Hunting Chelan, WA

[The Ri Guy]

What elevation range does everyone target during modern season in WA? Kind of wondering how high is too high...stuck between hunting sub-alpine above 6500 or more timbered deadfall country 5600-6500.

~3,500' to 6,000', depending on proximity to the Cascades. Probably spend 90% of my time in the 3,500-4,500' range though.

 

[Aginor]

I’m from AZ and lived in WA for a while. This is sage advice wherever you’re at. Wish I had a chance to do it there though.

My wife and I finally had enough of the politics and made the decision to move to Idaho. It's the greatest tragedy that the most beautiful places attract the worst kind of people.

 

[huck]

AINT THE TRUTH .

 

[huck]

sorry diddled up there, meant to say aint that the truth

 

[Squatch89]

You want a WA. sheep tag ,start applying young and pray hard. But sometimes ya get lucky . You guys are mostly right ,transplants are tough ,dfw politics arent geared toward recource near as much as revenue and Im sorry to say wolves and grizzlys get way more grant $ than mule deer . Worked there 20 plus yrs. ret. 5 about yrs. ago .

Huck were you a bio for WA?

 

[huck]

no not a bio.

 

[RockScar]

Plenty of spots to get away from people if you put the time in.

My hunting partner and I have catalogued 11 bucks in the 160-200"+ range in WA over the last 5 years, and killed 5 of them -- they are definitely here, you just have to outsmart everyone else on top of outsmarting the deer. Half of those were in Manson just FYI.

Having been born and raised here -- don't waste your time on Hunt WA unless you draw a special permit, then people are happy to help. I've noticed that all the popular pumpkin patch spots are routinely discussed on Hunt WA and seem to draw in all the folks trying to "figure it out". High hunt is a joke unless you have horses or are willing to put 5-10 miles on your boots every day with a full pack and you're confident in your glassing skills, then you have a good chance. Most guys simply aren't willing to work that hard.

Honestly, if it was me and I resided on the West Side + had limited WA deer hunting experience, I'd be hunting Blacktails. I have seen a lot of DANDY bucks over the years in areas not far from the big cities.

The average Washington hunter seems to routinely do the following detrimental things, and this goes for elk, deer, you name it:

1. Get into the field way too late, and head back to camp way too early. Every single buck we've killed over 160" was because we were several miles from camp and in position before sunrise, or in position until the last minute of shooting light. Be prepared to hike deep and steep in the dark if you want to find those older animals, I generally plan to be hiking out of camp by 5AM and back to (or setting up) camp after 9PM.

1.A. They don't stay out all day glassing. The sun moves throughout the afternoon, and so do the deer. I glass up A LOT of bedded bucks in the middle of the day or early afternoon when everyone has decided it's nap time or camp time.

2. Stay within shooting distance of the road. I see 10:1 road hunters:backpack hunters, success ratio is the opposite. Last year I watched a group of locals in one of the Methow Valley units, 12 of them total on 6 different ATV's/CanAm's, drive a road less than 100 yards above a bedded buck, and completely miss him because their "hike" was to the edge of the road and back and they spent about 10 minutes glassing in one direction.

3. Run for camp at the first sign of rain or snow. All but one of 160"+ bucks that we've killed in the last 5 years has been during (or immediately after) hard rains or snows when not another soul was to be seen in the hills. It's Washington, if you're not used to being wet or willing to suffer through it, maybe this isn't a great state for you to hunt in.

4. Go REALLY FAST ALL THE TIME. I swear some of these newer hunters, especially the younger guys in all matching Sitka or Kuiu, are damn near running the ridges and hill-tops and walk right by me and plenty of game. Not sure what the deal is, in a rush to get to the next Selfie Spot I guess.

Pic of a couple Manson bucks just for shits and gigs. We killed the buck on the left during season, he broke off his dropper and ended up scoring high 160's as a 5x4 w/great eye guards.

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Reviving this old post. This is excellent advice! As a new Washington Hunter, its easy to hear all the doom and gloom and be discouraged. This helps me out and motivates me to chase them hard!