Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: TeacherMan on August 05, 2008, 09:46:36 AM

Title: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 05, 2008, 09:46:36 AM: Lets say that I really just need to get out and carry my rifle looking for mule deer. The September 15th high hunt opener is a lot closer than the mid October hunt. Now here is the kicker, what if I really only had the time to go in for a weekend, remember I'm not to worried about killing a monster, the potential would be nice, but not necessary. Where would you go?

I've hunting in the Pasayten Wilderness outside Loomis and Hearts Pass, Both areas have been good. Is all of the Pasayten considered part of the high hunt. When I went in at Devils gate it was about 3 miles in then I entered into it, that area is what I've been thinking of going into. :fire.:

Post pics if you've ever shot anything in there. The only thing I've seen in there is grouse. But it looked good. :hunter:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: Ellensburg on August 05, 2008, 10:23:15 AM: Ya, people post pics of high hunt bucks you shot! Im interested to see em!
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 06, 2008, 01:23:38 PM: I've got a new source for finding info out on high hunt back packing. I joined a back packing site, gave my self a screen name "Fawn" and the info started pooring in. I know where I'm going now. They sent me maps on where to camp. They even sent me pictures of my deer.

:kneel:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: bucklucky on August 06, 2008, 02:31:32 PM: Did you tell them you love bamby and sniffing flowers and hugging trees too, or did you tell them you pack a big gun and want to kill them? :chuckle:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 06, 2008, 02:33:40 PM: Your just jealous because you didn't think of the idea first :IBCOOL:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: DeKuma on August 06, 2008, 02:37:30 PM: I was jealous. Bucklucky is just........ well..... Bucklucky.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: bucklucky on August 06, 2008, 02:40:20 PM: You hit the nail on the head on that one, I am gelouse. That was a good idea Teach! Thats why you are a teacher.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 06, 2008, 08:14:28 PM: Check this spot out that they keyed me in on, then they started emailing me pics and maps. Only six miles in and they said they always have had great luck taking pictures of really nice deer. :chuckle: :IBCOOL:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: wrangler on August 06, 2008, 08:18:57 PM: DAMIT! man, and i thought i was the only one to use 'those' sites during my preseason scouting... although, you definatly took it took the next level, 'fawn'! ahhahah! lmao! :tree1:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 06, 2008, 08:42:37 PM: I cant wait to get something in the area and take a pic from the same location with a big old buck or bear in it.
:mgun: :tree1:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: wrangler on August 06, 2008, 10:31:14 PM: i would sit right there and glass the SHIZ outa those rock outcrops above the tree line... gonna be hard to stalk from down in that meadow but when the muleys are in the high country they LOVE to bed in those rocks just above the treeline, especially if it's a northern slope, which that looks to be.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 06, 2008, 10:40:56 PM: They are Northern Slopes, and I will be packing a 7mm mag with a 6.5-20x50 scope and I'm very proficient to 500yds. 8)
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: high country on August 07, 2008, 05:04:36 AM: next question is, is it still that way after the fire?
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: boneaddict on August 07, 2008, 06:01:31 AM: Nicely played teacher. Good luck back there. Its another year I'll miss the high hunt, but I'm not complaining. AK moose one year, NM elk the next, Now Idaho elk and MT elk. I guess I have been bitten by the get the heck out of WA to hunt bug. Keep yourself mobile back there. The deer are widely scattered and if you plant yourself in a camp, then you could very well be just doing that camping. There is ALOT of country back there that is prime deer country, but there isn't very animals, so don't get frustrated.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: Skyvalhunter on August 07, 2008, 06:25:04 AM: That Horseshoe basin area of the Pasayten gets it's fair share of hunters so don't think you will have it all to yourself.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 07, 2008, 09:58:21 AM: I don't really plan on having it to myself. I've talked to several friends who have hunting in that area and it becomes a real zoo actually. The location that I'm going isn't actually in horseshoe basin, way, way to many people. I will be about x miles from there :chuckle: close, but not really, its a big area. I've actually been into this location one time in a high hunt when I was a kid and didn't see a soul. I guess my last comment on it is its a good thing I teach compass reading in my outdoor rec class, because we wont see a trail for along time! :ass:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 07, 2008, 10:00:08 AM: Looking at that pic where would you hunt? Why? :hunter:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MountainWalk on August 07, 2008, 10:16:29 AM: Where the deer are at.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 07, 2008, 10:35:03 AM: *censored*, you mean I'm not looking for elk. I put a very generic pic of a typical high mountain hunting area in Washington. Sorry if you wanted to ruin my hunt unfortunately that's not where I'm going to be hunting. :chuckle: I just wanted to have a discussion on different strategies for hunting a situation like this. For the people that may be new and are going to actually go up into the woods out of your car and hunt during the season, this may help. Or we could all just be asses, thus being the demise to our sport. So that being said I would hunt at the tree line, glassing the shadows during the day looking for bedded deer. The buck brush in the mornings and evening. As for other hunters, have a good chat with them, maybe you could all work together. If not just be selfish and use them for your advantage. 8)
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: DeKuma on August 07, 2008, 10:45:00 AM: I kind of have to agree with you on your ideals there, Teach.
Wish more were willing to help out, but I also understand their zipper-lip mentalities as well.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MountainWalk on August 07, 2008, 10:47:28 AM: My friend,
Im not being facetious. Deer are where you find them according to weather, pressure, and food. Where they were last week, may not be true now. They dont read the books or hunting websites. Things change. So, my answer remains the same. I would hunt where the animals are. Dont take things so personally.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: DeKuma on August 07, 2008, 11:04:41 AM: No personal taking here. Did not even see your post until now. :P
It is true they are where you find them.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MountainWalk on August 07, 2008, 11:07:53 AM: My other friend,
I wasnt referring to you myself. Nothing was directed towards you. Take care!

