Post by: ShaneTyTrey on February 14, 2025, 10:27:35 PM
Jeff
Post by: huntnphool on February 14, 2025, 11:16:25 PM
Post by: Karl Blanchard on February 15, 2025, 04:45:37 AM
Post by: boneaddict on February 15, 2025, 05:48:48 AM
Post by: Ironhead on February 15, 2025, 06:07:16 AM
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on February 15, 2025, 07:33:18 AM
Post by: teanawayslayer on February 15, 2025, 09:16:03 AM
Doug, Rob, you are both welcome to help. Karl and a few others are already on the team. I guess my main question is timing, do you think September or after mid November and into early December with the help of weather will be the most likely time to find a giant? Will probably hunt most weekends of the season and be ready to go if someone sees a target buck.you could fill that tag in any of those time frames. Just depends on how much time and effort into it. If I had a tag like this I would live to fill it in the wilderness area in September. Being involved in a raffle mule deer hunt it is fun from the end of October to the end of December. You’re going to have a blast. Congrats on winning the tag!
Post by: fishngamereaper on February 15, 2025, 09:28:34 AM
Id focus on hunting when very limited people will be hunting.
And I don't like bugs... :chuckle:... besides Sept is elk season..
So late Nov would be my target. Find an old cagy timber mnt buck that only comes out of his hole a couple days a year...
Post by: High Climber on February 15, 2025, 09:30:27 AM
Post by: hunter399 on February 15, 2025, 09:55:07 AM
Should be super fun/epic hunt .
Post by: Timberstalker on February 15, 2025, 11:11:06 AM
Post by: Ridgerunner on February 15, 2025, 04:53:29 PM
Post by: Bone collector 13 on February 15, 2025, 06:29:02 PM
Post by: syoungs on February 15, 2025, 06:47:13 PM
Post by: TimberMuleys on February 15, 2025, 07:11:07 PM
Doug, Rob, you are both welcome to help. Karl and a few others are already on the team. I guess my main question is timing, do you think September or after mid November and into early December with the help of weather will be the most likely time to find a giant? Will probably hunt most weekends of the season and be ready to go if someone sees a target buck.I’m sure Karl has already said this but I would assume Sept-Oct scouting would pay off the most and in my opinion, would be the most rewarding. Killing a buck in his area, on his terms, when you have scouted and learned him is the most rewarding hunt in my opinion. That has created the best memories for me. Also, looking at the muley bucks killed in WA this year (that I know of), most of the biggest were killed before November. I haven’t ever hunted the rut in WA, but from the pictures and stories I’ve been shown/told, it doesn’t seem to be what it once was.
I saw someone mention that Sept is elk season, and if I was in your shoes, I would forget elk and go all in on this tag. You can go get a general WA elk tag any other year. How many more times are you going to get to have this tag?
As already stated, I personally wouldn’t worry too much about score. Chuck Carpenter and Travis Hobbs had an excellent episode on the Rokcast after Chuck drew the Antelope Island tag. Chuck talked a lot about his mindset and how he was measuring “success” on that hunt and I think it’s a great mindset to have going into great tags like the one you acquired.
Best of luck to you, sounds like you’re getting a great team to help you find a giant. I hope to see some updates and some success pictures in the following months!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on February 15, 2025, 07:42:29 PM
Post by: bigmacc on February 17, 2025, 12:27:55 PM
Post by: Rainier10 on February 17, 2025, 03:19:25 PM
Post by: actionshooter on February 17, 2025, 05:54:32 PM
Post by: 280ackley on February 17, 2025, 08:33:37 PM
Post by: TeacherMan on February 17, 2025, 11:03:50 PM
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on February 18, 2025, 08:52:42 AM
Don’t know the details on the tag but over in Idaho we have a pretty coveted tag that sounds similar that runs end of August to end of December in all of north Idaho. Buddy and I ended up figuring out that those late August bucks above 8,000’ in big bachelor groups were super fun to hunt and pretty darn productive.That is the case here too I am sure, unfortunately, I have another commitment in Utah Sept 1-5, so I can't hunt the opener September 1st. Just nice to have 4 months in your own back yard to find a buck that excites you. Probably won't ever have the tag again, so looking forward to it.
