Post by: davew on November 21, 2018, 07:07:42 AM
I considered this to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt big mule deer during the rut in Washington. I’m in my fifties, so I probably won’t accumulate enough points to win the lottery for another good tag until I hit my 70’s, and who knows what I’ll be physically capable of doing by then. I’ve killed 30 or 40 deer over my hunting career, but I’ve never taken a really big mulie. I’m primarily a meat hunter shooting the first legal deer I see - I don’t have a clue how to “score” a buck and am a bit troubled by the whole idea of scoring an animal. I made my goal for this hunt pretty simple – shoot the biggest buck of my life or nothing. There’s a 4x4 with a 26” spread on my wall that was the critter to beat.
One of the coolest things about all this was the response from members of this forum when I posted about getting the tag. Quite a few past and current tag holders freely shared information and ideas about making my hunt a success. I won’t mention your names because I don’t have your permission, but you know who you are and I thank you for your help. Rest assured, the information you shared with me in confidence will not be passed on.
Despite the unit’s reputation, the hunt was not going to be a slam dunk. Everything people are saying about the sorry state of the Methow mule deer herd is true. In five or so years, the number of deer pictures on my monthly backyard trail cam dumps has plummeted from the hundreds to a few dozen. Most of my favorite hunting spots in the unit have recently burned and it will be many years before the bitterbrush will regrow. The predator population has boomed. There’s a lot of deer hair filled scat in the hills.
Between work and family obligations, I could squeeze in seven days to hunt. I’m not going to go into day by day details, but I hunted hard for all seven days. I left my vehicle an hour before dawn and didn’t get back to my cabin until dark. I focused on the lower elevation sage/bitterbrush areas that I know best. I got into deer every day, and had shot opportunities most days on bucks that I would be very happy with in the general season. They just didn’t meet my standards for this hunt. I almost gave into temptation one morning, staring through my scope at a 4x4 with a spread a little wider than its ears at 100 yards as it fought off a forkhorn and then walked away with a doe. Looking back on it, that buck would have tasted better this winter than my tag will. :)
The warm weather really screwed things up. In most years, there’d be enough snow up high to push deer down into the areas I was hunting, but I didn’t see a single buck that I’d consider a migrator. I tried a few higher elevation staging areas looking for migrators, but did not have any success. That’s probably my fault, as I’m not that familiar with those spots. In retrospect, I should have switched my focus to the higher elevation, timbered areas. The deer aren’t the only creatures affected by the weather. One day, as I walked through some timber, I saw a white shape zipping around a rock pile. The poor weasel had switched to its white winter coat, but was miles away from any snow. The poor thing stuck out like a sore thumb against the brown background – easy prey for a hawk or owl.
What made the Gardner tag fun was hunting unpressured deer in beautiful country with no one around. The only other hunters I saw were two guys on a ridge a half mile away. I probably would have run into other tag holders if I stuck closer to the roads, I’m not into hunting from my vehicle. All in all, I’d recommend the tag to other hunters, with the reminder that it’s a quality experience and not an opportunity to hunt in a big buck petting zoo.
My goal was to go big or go home. I ended up going home, but that sometimes happens in hunting, and I’m OK with it.
Post by: 7mmfan on November 21, 2018, 07:55:53 AM
Like you, my favorite part of these tags is hunting unpressured deer that are doing their thing, not being run all over the country side by a sea of hunters.
Keep putting in for those tags, you never know when you'll draw! I have a friend that's drawn 2 quality mule deer tags inside of 10 years. It can happen!
Post by: grade-creek-rd on November 21, 2018, 08:05:16 AM
Grade
Post by: X-Force on November 21, 2018, 08:14:39 AM
Even without a harvest it sounded like a good time in the woods.
Post by: throttlejocky20 on November 21, 2018, 08:18:38 AM
Post by: Birdguy on November 21, 2018, 08:34:46 AM
Post by: WaltAlpine on November 21, 2018, 08:45:27 AM
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: boneaddict on November 21, 2018, 09:09:51 AM
Post by: Duckhunter14 on November 21, 2018, 11:07:29 AM
Post by: Falcon on November 23, 2018, 01:47:33 PM
Nice weather and extremely low deer numbers. My friend ended up taking a 3x4 muley on the last day.
He was happy buts it’s a different game out there with mule deer numbers. No regrets on the hunt.
Post by: huntnphool on November 24, 2018, 07:04:10 PM
Post by: Calvin Rayborn on November 24, 2018, 09:56:58 PM
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on November 26, 2018, 09:41:08 AM
Post by: snake on November 26, 2018, 05:46:50 PM