Washington High Buck

[WaWox]

Hoping to go for some nights of backpacking with a rifle in case I get lucky this year -- Olympic Pen. Likely brothers -- but if anyone here wants to give me some hints on whether to go elsewhere, I'd be absolutely stoked Same for hints on how to do Olympic High Buck in general ..

 

[Jason277]

I would say like most high buck hunts enjoy the trip for the experience of high mountain camping but The success rate I believe is 2 % . Some one correct me if I’m wrong .

 

[WaWox]

I would say like most high buck hunts enjoy the trip for the experience of high mountain camping but The success rate I believe is 2 % . Some one correct me if I’m wrong .

Yup, success rate is probably abysmal.

I have hiked some of the Olympic peninsula wildernesses a bunch and never found anything that I'd call "deer habitat" as I'd expect it to look like from where I have found deer in the rainforest lowlands. Not yet seen any sign of deer or live deer up there for sure ... Thus, very curious if I am missing something -- is the type of habitat in the rocky wilderness areas really different? Or are there just almost no blacktail in the brothers and buckhorn?

 

[Jason277]

Yup, success rate is probably abysmal.

I have hiked some of the Olympic peninsula wildernesses a bunch and never found anything that I'd call "deer habitat" as I'd expect it to look like from where I have found deer in the rainforest lowlands. Not yet seen any sign of deer or live deer up there for sure ... Thus, very curious if I am missing something -- is the type of habitat in the rocky wilderness areas really different? Or are there just almost no blacktail in the brothers and buckhorn?

Do you live over there?

 

[WaWox]

Do you live over there?

Almost -- Kitsap Peninsula, so closest wilderness is 1.5h drive. I have done my blacktail hunting both on the Olympic Peninsula in Nat Forest / DNR land lower down and on DNR land on Kitsap. I usually see the most sign in areas with sparser and older second growth trees + plenty of extra-dense undergrowth. Where salal, swordfern, and huckleberry make it hard to walk through seems to be where I find the most travelled game trails and deer scat.

What I have seen of Buckhorn and Brothers wilderness is [fortunately!] much older growths with little understory or so steep and rocky that hardly anything grows. I am probably hiking in the wrong spots, but it's pretty funny how often I almost hit a deer while driving *to* the wilderness trailheads and then *inside* it feels completely depopulated of game.

 

[Olympics777]

Yup, success rate is probably abysmal.

I have hiked some of the Olympic peninsula wildernesses a bunch and never found anything that I'd call "deer habitat" as I'd expect it to look like from where I have found deer in the rainforest lowlands. Not yet seen any sign of deer or live deer up there for sure ... Thus, very curious if I am missing something -- is the type of habitat in the rocky wilderness areas really different? Or are there just almost no blacktail in the brothers and buckhorn?

There’s deer there, it just takes really looking for them. Being successful at the high buck hunt takes either luck or commitment.

 

[WaWox]

There’s deer there, it just takes really looking for them. Being successful at the high buck hunt takes either luck or commitment.

Yup, I am sure there are some deer. Unfortunately I am bad at looking for them in that terrain. I want to commit more this year, but don't even quite know where to start. I "scouted" by going for scenic hikes the last two years, didnt see anything promising and didnt come back for the actual high buck hunt in the first year and did go for one night the second year -- turned home after that night when i woke up with a bad cold.. but also hadn't seen anything promising yet, so basically won't even call that having tried to find deer/ hunt the high buck hunt.

 

[WPFY543]

My wife and I spend most weekends running and climbing around western WA. Having done this for the better part of 10 years in WA, I am still shocked how few deer I see, particularly up high. I know they are out there, but it takes a lot of time and effort to locate them consistently. I still do the fall backpacking trip with a side of hunting, but I keep my expectations pretty low.

I think it's similar to looking at archery elk success rates. There are guys that kill every year and guys that never kill despite hunting every year. Some folks have figured it out and I am sure they can turn up deer more consistently than I can.

 

[ianpadron]

My wife and I spend most weekends running and climbing around western WA. Having done this for the better part of 10 years in WA, I am still shocked how few deer I see, particularly up high. I know they are out there, but it takes a lot of time and effort to locate them consistently. I still do the fall backpacking trip with a side of hunting, but I keep my expectations pretty low.

