GMU 101 ITS FINISHED... (NEW PROPOSAL)

[benbo30]

yea i understand , i may or may not check it out due to i hunted the huckleberry unit and i liked it , my brother got his first whitetail there last season and first time hunting that area , and i found a huge whitetail there that was on private property , so we are most likely going to stick to the area we found

[TeacherMan]

This is what the are I bow hunt in 101 looks like in the rut. Hard to bow hunt, not so hard to rifle hunt. They are out of the mts. and in the valleys. One thing there is a LOT of private land that the deer will be on.

[SHANE(WA)]

Colville, you have to remember that 127 and other units were only open for about 3 years to rifle rut hunting, before that it had been 20 years much like 101 is now.its been only the last 3 hunting seasons it went to permit only, use to be nobody hunted late here, at least 650 people get to now in the late. My idea to solve some issues make everyone pick a east or west deer tag, just like the elk tag, why not?

[270Shooter]

Colville, you have to remember that 127 and other units were only open for about 3 years to rifle rut hunting, before that it had been 20 years much like 101 is now.its been only the last 3 hunting seasons it went to permit only, use to be nobody hunted late here, at least 650 people get to now in the late. My idea to solve some issues make everyone pick a east or west deer tag, just like the elk tag, why not?

I like the deer tag idea.

[yelp]

I hunt 204, 101 a lot and it's got a lot of game.  Lots of Deer Mule deer and whitetail.  I noticed in the proposals that the WDFW will get rid of the youth and senior antlerless deer general season in the NE Units too. Lots of changes.  That sucks. 

[Boomskin]

I have been doing a little research. I got the data from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 harvest data. This data is only for the units 101 through 124. This is a total of 8 units that make up the PMU P11 and P12 areas of Northeast WA. I am in the process of writing up an intelligent argument based upon the data to send my comment to WDFW, but here are some of my early observations. I am only comparing data over the past 3 years for the 101-124 units between Modern Firearm and Archery. One note of observation is that the archer only has 6 units to hunt in the late season in these units and the rifle hunter has 7 with the proposal of adding 101 moving it to 8.
 
Modern Firearm
1. Unit 101 for Modern Firearm has the lowest success rate (24%) of all the NE WA units. It averages about 4% to 6% less than the other units. The difference is that 101 does not have a late whitetail season as the other 7 units do.
 
2. I have calculated the % of bucks harvested for the units. Unit 101 (74%) has about 10% lower rate than the other units. I believe this is due to the fact that there is no late season for 101 and that is when the whitetails are more vulnerable due to the rut.

3. Days/Kill is also significantly higher in 101 due to no late season. Once again, rut timing makes it easier to kill more whitetail bucks (20 days vs 17 days).
 
Archery
1. Unit 101 has the highest success rate (32%) of all the NE WA units. It averages about 4% higher than the other units that have a late season. Units 111 and 113 have no late season so their success rate was not included. If you did include there success rate, the spread of 101 over the other units would be even greater.
 
2. Unit 101 has a higher average buck harvest rate as compared to the other units that have a late season.
 
3. Days/Kill is also significantly lower in 101 than the other units by about 3 days. All three data points would tell you the quality of this hunt for the archer is extremely high compared to the other units that are open in NE WA for a late season.
 
Summary
 
So what does this all mean? Far and foremost, these are just my opinions about the facts presented in the harvest statistics. I think we all know what the obvious answer is but data supports the obvious. The higher success rates in Unit 101 for archery are directly correlated to the fact that there is no Modern Firearm late whitetail season.

If the proposed season and unit changes were implemented, I would expect the unit to act comparable to the success rates and harvest rates we see with the other units that are open late for both rifle and archery.
 
The bottom line is that Modern Firearm success rates would increase at the expense of the Archery Success rates. In my opinion facts clearly demonstrate the correlation that is consistent with the success rates in the other NE WA units.
 
My Issues to Raise with WDFW
1. In the Northeast region, Archers only have 1 unit exclusively theirs in the late season. Archers actually loose Units 111 and 113 in the late season. Unit 101 is providing archers a quality hunt without the need for permit systems or over harvest of the deer herd. Why can’t we maintain the current seasons and regulations for the unit? It’s Working. Don’t fix what ain’t broke.
 
