Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: Chris on September 08, 2009, 06:49:36 PM
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I was just invited to hunt a friends ranch outside of Starbucks, WA. He has approximately 12,000 acres. Much of it was planted in wheat. It has rolling hills and rock bluffs. I am going over to scout it in a few weeks. Living on the coast I have never hunted this kind of country. I am used to hunting the brush and clearcuts. How does a guy effectively hunt this kind of country? My other question has to do with what grains of bullet I should shoot. I will take my 300 Win. Mag. What do you recommend. Any info about my questions or this type of country is appreciated.
Thank you
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Which Starbucks? I know in ellensburg we have 3 or 4 alone.
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good area out there around starbuck(its singular not plural), you should see a lot of deer, the most effective way to hunt it is gonna be glass, glass and more glass as it is very open once you find a buck you want to go after use the terrain to your advantage and get in close, any bullet weight out of the .300 win will do on muleys which is what ive mostly seen around there although im sure you could run into whitetails, just be ready to take a 2-300 yard shot or more if you are comfortable at longer ranges
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Like andrew said do lots of glassing. The bucks will usually bed in the draws during the day, lots of the time right at the base of rock outcroppings and then move up into the fields at dusk or after dark. There are really nice bucks down there. As far as bullet it depends on the gun. My 300 seems to like 180gr. Noslers the best. Good luck.
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strap your boots on tight and start walking those draws and canyons
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Take me with you and I will show you!!! :chuckle:
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In my opinion, having access to private 1200 acres with wheat fields doesn't sound to promising. You'd be better off in the clearcuts and brush.
Just kidding...300 win mag with a 165-180 grain bullet should be perfect.
Kurt
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Its windier than hell over there. Heavier bullets buck the wind better than lighter ones. I'd go 180s or 200s if they shoot well in your rifle.
Be ready for the possibility of a long shot.
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yeah 165-180 gr. and practice up on your longer shots. there will be mostly mulies and a whitetail here and there. In my opinion its alot easier to hunt than the timber. you should get a deer no problem.
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I spent several years hunting nearby. You should see plenty of deer. Look for any uncultivated land (CRP, rock outcroppings, draws, etc.), where the deer bed because of the better cover. As stated in prior posts, seems we always found our bucks in the tops of the draws, often within 50 yards or so of a cultivated wheat field above. We'd spend our afternoons just cruising the tops of the draws and shot a lot of bucks that way. Did catch a couple on various opening mornings on their way from the fields...but there was always enough pressure on day 1 that they got wise by day 2. By day 3, it was damn tough to find a legal buck.
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I have got to say that I envy you right now. i would love to have that kind of invite! Awesome country over there. You should not have any problem getting a poke at something. Bring some good glass to count points,this area is 3pt minimum and wide open country.
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be prepared to take running shots at deer with their tongues hanging. even with private land, the amount of pressure the area gets was enough to turn me away.
there are a lot of deer though, both species....you just have to be safe, watch for other people shooting, they like to let some lead fly from a long ways.
not many really big bucks but if I were meat hunting i'd be all over it.
Have fun!
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...Also, don't forget your fishing gear. Once you tag out, the Snake is right down the hill as well as the Tucannon.
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be prepared to take running shots at deer with their tongues hanging. even with private land, the amount of pressure the area gets was enough to turn me away.
not many really big bucks but if I were meat hunting i'd be all over it.
Yup, +1 on both accounts. Without any trees and little cover, those deer feel the pressure from a long ways away. They're still pretty dumb opening day, by day two the bucks are bedded early, by day three the remaining legal bucks are really tough to find altogether.
Of the 50 or so bucks my group shot during my years there (I think 1999 to 2003), I can't remember any that would score better than about 130. And those were all 3 pt. min years, so it's not like we were shooting spikes and forks. On the plus side, our success rate approached 100%.
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If it was me I'd get out there early and set up trail cameras so you can pattern the deer. If you get hits, it will help you focus on an area, if you don't get any hits, then it will eliminate areas. Either way youwin.
Then as said above, I'd find a good place to glass with a good spotting scope and then stalk using the terrain for cover. The wheat may not be the best to hunt, but the edges should be hot!
Wonderful country.