Post by: TeacherMan on February 18, 2025, 09:16:05 AM
Don’t know the details on the tag but over in Idaho we have a pretty coveted tag that sounds similar that runs end of August to end of December in all of north Idaho. Buddy and I ended up figuring out that those late August bucks above 8,000’ in big bachelor groups were super fun to hunt and pretty darn productive.That is the case here too I am sure, unfortunately, I have another commitment in Utah Sept 1-5, so I can't hunt the opener September 1st. Just nice to have 4 months in your own back yard to find a buck that excites you. Probably won't ever have the tag again, so looking forward to it.
Then the rut it is :chuckle: Start thinking tracks for a wheeler or side x side...
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on February 18, 2025, 09:23:55 AM
Post by: Deadeyety on February 18, 2025, 09:45:42 AM
First off, congrats on the tag! You’re about to have the experience of a lifetime regardless of whether you meet your goal or not. Best of luck and enjoy the moment!
Seeing some people talk about timing, I’d keep in mind that one of the best parts about this hunt is being one of the few people that can hunt with a rifle in December. Historically, most people that have this tag kill the last 10 days of December and that is not because they are settling. I remember seeing a stat that someone put on here years ago that listed the days of kill on raffle/auction deer tags for roughly a 5 year period and nearly every one of them was the 26-31 of December. Also keep in mind, this was before the recent decline of the Chelan units. I think it’s doable to find one in September but be careful of burning out as you have 4 months to hunt. Personally I think time is better focused on November/December.
Best of luck and keep us updated!
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on February 18, 2025, 10:06:09 AM
There’s a lot of guys on here with a lot more knowledge about WA mule deer than me but I’ll throw in my :twocents: because I’ve had the mule deer raffle tag before.Thanks for the input, a giant could show up anywhere at any time, but talking to many in the know, almost everyone has said the same thing about December.
First off, congrats on the tag! You’re about to have the experience of a lifetime regardless of whether you meet your goal or not. Best of luck and enjoy the moment!
Seeing some people talk about timing, I’d keep in mind that one of the best parts about this hunt is being one of the few people that can hunt with a rifle in December. Historically, most people that have this tag kill the last 10 days of December and that is not because they are settling. I remember seeing a stat that someone put on here years ago that listed the days of kill on raffle/auction deer tags for roughly a 5 year period and nearly every one of them was the 26-31 of December. Also keep in mind, this was before the recent decline of the Chelan units. I think it’s doable to find one in September but be careful of burning out as you have 4 months to hunt. Personally I think time is better focused on November/December.
Best of luck and keep us updated!
Post by: MtnMuley on February 18, 2025, 11:45:54 AM
Post by: Deadeyety on February 18, 2025, 01:26:04 PM
The reasoning for the majority of those late December kills was because the tag holders "settled" rather than eat the tag. Not because bigger bucks moved in that week. :twocents:
Yeah I guess you’re right. I think I explained that wrong. They settled in terms that they weren’t able to find a next level buck and were “settling” for one of the bucks they’d found earlier on and came back to in late december. You of all people would know what a lot of those bucks were and would have a lot better judgment than me. I meant it more or less that a lot of those were still very nice bucks. If you set out for a 190-200+” buck on one of these tags, a lot more often than not you are gonna have to “settle” or eat the tag in Washington.
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on February 18, 2025, 04:52:26 PM
Post by: Falcon on February 18, 2025, 05:56:37 PM
Post by: huntnphool on February 19, 2025, 12:01:46 AM
The reasoning for the majority of those late December kills was because the tag holders "settled" rather than eat the tag. Not because bigger bucks moved in that week. :twocents:
+1
Post by: crabcreekhunter on February 19, 2025, 09:54:03 AM