WA Bucket List….Mule Deer Permit

[Boss .300 winmag]

Congratulations 🎉🎊

[bigmacc]

Oh boy! Congratulations and make some memories.👍

[Rainier10]

This will be fun to follow. Congrats on a great tag. Enjoy the ride.

[actionshooter]

 Tagging to follow... Thanks for contributing to conservation 

[280ackley]

very cool!

[TeacherMan]

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.

[ShaneTyTrey]

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.

[TeacherMan]

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  Start thinking tracks for a wheeler or side x side...

[ShaneTyTrey]

I will have a lot of scouts, I think a big deer could show up at any time, just have to be ready to leave on a moments notice and take advantage of the opportunity, hopefully the ride is as fun as I hope and I can find a giant!

[Deadeyety]

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 because I’ve had the mule deer raffle tag before.

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!

[ShaneTyTrey]

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 because I’ve had the mule deer raffle tag before.

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!

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.

[MtnMuley]

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.

[Deadeyety]

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.

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.

[ShaneTyTrey]

Well, I will hope for some luck then!

[Falcon]

Congrats.   I hope you have a hunt of a lifetime.