Yeah, they are where you find them.. Kind of like Jack O Conner said. The big ones just look big.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: DeKuma on August 07, 2008, 11:11:12 AM: I love that saying! I keep telling my wife and daughter that when we run into a big one, you will know!
My daughter has been with me when we ran into a big one and all she could say was, "It looks big, so it must be big!"
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: OltHunter on August 07, 2008, 12:20:22 PM: to answer your direct question teacherman, i would say to focus above the tree line like wrangler said. would expect any buck to be down in that basin. specifically, i would start on the upper right part of the picture around those snow slides. bucks love to bed down next to snow slides in those band of trees. i killed my buck right on the edge of a snow slide last year, wouldn't think they would be there, but there was just a highway of track all along the rocks. his bed was well worn, they like to pick a spot, and generally wont leave that area until forced out by someone or the snow. then i would work my away to the left side of the picture picking apart each individual tree but really focusing on the far right band of trees especially if there is a saddle there (can't tell from the pic). bucks are usually found next to snow slides, on ribbon cliffs which i don't see in the pic, or around saddles. found that to be true from experience. i've found stalking bucks in the high country, tough, but very manageable, it just takes a lot longer and more time. depending on the winds, it may be best to slip out of that basin and wrap around and come in from the other side of that peak taking many long miles to get a shot. or it could be just as easy, the trees look thick enough to slip through them and make your way close enough for a shot. just my observations/opinion, good luck to you, high country hunting is my only kind
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg236.imageshack.us%2Fimg236%2F8889%2Fhorseshoeiq3.jpg&hash=7f5351ca34686f61264e2702fc3238868fae49f2)
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 07, 2008, 01:12:54 PM: Thats great thanks. :hello: I just cant wait to take my wife in this year. It will be her first experience in the back country. I think its turning into a good camping/backpacking trip more than anything.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: Vek on August 07, 2008, 04:46:00 PM: If there is a trail to the place shown, then it's not worth taking the binocs out of the case, unless a foot and a half of snow fell the night before and you stumble across a lost monster making his way down.

Even if there isn't a trail there, I've not had any luck seeing North Cascade muleys in such gentle terrain. Very little of that looks steep enough to have any appeal. One bowl from which I've been part of two high hunt deer kills has some gentle meadow terrain 500-1000 feet below the rocks, and I've never seen deer down there, only up in the rocks and scrub. Above the scrub is cliffy rock with no vegetation.

The high hunt is a patience and solitude game. Solitude only comes with HARD WORK.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MichaelJ on August 07, 2008, 05:34:57 PM: Quote from: Vek on August 07, 2008, 04:46:00 PM
If there is a trail to the place shown, then it's not worth taking the binocs out of the case, unless a foot and a half of snow fell the night before and you stumble across a lost monster making his way down.

Even if there isn't a trail there, I've not had any luck seeing North Cascade muleys in such gentle terrain. Very little of that looks steep enough to have any appeal. One bowl from which I've been part of two high hunt deer kills has some gentle meadow terrain 500-1000 feet below the rocks, and I've never seen deer down there, only up in the rocks and scrub. Above the scrub is cliffy rock with no vegetation.

The high hunt is a patience and solitude game. Solitude only comes with HARD WORK.

Some of the better advice I've seen on here....
Deer aren't to big on the pretty highcountry meadows, they like the steep hillsides with lots of shrubs and rocks and like to bed in hard to get areas. You may see some bucks in that area, I'd be surprised if there weren't ANY deer there, but finding a MATURE muley in there looks doubtful. You never know though, like some said above, the deer are where you find them...