I think it's similar to looking at archery elk success rates. There are guys that kill every year and guys that never kill despite hunting every year. Some folks have figured it out and I am sure they can turn up deer more consistently than I can.

You're spot on.

Cascade deer exist in pockets, and when you find those pockets they are typically pretty loaded. Had a handful of spots when I lived in WA that you could look over 10-20 mature bucks a day all summer long, and about half that come September. The common denominator was that they were all isolated basins without trail access.

I observed that most guys that attempt the high hunt fall into 1 of 3 groups:

1) guys that just wanna try it, below average fitness, unrealistic expectations, shitty gear, do it once, never go again (most common)

2) guys that know a thing or two about deer hunting, have good gear, are fit and capable, but don't venture far enough off trail, or know what terrain consistently holds deer. Being 10 miles in but a half mile from a trail is not as good as being 1 mile in and 3k feet vertical from the trail. These guys "take the rifle for a hike" every year, shoot a lot of bears, and occasionally kill a buck. Nothing wrong at all with that approach, but will not give you the full picture of the backcountry deer scene in WA.

3) guys that spend a few weeks every summer learning spots inside 'n out, taking inventory of bucks, make a concerted effort to ditch the trails, avoid outfitter traffic, etc. I'd guess that group 3 is responsible for 99% of high buck kills on deer larger than 140".

It took me a couple years to make the jump from group 2 to group 3, and it was after a convo with a fella who had a streak of 10 September rifle bucks in 10 years up in the ALW above 150" that got me thinking about my approach...

First trip out with that in mind glassed up 16 bucks on a single hillside deep in a burn about 2 miles from the nearest trail.

Food for thought!

 

[Jason277]

You're spot on.

Cascade deer exist in pockets, and when you find those pockets they are typically pretty loaded. Had a handful of spots when I lived in WA that you could look over 10-20 mature bucks a day all summer long, and about half that come September. The common denominator was that they were all isolated basins without trail access.

I observed that most guys that attempt the high hunt fall into 1 of 3 groups:

1) guys that just wanna try it, below average fitness, unrealistic expectations, shitty gear, do it once, never go again (most common)

2) guys that know a thing or two about deer hunting, have good gear, are fit and capable, but don't venture far enough off trail, or know what terrain consistently holds deer. Being 10 miles in but a half mile from a trail is not as good as being 1 mile in and 3k feet vertical from the trail. These guys "take the rifle for a hike" every year, shoot a lot of bears, and occasionally kill a buck. Nothing wrong at all with that approach, but will not give you the full picture of the backcountry deer scene in WA.

3) guys that spend a few weeks every summer learning spots inside 'n out, taking inventory of bucks, make a concerted effort to ditch the trails, avoid outfitter traffic, etc. I'd guess that group 3 is responsible for 99% of high buck kills on deer larger than 140".

It took me a couple years to make the jump from group 2 to group 3, and it was after a convo with a fella who had a streak of 10 September rifle bucks in 10 years up in the ALW above 150" that got me thinking about my approach...

First trip out with that in mind glassed up 16 bucks on a single hillside deep in a burn about 2 miles from the nearest trail.

Food for thought!

This is Solid advice! For hunting period . Put in the effort off season. Learn as much as you can about there area the game , habits etc…

 

[WPFY543]

You're spot on.

Cascade deer exist in pockets, and when you find those pockets they are typically pretty loaded. Had a handful of spots when I lived in WA that you could look over 10-20 mature bucks a day all summer long, and about half that come September. The common denominator was that they were all isolated basins without trail access.

I observed that most guys that attempt the high hunt fall into 1 of 3 groups:

1) guys that just wanna try it, below average fitness, unrealistic expectations, shitty gear, do it once, never go again (most common)

2) guys that know a thing or two about deer hunting, have good gear, are fit and capable, but don't venture far enough off trail, or know what terrain consistently holds deer. Being 10 miles in but a half mile from a trail is not as good as being 1 mile in and 3k feet vertical from the trail. These guys "take the rifle for a hike" every year, shoot a lot of bears, and occasionally kill a buck. Nothing wrong at all with that approach, but will not give you the full picture of the backcountry deer scene in WA.

3) guys that spend a few weeks every summer learning spots inside 'n out, taking inventory of bucks, make a concerted effort to ditch the trails, avoid outfitter traffic, etc. I'd guess that group 3 is responsible for 99% of high buck kills on deer larger than 140".

