester on April 10, 2018, 04:01:20 PM
Post by: W_Ellison2011 on April 10, 2018, 04:17:17 PM
Post by: Jharstad7182 on April 11, 2018, 06:13:59 AM
Post by: PWill33 on April 11, 2018, 06:23:56 PM
Post by: Jharstad7182 on April 12, 2018, 08:34:10 AM
Post by: Harbor_hunter on April 12, 2018, 11:40:12 AM
Post by: N7XW on April 12, 2018, 11:41:24 AM
Post by: chester on April 13, 2018, 10:28:02 AM
Really? By what I see from game harvest reports a decent amount of bucks are shot in there every year. That’s y I’m courious about thanks for heads up thou
Most of those harvests are locals who are in there every single day of season looking for a meat buck. And a good chunk of those deer aren’t on the weyco ground.
Post by: Jharstad7182 on April 13, 2018, 10:29:04 AM
Post by: grundy53 on April 13, 2018, 10:35:36 AM
I would also vouch for not buying the Pe Ell south if you are looking for good deer hunting.Same here
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Post by: ruttnbuck on April 13, 2018, 11:23:04 AM
I would not waste $350.00 on Pe Ell permits (north or south) for deer unless you have A LOT of time.
I totally agree , I had the permit last year and seemed like I was driving all day long looking at same thick reprod mess and not reprod where you cansee the ground.... this stuff was thicker then snot . Seemed like everytime I found a patch of timber to hunt everyone else had same idea. If a guy could camp up there for a week it might be worth it during late buck.
Post by: SkookumHntr on April 13, 2018, 11:41:19 AM
Post by: Hanapaa on April 15, 2018, 11:22:40 PM
What tree farm is minot peak? I'm sure I could figure it out easy enough too lol
Believe its the Aberdeen unit. I camped out there for elk season, you just have to register your rig with Weyco.
Post by: BigBuckBandit on April 24, 2018, 07:50:22 PM
Post by: WSU on April 24, 2018, 08:42:16 PM
Don't want to derail this, but any input on Aberdeen permit area deer numbers?
I wouldn’t buy that for deer either. There maybe portions I haven’t hunted that are decent but I have had the permit and hunted deer elsewhere.
Post by: MonstroMuley on April 24, 2018, 11:04:39 PM
Thing about Hancock Kapowsin Area (aside from High Permit Fee) is there are posted signs in the re-prod areas where they list the herbicide chemicals (like Element 4 [Triclopyr ButoOxy-"Yada-Yada" Ester]) and recent application dates they used to spray to suppress weed growth and brush vegetation around the sapling Doug Fir Trees to give 'em a chance to grow faster (Sustained-Yield Forestry Practices ... I guess?). We ran into alot of areas like that in Kapowsin. That got us to thinking about what the Deer and Elk are eating in those same areas? That opened up a whole can of worms ... if they're spraying re-prod in Western WA where else are they spraying across the state? Gets you thinking and researching Forestry Practices in the areas you're hunting. So what do the Livers of those Kapowsin Deer and Elk look like? Makes one wonder if you have a successful hunt, what are you really eating? Would be interesting to hear from a WDFW Bio to get an opinion?
Switched back to EWA Hunting after seeing that!
Used to hunt the Cowlitz WildLife Area and be-friended the local Morton Guyz who knew all the back roads and prime hunting areas ... they spoke highly of the Vail Unit and applied most years ...
Post by: BigGoonTuna on April 25, 2018, 04:34:43 AM
i think my luck was probably due to not knowing how to hunt that type of timberland. the area i primarily hunt in in the 501 unit is a sort of overgrown clearcut that was never replanted, and a bunch of swampy maple timber. there isn't anything much like that in vail, it's mostly thick doghair with some clearcuts that are pretty much devoid of any kind of life because they've been sprayed.
it's also pretty frustrating, parking at the start of a short dead end spur, hiking up into a cut, then having some *censored* come ripping up the road with a noisy diesel just to glass the area 100 yards from where you're standing. that was something i definitely wasn't used to(i mostly hunt behind locked gates, there aren't many in vail). lots of rude behavior out there, the saturday of late buck was a mess, guys passing you doing 50+ miles per hour(speed limit is 25) etc.
that said, some nice deer do get taken out of there, but i'm really on the fence about buying the permit again. it's just tempting because it's close and it's a 40+ minute drive to the nearest state land that isn't really great hunting(capital forest).
Post by: Skyvalhunter on April 25, 2018, 05:06:46 AM
Post by: MADMAX on April 25, 2018, 05:33:42 AM
aholes abound
Post by: Alan K on April 25, 2018, 06:15:19 AM
the area i primarily hunt in in the 501 unit is a sort of overgrown clearcut that was never replanted, and a bunch of swampy maple timber. there isn't anything much like that in vail, it's mostly thick doghair with some clearcuts that are pretty much devoid of any kind of life because they've been sprayed.
You've actually got it backwards. The brushy hardwood areas were the ones that weren't sprayed. Everything is replanted by law, but without a spray, conifer seedlings are quickly outcompeted by hardwoods etc.
Dog hair is typically a result of hemlock ingrowth. Nobody is replanting at doghair levels. Typically its a 10×10' spacing, which will later get PCTd to a 12x12 or 13x13. Dog hair is actually usually a result of a lighter spray, which didnt kill the hemlock seedbed that was already in the soil.
