Post by: ljsommer on November 16, 2023, 07:33:28 PM
My question: Are there "deer lease" type options available in WA, particularly Western WA? Are there areas where I can trade money for success? Looking for any option at this point, as this season is shaping up exactly like all the rest.
Thanks all,
Post by: highcountry_hunter on November 16, 2023, 08:00:37 PM
Post by: highcountry_hunter on November 16, 2023, 08:18:11 PM
Quick backstory: I started hunting 7 years ago. In that time I've hunted Weyerhauser once, and went on a week long guided whitetail hunt in Idaho. My only deer came from that Weyerhauser land (Idaho hunt was a total bust). I've never once (not one single time) seen a buck on public land in 7 years. I've seen plenty of does. I'd like to get my sons into hunting, but there's a snowball's chance in Hades they'd be interested in joining dad with the sort of experience I am able to provide them.When you say “can I trade money for success”, yes you can. On deer farms or on guided hunts (even tho it sounds like that didn’t work well).
My question: Are there "deer lease" type options available in WA, particularly Western WA? Are there areas where I can trade money for success? Looking for any option at this point, as this season is shaping up exactly like all the rest.
Thanks all,
We are living in the greatest time in human history to learn how to do something, ESPECIALLY hunting. There are thousands of episodes of podcasts all dedicated to helping people learn and get better. Thousands of YouTube videos. Thousands of written articles.
If you’ve never seen a buck on public land there’s gotta be some problems. I’d try other spots for one. Are you scouting? If you’re on the westside then trail cameras would be your best friend since a lot of that country is too thick to glass. But you could always be glassing logged units and clear cuts in the summer months at first light.
Are you working hard enough at it? Sometimes you don’t necessarily have to go farther than other people to get away from the crowds and find deer. A steep steep mountain will keep 90% of the people away.
I don’t mean to call you out specifically, but your comment about trading money for success really rubs me the wrong way. To me that’s the beauty of hunting. A guy can go out in his 29$ wranglers and a flannel shirt and have great success if he puts in the work before season and uses every possible opportunity to learn.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: MADMAX on November 16, 2023, 08:49:41 PM
Pizzes me off but it is what is
Get Onyx
Find state and national forest land
Then start scouting the areas
First part of general season and lots of miles saw around 6 does
Finally had a legal buck on legal ground and dumped him
Went down with my buds elk hunting SW on state land
Of course deer is closed then
Saw 13 deer one day with 5 being legal bucks
Saw a total of 2 elk only one walked away
My buddies son got a dandy 6pt bull on one side with a spike and a club on the other
Done deal on state land
So they are there dont give up
Post by: ljsommer on November 16, 2023, 08:51:07 PM
Quick backstory: I started hunting 7 years ago. In that time I've hunted Weyerhauser once, and went on a week long guided whitetail hunt in Idaho. My only deer came from that Weyerhauser land (Idaho hunt was a total bust). I've never once (not one single time) seen a buck on public land in 7 years. I've seen plenty of does. I'd like to get my sons into hunting, but there's a snowball's chance in Hades they'd be interested in joining dad with the sort of experience I am able to provide them.When you say “can I trade money for success”, yes you can. On deer farms or on guided hunts (even tho it sounds like that didn’t work well).
My question: Are there "deer lease" type options available in WA, particularly Western WA? Are there areas where I can trade money for success? Looking for any option at this point, as this season is shaping up exactly like all the rest.
Thanks all,
We are living in the greatest time in human history to learn how to do something, ESPECIALLY hunting. There are thousands of episodes of podcasts all dedicated to helping people learn and get better. Thousands of YouTube videos. Thousands of written articles.
If you’ve never seen a buck on public land there’s gotta be some problems. I’d try other spots for one. Are you scouting? If you’re on the westside then trail cameras would be your best friend since a lot of that country is too thick to glass. But you could always be glassing logged units and clear cuts in the summer months at first light.
Are you working hard enough at it? Sometimes you don’t necessarily have to go farther than other people to get away from the crowds and find deer. A steep steep mountain will keep 90% of the people away.
I don’t mean to call you out specifically, but your comment about trading money for success really rubs me the wrong way. To me that’s the beauty of hunting. A guy can go out in his 29$ wranglers and a flannel shirt and have great success if he puts in the work before season and uses every possible opportunity to learn.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You make excellent points, thank for you taking the time.
I didn't mean to rub anyone the wrong way. I want to find somewhere to hunt that isn't significantly thinned out. I have a theory that despite hunter numbers being smaller than what they were at the country's peak, we have far less huntable land so far more people are crowding into far fewer spaces which is having a predictable effect of significantly diminishing the deer populations in those areas.