It took me a couple years to make the jump from group 2 to group 3, and it was after a convo with a fella who had a streak of 10 September rifle bucks in 10 years up in the ALW above 150" that got me thinking about my approach...

First trip out with that in mind glassed up 16 bucks on a single hillside deep in a burn about 2 miles from the nearest trail.

Food for thought!

well kids... that's the playbook right there!

adult responsibilities have forced me to choose one quadruped to learn inside and out so I'm focused on elk these days. i'll happily be guy #2 when it comes to deer. hopefully one day I'll get a chance to be hunter #3.

 

[ianpadron]

well kids... that's the playbook right there!

adult responsibilities have forced me to choose one quadruped to learn inside and out so I'm focused on elk these days. i'll happily be guy #2 when it comes to deer. hopefully one day I'll get a chance to be hunter #3.

Nice thing about high country spots is that they're consistent. So long as a drainage doesn't get shot out or a bad winter kill, spots that were juicy 10 years ago still are, so you really only have to do the homework once.

A fella could make one helluva high hunt career doing nothing but rotating through 5-10 year old burns adjacent to timberline...OK now I'm giving away too much

Fortunately WA spots protect themselves better than most, steeper, thicker, and no dirt bikes compared to ID, WY, and MT.

 

[Jason277]

Nice thing about high country spots is that they're consistent. So long as a drainage doesn't get shot out or a bad winter kill, spots that were juicy 10 years ago still are, so you really only have to do the homework once.

A fella could make one helluva high hunt career doing nothing but rotating through 5-10 year old burns adjacent to timberline...OK now I'm giving away too much

Fortunately WA spots protect themselves better than most, steeper, thicker, and no dirt bikes compared to ID, WY, and MT.

Don’t stop now ! Keep the knowledge bombs coming!!

 

[WaWox]

You're spot on.

Cascade deer exist in pockets, and when you find those pockets they are typically pretty loaded. Had a handful of spots when I lived in WA that you could look over 10-20 mature bucks a day all summer long, and about half that come September. The common denominator was that they were all isolated basins without trail access.

....

Thanks a lot for that set of truths. I definitely was 1 in year 1, 2 in year 2, but sadly won't make it to 3 this year. Don't have the skill and admittedly the time to build the skill yet with three little kids at home. But can't wait for that to change a little.

The one thing I am very curious about -- how much less prevalent are these side drainages without trail access in the *Olympic* wilderness areas vs Cascade ones? The Oly wildernesses are tiny by area and all butt into the ONP pretty quickly.

I spent hours e-scouting last year and couldn't come up with a really plausible spot [but again, likely missing a ton of skills on that front too .. not yet experienced enough to correlated e-scouting to boot-scouting successfully.. ]

 

[Jason277]

Not trying to high jack the thread in any way. You guys think 18s or a spotter if you can only bring one on high buck ?

 

[The Ri Guy]

OK now I'm giving away too much

No one listen to Ian, he definitely doesn't know what he's talking about -- heck, he doesn't even live here!

In reality tho, even most of G3 isn't going to do what it takes or go deep enough. Griz release is going to mentally check-out a bunch of G1/G2 hunters as well. Could be some good shooting in the HC for those with legs of steel and big lungs.

 

[Jason277]

No one listen to Ian, he definitely doesn't know what he's talking about -- heck, he doesn't even live here!

In reality tho, even most of G3 isn't going to do what it takes or go deep enough. Griz release is going to mentally check-out a bunch of G1/G2 hunters as well. Could be some good shooting in the HC for those with legs of steel and big lungs.

Ha! The whole grizzly thing will definitely keep people out of certain areas I would imagine.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Ha! The whole grizzly thing will definitely keep people out of certain areas I would imagine.

Honestly if the possibility of a Griz encounter will rattle them, they were never likely out of the G1-1.5 group anyway.

 

[Jason277]

Honestly if the possibility of a Griz encounter will rattle them, they were never likely out of the G1-1.5 group anyway.

Agreed

 

[ianpadron]

No one listen to Ian, he definitely doesn't know what he's talking about -- heck, he doesn't even live here!

In reality tho, even most of G3 isn't going to do what it takes or go deep enough. Griz release is going to mentally check-out a bunch of G1/G2 hunters as well. Could be some good shooting in the HC for those with legs of steel and big lungs.

We gotta get a WA hunt on the books for sure!