Michael
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 07, 2008, 06:58:49 PM: Like I said above guys I just posted this pic in terms of what I thought the country would look like and if you where there were would you hunt. I don't know if there is a trail to that Mountain. Check out this photo then. This look better, generally same area.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: deerhuntr4885 on August 08, 2008, 03:00:11 AM: Michael, You should know that area. I took you there a few years ago. If you remember. We climbed that very same mountain.

By the way, Teacher, I think that burned a couple years ago. I would be really interested in what it looks like when you get there. I have hunted all around that area. I love it up there. Let me know how you do. Wish I could join you but I think I'll be in MT around that time.

Mike Henne
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 08, 2008, 08:30:05 AM: :chuckle: You mentioned the burn. That was in 2006, there is two years of tender new growth. Lots of new underbrush is starting to appear. Honestly the main reason that I'm going hunting in there is the scenery. My wife has never been in there, and or backpacked over night. I'm in the process of trying to get her pack down to 30 pounds. My pack is about 55 pounds. If we actually get something we will take two trips. :'( I haven't been there since 04, we went grouse hunting in there, so I'm excited to see what it looks like, just seen pics and herd rumors.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MichaelJ on August 08, 2008, 08:56:52 AM: Quote from: deerhuntr4885 on August 08, 2008, 03:00:11 AM
Michael, You should know that area. I took you there a few years ago. If you remember. We climbed that very same mountain.

By the way, Teacher, I think that burned a couple years ago. I would be really interested in what it looks like when you get there. I have hunted all around that area. I love it up there. Let me know how you do. Wish I could join you but I think I'll be in MT around that time.

Mike Henne

Sure looks different without any snow on it! lol that was a while ago to! lol Memorable hunt for sure! How you doing Mike???
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: Branden on August 08, 2008, 06:28:36 PM: I see bucks in all kinds of areas. Just sit and glass everything you can see, and you should find some deer. If there is a trail into the area then it makes it a little harder to find a nice buck, but it can be done. We shot a nice buck in an area one of the guys on this thread hunted and he didn't like the area. It was kinda gentle and not real steep.

Just get a good spotting scope and hunt hard.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MichaelJ on August 08, 2008, 06:58:37 PM: Branden, ur summer still going good? Get a 2nd date yet??? :drool:
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: Branden on August 10, 2008, 07:55:04 AM: Quote from: MichaelJ on August 08, 2008, 06:58:37 PM
Branden, ur summer still going good? Get a 2nd date yet??? :drool:

Not sure what number I am on now. ;)

Looks like every weekend from now through September I should be scouting or hunting. How bad was the weather over there this weekend?
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: MichaelJ on August 11, 2008, 07:37:27 PM: It was nice, but windy! I think I'm heading up for bear this weekend... what about you??? I might be interested in hookin up with you for a scouting trip if your down? Probably be my last one till the season starts.... :'(

Michael
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: deerhuntr4885 on August 11, 2008, 11:52:17 PM: Sure looks different without any snow on it! lol that was a while ago to! lol Memorable hunt for sure! How you doing Mike???
[/quote]

Well, after looking at that photo. I can not resist. I reworked my schedule and I think I am going to head back up there for the high hunt before my MT trip (Actually my partner just told me he can't leave until the 20th.) That would be a great easy warm up hunt for the horses before MT. I am going to go check out the burn areas.

Teacher...I know you said you are not going into the basin but FYI. There are usually about 6-10 other hunters in and around that area. I might be one of them. If you get something down and need help you can look for me and my horses. I have a paint you can't miss. Find me and I'll be happy to help you get it out. No sense in killing yourself. I can get around anywhere in there in a few hours. I will be hter the 14th through the 18th if all works out.

MichaelJ... I thought maybe I stink or something. I go hunting with you twice and you never call, never write. You don't love me anymore?

Mike Henne
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: Branden on August 12, 2008, 12:30:21 PM: Quote from: MichaelJ on August 11, 2008, 07:37:27 PM
It was nice, but windy! I think I' heading up for bear this weekend... what about you??? I might be interested in hookin up with you for a scouting trip if your down? Probably be my last one till the season starts.... :'

Michael

I might be scouting the blues. Send me a pm of your plans and I will see.
Title: Re: High hunt options
Post by: TeacherMan on August 14, 2008, 01:59:26 PM: Thanks for the info DeerHunter, where ever I will be going will be the weekend of the 20th when I go out. And of course that I'm all pumped up and ready to go my school just called me and asked me to coach football this year. I love the game but man it can have a pinch on my hunting season. I told them yes I would do it, but I told them I 100% need the entire week of my big bull tag off this year. I think I will still try to head up for a little bit, but it does change the location that I was planning on going. It may turn into a grouse hunting trip.