To paraphrase a local I met a couple years ago: "how the hell did you even find this place?" (my response) "I was just trying to find somewhere to hunt."
I just want to find somewhere that has some deer, and doesn't also have 50 hunters per day. If there are any options for deer leases, I'd be open to that.
Post by: ljsommer on November 16, 2023, 09:07:08 PM
Does anyone know if this is a thing? Being local is valuable to me as I work a lot and I have a young baby so day hunts are usually all I can manage. (the Idaho hunt was done with my wife when she was pregnant - boy, 1 degree temps with morning sickness....I married the right lady...she saw a buck on that hunt but passed on it hoping for something better. I saw a doe but passed for saw reason.)
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on November 16, 2023, 09:10:04 PM
So not to turn this thread into a bunch of folks annoyed at me for being a poor hunter but back to the original question: do 'deer leases' exist in WA? I know they're extremely common in the south and midwest, but I haven't heard much about them in WA.
Does anyone know if this is a thing? Being local is valuable to me as I work a lot and I have a young baby so day hunts are usually all I can manage. (the Idaho hunt was done with my wife when she was pregnant - boy, 1 degree temps with morning sickness....I married the right lady...she saw a buck on that hunt but passed on it hoping for something better. I saw a doe but passed for saw reason.)
Rayonier has leases and I believe Weyerhauser has a few too.
Post by: MADMAX on November 16, 2023, 09:18:57 PM
https://huntinglocator.com/leases/state/washington
Post by: ljsommer on November 16, 2023, 09:24:37 PM
So not to turn this thread into a bunch of folks annoyed at me for being a poor hunter but back to the original question: do 'deer leases' exist in WA? I know they're extremely common in the south and midwest, but I haven't heard much about them in WA.
Does anyone know if this is a thing? Being local is valuable to me as I work a lot and I have a young baby so day hunts are usually all I can manage. (the Idaho hunt was done with my wife when she was pregnant - boy, 1 degree temps with morning sickness....I married the right lady...she saw a buck on that hunt but passed on it hoping for something better. I saw a doe but passed for saw reason.)
Rayonier has leases and I believe Weyerhauser has a few too.
I've had a Weyerhauser pass in the past and it paid off - I got my first (only) deer there. Unfortunately due to overwhelming demand, Weyerhauser now sells out within minutes for all drive in leases for all plots in WA. (side note: I used to work with the guy that managed their cloud hosting for their website and the number of people who try to get into their site to get a permit is overwhelming, both numerically and from a cloud architecture point of view).
Post by: ljsommer on November 16, 2023, 09:26:54 PM
GTS
https://huntinglocator.com/leases/state/washington
Whoa nice! I didn't know about that! Thanks!
Post by: MADMAX on November 16, 2023, 09:40:54 PM
GTS
https://huntinglocator.com/leases/state/washington
Whoa nice! I didn't know about that! Thanks!
Me neither
Good luck if your gun hunting deer
The next 3 days dawn to dusk is what Id be doing
Post by: boneaddict on November 16, 2023, 09:54:48 PM
Post by: ljsommer on November 16, 2023, 09:55:02 PM
GTS
https://huntinglocator.com/leases/state/washington
Whoa nice! I didn't know about that! Thanks!
Me neither
Good luck if your gun hunting deer
The next 3 days dawn to dusk is what Id be doing
Thank you! I was out all day today sun up to sundown. Saw a doe. I need to help my wife with something tomorrow but I’ll be out all day Saturday and Sunday. Thanks for the info!
Post by: elkboy on November 16, 2023, 10:08:18 PM
Good luck to you. I know blacktail hunting is difficult- those deer have been referred to as North America's most difficult deer species to hunt.
Post by: hunter399 on November 16, 2023, 10:11:05 PM
Keep an eye on those doe,see her looking back,or in the brush.GTS
https://huntinglocator.com/leases/state/washington
Whoa nice! I didn't know about that! Thanks!
Me neither
Good luck if your gun hunting deer
The next 3 days dawn to dusk is what Id be doing
Thank you! I was out all day today sun up to sundown. Saw a doe. I need to help my wife with something tomorrow but I’ll be out all day Saturday and Sunday. Thanks for the info!
Might be something around.
Post by: Buzzsaw461 on November 17, 2023, 07:06:17 AM
Post by: Bullkllr on November 17, 2023, 07:43:51 AM
So not to turn this thread into a bunch of folks annoyed at me for being a poor hunter but back to the original question: do 'deer leases' exist in WA? I know they're extremely common in the south and midwest, but I haven't heard much about them in WA.