The lack of brush at the ground level in dog hair is due to the lack of sunlight making it through the canopy. Hemlock, with its density and thick needles close it out pretty fast.
Sprayed harvest units go their first 2-3 years without intense vegetation competition, by year 3 when they've got their root systems established there is a ton of vegetation back.
Lots of misconceptions about herbicides out there running wild.
On topic though, I've hunted Vail since I was probably 8 years old or so. Been buying the permit the last 3 or 4, and Pe Ell before that. The deer are there, but last year in my opinion was weird with the lack of a widespread rut. We'd still see deer, just didn't see the bucks. Typically lots of spikes and forkies, with the occassional nice buck coming out.
Post by: W_Ellison2011 on April 25, 2018, 05:22:08 PM
Biggest Deer saw @ Kapowsin was a 4 pt just past the main gate entrance standing in the attendants front lawn on opening day 2016. Drove and hiked back all over on many of the side and skid roads and saw alot of Deer sign and plenty of Big Bulls during the season, but no Blacktails. One guy shot a Bobcat.Liver on my deer from Kapowsin last year looked fine and tasted fine. :dunno: All other organs looked normal as well except for the heart and lungs... they had an arrow hole through them :chuckle: I'm definitely going to try for Vail permit this year and if I don't get it then I guess its back to buying a kapowsin permit and hunting hard.
Thing about Hancock Kapowsin Area (aside from High Permit Fee) is there are posted signs in the re-prod areas where they list the herbicide chemicals (like Element 4 [Triclopyr ButoOxy-"Yada-Yada" Ester]) and recent application dates they used to spray to suppress weed growth and brush vegetation around the sapling Doug Fir Trees to give 'em a chance to grow faster (Sustained-Yield Forestry Practices ... I guess?). We ran into alot of areas like that in Kapowsin. That got us to thinking about what the Deer and Elk are eating in those same areas? That opened up a whole can of worms ... if they're spraying re-prod in Western WA where else are they spraying across the state? Gets you thinking and researching Forestry Practices in the areas you're hunting. So what do the Livers of those Kapowsin Deer and Elk look like? Makes one wonder if you have a successful hunt, what are you really eating? Would be interesting to hear from a WDFW Bio to get an opinion?
Switched back to EWA Hunting after seeing that!
Used to hunt the Cowlitz WildLife Area and be-friended the local Morton Guyz who knew all the back roads and prime hunting areas ... they spoke highly of the Vail Unit and applied most years ...
Post by: MonstroMuley on April 25, 2018, 08:55:38 PM
...All other organs looked normal as well except for the heart and lungs... they had an arrow hole through them :chuckle:Good One! :chuckle: :tup:
Post by: SkookumHntr on May 02, 2018, 09:12:15 AM
Post by: bobcat on May 02, 2018, 09:14:56 AM
Post by: 257 Wby Mag on May 02, 2018, 09:42:33 AM
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on May 02, 2018, 10:18:16 AM
Any word on vail price increase?
It shows $350.00 for motorized and $100.00 for walk-in and a sale date of May 17th so far
Post by: SkookumHntr on May 02, 2018, 10:33:13 AM
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on May 02, 2018, 10:53:19 AM
does anybody know if you have a youth that draws a youth tag if they let you in or let you purchase the key still? Theres the new youth tags in multiple Weyerhaeuser areas, we hunt vail but if we draw the wynoochee or satsop early hunt and if there sold out were screwed! Any info on this?
Probably get that answered right here, then just to be safe, you will have it in writting from them instead of a bunch of internet opinions...
https://wyrecreation.com/contact_us
Post by: SkookumHntr on May 02, 2018, 11:03:50 AM
Post by: chester on May 03, 2018, 12:15:47 PM
does anybody know if you have a youth that draws a youth tag if they let you in or let you purchase the key still? Theres the new youth tags in multiple Weyerhaeuser areas, we hunt vail but if we draw the wynoochee or satsop early hunt and if there sold out were screwed! Any info on this?They will let youth in if the parent already has a permit.
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on May 03, 2018, 03:06:17 PM
does anybody know if you have a youth that draws a youth tag if they let you in or let you purchase the key still? Theres the new youth tags in multiple Weyerhaeuser areas, we hunt vail but if we draw the wynoochee or satsop early hunt and if there sold out were screwed! Any info on this?They will let youth in if the parent already has a permit.
What he is asking about is, as in years past, they would allow youth hunters in the Vail area with a parent for the special youth deer permit hunt without having to buy the regular annual pass, and it sounds like he is wondering if any of the other areas are or will be doing that as well.
But if not, then as has been the case, the youth would be allowed in under the parent's pass.
Post by: chester on May 03, 2018, 04:57:45 PM
Maybe people will get lucky and draw results will be posted before the access permits are sold out , but I’d doubt it.
Post by: Mudman on May 03, 2018, 05:51:20 PM
Post by: Big6bull on May 04, 2018, 08:29:29 AM
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on May 04, 2018, 11:23:45 AM
As far as I know its all about the Benjamins. PERMIT! Don't think they care about our youth.
They have let youth in free at Vail with a parent, without an access permit if the youth had drawn an antlerless permit regularly in years past.
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,201850.msg2679057.html#msg2679057
Hoping that Skookumhntr gets an answer to his email from Weyerhaeuser to see if they are continuing this and if so, if it applies to areas other than Vail.
Post by: SkookumHntr on May 04, 2018, 11:54:24 AM