Great write-up, man. And solid photos. As a Washington native I share the frustration of seeing so much Hunter's Orange and worse, all the damn ATVs and RZRs being driven by drunk idiots (usually West siders, sorry, not sorry) all the way up to the tops of canyons, passing the best hunting spots in the unit. I was close to doing what you did and hunting out of state but I got cold feet and bailed due to lack of time spent physically scouting. I think boots on the ground scouting is almost mandatory unless you are a very experienced hunter in regards to that specific terrain/species.
Just came across this. Great way to start my morning reading this. New country, New species, New learning curve. Persistence, and bowhunting is rough regardless. It sounds like you're figuring things out and on the right track, if possible, know the migration, and know where the deer are at before season, and have a good idea what they ought to be doing for the time of year you hunt, IE. if weather hits to move em etc.
Thanks, even knows I am months late seeing this, for starting my day off right.
Earlier this summer I posted about what I learned from last year's hunt, which was my third straight year trying to get a mule deer but instead defining "success" in terms of lessons learned rather than meat in the freezer or antlers on the wall. I talked through what I learned (or thought I...