Does anyone know if this is a thing? Being local is valuable to me as I work a lot and I have a young baby so day hunts are usually all I can manage. (the Idaho hunt was done with my wife when she was pregnant - boy, 1 degree temps with morning sickness....I married the right lady...she saw a buck on that hunt but passed on it hoping for something better. I saw a doe but passed for saw reason.)
Rayonier has leases and I believe Weyerhauser has a few too.
I've had a Weyerhauser pass in the past and it paid off - I got my first (only) deer there. Unfortunately due to overwhelming demand, Weyerhauser now sells out within minutes for all drive in leases for all plots in WA. (side note: I used to work with the guy that managed their cloud hosting for their website and the number of people who try to get into their site to get a permit is overwhelming, both numerically and from a cloud architecture point of view).
You may already know this, but the Weyerhaueser 'lease' program is completely different from their 'permit' program. The leases are allocated on a bid system. Some are offered locally, just not what I'd call a lot.
Post by: huntnfmly on November 17, 2023, 09:26:32 AM
Look into @Bearpaw (Dale) the owner of this site he has diy maps he sales that give excellent info on places to try
I got one from him a couple years ago and the first place he pointed out on the map we blew deer out of there the wind was wrong everyday.
He shows a few places on the map where they have had success show you were a good blind or bait spot would be and where to park very reasonably priced
If you have more specific questions pm me
Post by: ljsommer on November 17, 2023, 10:14:30 AM
So not to turn this thread into a bunch of folks annoyed at me for being a poor hunter but back to the original question: do 'deer leases' exist in WA? I know they're extremely common in the south and midwest, but I haven't heard much about them in WA.
Does anyone know if this is a thing? Being local is valuable to me as I work a lot and I have a young baby so day hunts are usually all I can manage. (the Idaho hunt was done with my wife when she was pregnant - boy, 1 degree temps with morning sickness....I married the right lady...she saw a buck on that hunt but passed on it hoping for something better. I saw a doe but passed for saw reason.)
Rayonier has leases and I believe Weyerhauser has a few too.
I've had a Weyerhauser pass in the past and it paid off - I got my first (only) deer there. Unfortunately due to overwhelming demand, Weyerhauser now sells out within minutes for all drive in leases for all plots in WA. (side note: I used to work with the guy that managed their cloud hosting for their website and the number of people who try to get into their site to get a permit is overwhelming, both numerically and from a cloud architecture point of view).
You may already know this, but the Weyerhaueser 'lease' program is completely different from their 'permit' program. The leases are allocated on a bid system. Some are offered locally, just not what I'd call a lot.
Ahh no actually I didn't know about those - I'll check it out! I did not know there was a difference. Thanks for the info!
Post by: huntandjeep on November 17, 2023, 03:48:36 PM
Isn’t Buck run similiar to what you are looking for. They used to run adds in the hunting pamphlets.No . Buckrun is a raffle type draw that gives you 1 day access to some private land .
Post by: vandeman17 on November 17, 2023, 03:53:14 PM
Post by: Mtnwalker on November 17, 2023, 03:57:17 PM
Isn’t Buck run similiar to what you are looking for. They used to run adds in the hunting pamphlets.No . Buckrun is a raffle type draw that gives you 1 day access to some private land .
You used to be able to buy their "management" hunts for a decent price but I haven't heard of anybody doing that for some time now
Post by: ljsommer on November 17, 2023, 08:00:55 PM
Little late this year but I would highly consider spending a few days in late season over in NE Washington hunting whitetails. The last 3-4 days of the season, especially with a little weather, can get the bucks moving during the day as the rut kicks into gear
Thank you! I drew a late buck tag a couple years back for whitetail in the Palouse but the hunt was rough as that unit is almost entirely private land. I did end up finding a "feel free to hunt" spot and then some logging land that allowed walk-in. We had a fun hunt and learned some lessons (a lot of lessons). I'd definitely like to return. That year the bluetongue had really hit the whitetails hard and so there wasn't a lot going on. Have things improved? I think I drew that tag in 2021.
I actually hold whitetail deer in very high regard, to me they're the classic romantic image of a majestic deer. I'd be delighted to harvest a beautiful whitetail.
I had very high hopes for my Idaho whitetail rut hunt but alas.
