Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: JasonG on April 13, 2025, 09:13:11 AM
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Hello all, not looking for a particular wilderness area, just wondering what your expriences have been during modern season in regards to pressure in wilderness areas . Not talking about High buck which sounds a bit over run . Thank you in advance Jason
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Ahhh, love me some wilderness! Can’t say much about the modern, but I hunted the wilderness with bow and muzzy a couple years in a row just recently and it was busy w people. I have always assumed modern would be busier but stayed away to really find out. With all these permit only areas and expensive passes to buy, the wilderness gets busy.
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It all depends on the wilderness area. Some are closer to access and thus have more hunters. Some hunters use outfitters to take them in for the general season hunts in wilderness areas. I have hunted some wilderness during the regular season and saw less people.
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You won’t have to worry about road hunters but there will still be the granola munchers. If snow comes early typically the animals drop down.
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Do this a lot. I think it depends on the year and the weather. Sometimes we don't see anyone. Last year there were hikers everywhere because it was nice weather and people love the fall colors in the high country. It got way worse after Covid shutdowns. My son and I were glassing a basin last year and had a hiker yell at us across the meadow asking if we were deer hunting...
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I’d say if you see people during the high hunt there or if you see hikers on the regular up there and the weather is decent you may see a few. Generally I see 3-4 during the high hunt (some are hunting elk) I never see anyone during general. Although there are the same guys that hunt in the same places I visit and they are in and out as well. Never been a problem especially during the general season.
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It's pretty hard to generalize our very diverse wilderness areas into a single category. Heck, even within a single wilderness area there's so much variation that they're really entirely different places. Think about far western vs far eastern Pasayten, or NW vs SE GPW. They can hardly be thought of together.
On the crest of the Cascades, a lot of times the animals have started to migrate down by the time general rifle arrives. On the far eastern slopes where I tend to focus, IMO there's not a lot of difference between the wilderness and the surrounding areas. Road access and good trails => lots of hunters. Fewer roads and worse trails => fewer hunters. I haven't hunted the western parts of the wildernesses (nor the wildernesses not in the Cascades), but I imagine it's the same. I will say the Wenaha-Tucannon was my backup plan last season. I got lucky opening day close to home, but all of my intel had me prepared for crowds.
All that said... don't overthink it. If you're considering it, just go for it. Go bear hunting in your preferred spot in late September or early October, do some scouting, and have fun!
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I also use the Wiser Precision setup. My goal was to cut as much weight as possible. Using my trekking poles as two legs of my tripod saves substantial weight for me. I also love using this system as my rifle bipod. It can take a bit longer to set up, but I'm OK with that.
