Washington State

[aorams]

I’ve killed a couple in our high mountains here and I think if I were brand new at this again I’d tell myself that staying warm and comfy while wet is harder than the hunting! Id spend some time thinking about good clothing and a two layer tent if you plan to hunt the September seasons. It’s beautiful here. You’ll love it!

 

[churious]

Alot of Private in WA. Some public to be had. Mule Deer are around but not like other states. Checked out the Blue Mountains? Where are you at in WA?

 

[Bachto]

Alot of Private in WA. Some public to be had. Mule Deer are around but not like other states. Checked out the Blue Mountains? Where are you at in WA?


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Man you can just tell when a muley buck was taken from the blues area. The crabby forks genetics runs rampant for sure. Sweet buck though for sure!

 

[Bryanb0224]

Alot of Private in WA. Some public to be had. Mule Deer are around but not like other states. Checked out the Blue Mountains? Where are you at in WA?


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I’m in Benton City which sucks don’t seem like there is anything super close


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[highside74]

I’m in Benton City which sucks don’t seem like there is anything super close


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Your are not far from Bench Leg country. West Klickitat and Grayback units are not far.

 

[Raghornklr]

Get onx and start burning fuel now checking spots.
Any area listed on here is going to be a swarm of people. Keep checking areas you find, there are still spots to be had that have deer and don’t get beat up by the crowds.

 

[wesGiddingshunt]

Man, imagine if you name dropped so many spots in another state. Glad to see a hunter get some advice. BUT remember, the difficulty of hunting and small number of honey holes one guy might have? All the more reason to send a private message. Unpopular opinion, maybe?

Welcome to wa though, I enjoy a lot of hunting here. Just go try a spot that the season is open, on some public found via onx, you might just be surprised.

 

[Huntnnw]

Man you can just tell when a muley buck was taken from the blues area. The crabby forks genetics runs rampant for sure. Sweet buck though for sure!

never mind the background lol

 

[ocurtis]

Man, imagine if you name dropped so many spots in another state. Glad to see a hunter get some advice. BUT remember, the difficulty of hunting and small number of honey holes one guy might have? All the more reason to send a private message. Unpopular opinion, maybe?

Welcome to wa though, I enjoy a lot of hunting here. Just go try a spot that the season is open, on some public found via onx, you might just be surprised.

Ha, its true but as a future WA hunter I find it helpful! Gives me some rough starting points

 

[Bachto]

Man, imagine if you name dropped so many spots in another state. Glad to see a hunter get some advice. BUT remember, the difficulty of hunting and small number of honey holes one guy might have? All the more reason to send a private message. Unpopular opinion, maybe?

Welcome to wa though, I enjoy a lot of hunting here. Just go try a spot that the season is open, on some public found via onx, you might just be surprised.

I don't see where anyone spot burned? mountain ranges and regions maybe but nobody even got as specific as a unit. So yes, unpopular opinion.

 

[ocurtis]

I don't see where anyone spot burned? mountain ranges and regions maybe but nobody even got as specific as a unit. So yes, unpopular opinion.

But still helpful to someone like myself!

 

[Howdy Partner]

WA sucks butt for hunting.
How's that for burning a spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[alexscott2010]

You can get it done in Washington if you scout hard enough and put in miles off the roads. Good luck!

 

[robertmpalmquist]

The chelan area is awesome. But can burn like crazy. Just have backup spots.

 

[ShedHead20]

When it comes to the High Hunt, I've learned the hard way in the first few years of doing it, I hiked right by bucks because I was told, "You need to get in the deepest, nastiest place you can find". In my experience, the deepest nasty place is where everyone wants to be. You pack in 10 miles just find other hunters back there with the same idea. Ive seen the biggest bucks on the High Hunt while hearing the hum of semis down on the highway. Good Luck.

 

[Brownrice]

I’ve lived in Washington my whole life. I grew up hunting the NE before the wolves hammered the deer/moose/elk. I spent my late teens and early 20’s chasing blacktail. I’ve done the Pay to play game and not. Now I am strictly hunting mule deer. The truth is like most said the deer on the east side of the state have been hit hard by many things rough winters, lose of winter range, encroachment from people, and predators; but there are still quality deer that live here. The hunting can be hard. You have to play the game of what weapon choice you want to hunt, unless you draw multi season (hint hint) and you can hunt all weapons choices.

To the high hunt, this might make some mad oh well, there is some YouTubers that really drove up the hunter numbers on the high hunt. Nothing against the individuals but it did. There are a couple main drainages you will find that collect the people the most. This being said people still kill quality deer during this season. The wilderness are rough, steep and the weather can be wild but it’s worth the hunt and yes you can still get away from people.


Being well versed in all weapon choices is the name of the game for Mule deer here. Don’t listen to the people who say there are no deer either don’t hunt hard enough or don’t want you to succeed. Best of luck

 

[ianpadron]

Alot of Private in WA. Some public to be had. Mule Deer are around but not like other states. Checked out the Blue Mountains? Where are you at in WA?


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Just shy of 20 MILLION acres of public land in WA state... that's definitely more than "some"

 

[ianpadron]

Man, imagine if you name dropped so many spots in another state. Glad to see a hunter get some advice. BUT remember, the difficulty of hunting and small number of honey holes one guy might have? All the more reason to send a private message. Unpopular opinion, maybe?

Welcome to wa though, I enjoy a lot of hunting here. Just go try a spot that the season is open, on some public found via onx, you might just be surprised.

Name drop? General areas and wilderness areas are not secrets or honey holes dude. Haven't seen any coordinates posted...

 

[ianpadron]

When it comes to the High Hunt, I've learned the hard way in the first few years of doing it, I hiked right by bucks because I was told, "You need to get in the deepest, nastiest place you can find". In my experience, the deepest nasty place is where everyone wants to be. You pack in 10 miles just find other hunters back there with the same idea. Ive seen the biggest bucks on the High Hunt while hearing the hum of semis down on the highway. Good Luck.

10 miles on a trail is not deep or steep. Heck, most meadows 15 miles into the GPW look like cities in September, distance means nothing.

2 miles in and 4500 feet of vertical off trail will get you away from ALL competition 100% of the time.

Big difference.

 

[AnyMinuteNow]

I’ve hunted high country muley’s in WA from the same base camp since 1990 and my dad and grandpa (and uncles etc) since 1960. I’ll say this… We certainly don’t all get deer every year haha but between the 3 to 10 of us we generally get outta there with 1 to 3 decent bucks. Once n a while a monster.

The tricky part is that we depend on migratory patterns from canada, but the modern arm season in washington is so early in October that we sometimes miss it.

That being said, get some boots on the ground and get out of the truck - so many guys road hunt. With decent success too… so I can’t knock em.

It’s a tough season but well worth it. The pay off after all the blood sweat and tears in unmatched.

Be prepared for a range of weather. Very hot to start the season, then a cold front, then if s guys lucky some snow.