Post by: hunter399 on November 18, 2023, 05:15:35 AM
Ya ,you might have better luck over here.Little late this year but I would highly consider spending a few days in late season over in NE Washington hunting whitetails. The last 3-4 days of the season, especially with a little weather, can get the bucks moving during the day as the rut kicks into gear
Thank you! I drew a late buck tag a couple years back for whitetail in the Palouse but the hunt was rough as that unit is almost entirely private land. I did end up finding a "feel free to hunt" spot and then some logging land that allowed walk-in. We had a fun hunt and learned some lessons (a lot of lessons). I'd definitely like to return. That year the bluetongue had really hit the whitetails hard and so there wasn't a lot going on. Have things improved? I think I drew that tag in 2021.
I actually hold whitetail deer in very high regard, to me they're the classic romantic image of a majestic deer. I'd be delighted to harvest a beautiful whitetail.
I had very high hopes for my Idaho whitetail rut hunt but alas.
NE Washington.
I've passed on a few spikes, jumped a few other bucks.
In general if your hunting public land ,you gotta set yourself apart from everyone else. What I mean is,your gonna have to put some work in. Biggest problem is getting away from other hunters.
Then some chunks of land here ,have no doe.
You can't hunt the rut,if there are no doe.
Ya sure some lucky SOB road hunts some beast every year. That's all luck. It was most likely some guy like me beating the brush that pushed it out for him.
The point I'm trying to get at is......
It doesn't matter where you go,you gotta put some work in.
Lots of guys eat tag soup over here too.
Will say you come over here,put the work in. You'll see a horn,but a shot opportunity maybe a different story.
Post by: vandeman17 on November 21, 2023, 01:03:22 PM
Little late this year but I would highly consider spending a few days in late season over in NE Washington hunting whitetails. The last 3-4 days of the season, especially with a little weather, can get the bucks moving during the day as the rut kicks into gear
Thank you! I drew a late buck tag a couple years back for whitetail in the Palouse but the hunt was rough as that unit is almost entirely private land. I did end up finding a "feel free to hunt" spot and then some logging land that allowed walk-in. We had a fun hunt and learned some lessons (a lot of lessons). I'd definitely like to return. That year the bluetongue had really hit the whitetails hard and so there wasn't a lot going on. Have things improved? I think I drew that tag in 2021.
I actually hold whitetail deer in very high regard, to me they're the classic romantic image of a majestic deer. I'd be delighted to harvest a beautiful whitetail.
I had very high hopes for my Idaho whitetail rut hunt but alas.
Head more North like hunter399 said. Tons of public ground and deer to be found. If you can go over there during the summer, it can be fun to just cruise around, take some hikes, do a little fishing and learn the area. Come hunting season, go back over and see what you can turn up based on some of the areas you liked during your summer adventures.
Post by: IslandHunter on November 21, 2023, 03:00:14 PM
I would focus on working on getting access to private property, something as close to home as possible, ideally in a any deer unit. Put out some trail cams and put out some apples or bait before the season starts and you should have no problem seeing deer.
Getting access is the hard part. OnX shows you the land owners name and address. A nice letter and an offer to pay cash will probably go a long ways. Only take 1 land owner to say yes.
Post by: TommyH on November 21, 2023, 09:57:11 PM
I am sure there are hunting leases around. I have never seen one advertised but I am sure they exist.This is good advice, the north east deer numbers are horrible and the amount of cars at every gate is more than discouraging.. I would spend the $ for ONX then spend time connecting with land owners.
I would focus on working on getting access to private property, something as close to home as possible, ideally in a any deer unit. Put out some trail cams and put out some apples or bait before the season starts and you should have no problem seeing deer.
Getting access is the hard part. OnX shows you the land owners name and address. A nice letter and an offer to pay cash will probably go a long ways. Only take 1 land owner to say yes.
I couldn’t imagine traveling hours over here with the numbers the way they are.. :twocents:
Post by: hunter399 on November 21, 2023, 10:45:44 PM
Don't worry Tommy,I know a few spots that hold a few deer.I am sure there are hunting leases around. I have never seen one advertised but I am sure they exist.This is good advice, the north east deer numbers are horrible and the amount of cars at every gate is more than discouraging.. I would spend the $ for ONX then spend time connecting with land owners.
I would focus on working on getting access to private property, something as close to home as possible, ideally in a any deer unit. Put out some trail cams and put out some apples or bait before the season starts and you should have no problem seeing deer.
Getting access is the hard part. OnX shows you the land owners name and address. A nice letter and an offer to pay cash will probably go a long ways. Only take 1 land owner to say yes.
I couldn’t imagine traveling hours over here with the numbers the way they are.. :twocents:
I think you know where.
It might be worth the trouble with a few spots I got in mind.
There might even be pumpkins and alfalfa there. :chuckle: :chuckle:
And more deer than they no what to do with.
I have many spots ,I don't need them all.