2. What is the management reason to expand the 101 unit to Late Modern Rifle? Especially when it will benefit the rifle hunters at the expense of the archer. Modern Rifle already has 7 units during the late season. Does the change have to due with herd management? If so, justify! (I personally think the reason is that WDFW is looking to spread out the high number of rifle hunters over a larger geographic area and increase revenue from tag sales.)

I am an avid archer who has hunted this unit for the past 10 years and have had great success in what I consider the best quality bowhunt in the state without a permit. Just hoping that we can keep the regulations in place that have contributed to the units healthy herd and quality hunting experience. Don't want to bang on the rifle hunters, just stating the facts from the harvest statistics.
_______
Boomskin

[Backstraps]

Great info Boomskin! Some of these guys don't get it!

[bowhunterforever]

I think if there gonna open up at late rifle hunt in gmu 101, they should open it for the youth's, seinors and the disabled hunters!

[yelp]

and get rid of any hunting during the rut.

[Typical8]

Nice job boomskin, Great info, and I agree with you.

[PolarBear]

and get rid of any hunting during the rut.

I've been saying that for years to my friends at the WDFW!    Eliminate all rut hunts for elk and deer.  They will never do it because of the lost revenue.  Some guys can only be successful if they hunt the rut and would not buy tags if those seasons were eliminated.  The last thing we need is ANY late rifle hunt in the 101!!

[Elkstuffer]

Great post Boomskin! Thanks for the info.

Backstrap is right. Some guys just don't get it.

[johnsc6]

It has been a good archery hunt in the past but I bet the rifle season will be an enforcement nightmare for the WDFW.  Most of the easily visible deer are on private land. Not nearly as much easily accessable public land as is in the Colville or Chewelah area.  Alot of the public areas that are on the map are acually land locked unless you know the owners.  Unlike Teacherman, I would NOT suggest going up there unless you have done some research.  The country is beautiful, but  don't drive up there thinking your going to bang a 150 buck out of the window of the truck. Whitetails are still Whitetails.

[Typical8]

i have hunted 101 for the last 20 years, probably half bowhunting and half of it rifle hunting. Its not about rifle hunters or bow hunters to me, its about the quality of the hunt. Yes I have enjoyed hunting the late season the last 3 years with Bow. Most of the time, the only other hunters you see are either your hunting buddies or in town. Been spoiled I guess. But I would love to get a chance at those whitetail with a rifle in the Late season, especially in the area where I hunt. Seen some monsters bowhunting but couldn't close the distance. Just with a rifle I know I will have a little more company that's all. And we all know if we get off the roads we will have allot less. Either way those whitetails will survive.

[TeacherMan]

I see there are several people on this post that understand conservation and some that don't. Its not about being able to go in and be able to shoot a giant. I like to harvest a mature animal just as much as anyone. I pass 30-40 bucks a year with my bow before I take one usually. But I also put in the time. This post has nothing to do with archers against rifle hunters, both types of deer hunting take place in my house. Convenience purposes you would think I would want a late rifle season (I live in the unit) so I wouldn't have to take my wife and dad to another unit to hunt. It comes down to the fact that the animals in 101 are a different class animal in any other whitetail unit in the state, look at the percent of animals taken that are 4 point plus. You can campare the number of animals to the Deer Park or Chewella area, the numbers may be the same, the quality isn't even close. They would be very vulnerable in the rut in this unit. I've had an ongoing biology class project over the last 5 years and had a senior do a his senior project on rutting activity along with buck to doe ratios and we have found that the animals do peak out about 3 days earlier in 101 than 124 making the last 3 days of the season in 101 much more vulnerable than say the animals in 124. One of our major resources for that project is trail cameras over large bait piles and buck to doe ratios. Most of the project ahs taken place on large blocks of private land. There is a lot more to it but that is one way the students get there counts (but that is another post). Another reason that the harvest rates are lower for general rifle season is because the mountains in 101 are very steep and there are not a lot of roads making access harder. This allows for quality animals, they area able to become mature and make it to that 5th or 6th year. In the rut the whitetail bucks move down slope in 101 out into the open around the fields to find the doe's. Like I've stated earlier I can drive from Curlew to Republic that time of year and see at least 5 nice bucks. Bow hunters can't touch them because of the open terrain that there in, rifle hunters the game would be over. I still firmly believe that it would be a bad idea. I would rather see the rut shut down for everyone than have the genetics of this herd be damaged.