Planning on hunting Deer and Elk this season

[MrMillspecer]

lol its never a guarantee!!

Does your dog ever smile? Mine cracks me up

 

[Baseacegoku]

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Does your dog ever smile? Mine cracks me up

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seeing the deer is making me hungry. I need venison tacos in my life right now.

 

[Joe13]

Jeez man! Did ya name them too? Breakfast and Dinner, there are the names.

Grandfather when I was a young teen bought 2 calfs and I had to feed and water them most of the time - he named them T-Bone and Ribeye.

Man that was tasty beef I have to admit

 

[Joe13]

I'd hunt deer if they were on my property - regardless of my wife's no hunting within a square mile (and that's living in a neighborhood in town lol), that's for squirls and rabbits but large animals out on our own property and that would be a different discussion.

 

[MrMillspecer]

Some of my best memories were from hunting trips. Cooking off the fire, walking the woods early in the day, telling stories , getting out a few hours before sunset. And sipping wiskey on occasion. Food tastes better, the airs fresher, the stars are brighter, some family members even seem smarter. Knowing all you have to do tomorrow is hunt. Good times even when you get skunked.

I'll save these little deer for when the earthquake hits. Saves freezer space and there's no challenge the stupid things trust us.

 

[jsparks747]

Grandfather when I was a young teen bought 2 calfs and I had to feed and water them most of the time - he named them T-Bone and Ribeye.

Man that was tasty beef I have to admit

Ha ha! That's awesome!

 

[mjbskwim]

I can't help with locations . I mean we don't have any elk over here
But skinning and butchering your deer is very fulfilling. And you are guaranteed to keep your own meat. I heard stories that you bring your deer into some butchers and you get a percentage of meat back. But you can't be sure who's deer it was.
But there are many good vids out there on field dressing and butchering deer and elk. It's just not that hard.
Just don't puncture the gut bag and let it taint the meat
After hunting here,I would hit the east side of WA or OR instead of the wet sides. It's drier and makes a more comfortable hunt.
I bow hunt just cause I don't like being in the middle of 1000 hunters. That's the other reason for hunting the east side.
Sequim was OK but still lots of guys out there.
My friend said one time that elk hunters start scouting in July and august
I said real elk hunters are scouting all year around. Camping with the family,scouting. Fishing? Scouting. Hiking ? Horn hunting and scouting.
Can't scout too much,plus it gets you out side more and in better shape for hunting.
Good luck finding those "spots" and "places" to hunt elk!

Oh yeah,one thing about bow hunting is you can usually take a doe also. I'm a meat hunter and don't eat horns
But the idea is you get an animal easier and get to learn to butcher it. Maybe wait till the end of the season to take a doe but it can be an option.

 

[Koda]

OP Ive hunted the coast outside of Albany a few times, took a couple deer on state land just outside of Burnt Woods. Dad got an elk further out that area one year too. Lots of good hunting out there.

My best advice for going alone is to keep scouting around till you find fresh bubblegum and lots of it not just a few random samples. Tracks are great too but they tell me where they pass thru, but lots of fresh poop indicates your close to where a buck beds down each day. Find that and make that your new secret spot, at that point its time to slow down and stop moving around and still hunt. The coast range is too dense to move them around or flush them being solo, find a spot with a good line of fire covering where the fresh poop is, preferably along a game trail and be there 1/2 hour before light till about 11am. After that get some lunch and hike around a bit for another secret spot to give the first a rest cause if you don't see one they've seen you and lay low for a while, dont hunt a spot you previously visited that day.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I would agree with both @AndyinEverson and @Joe13. When you have chosen a few, go to one each weekend to scope it out and maybe do some rabbit or coyote hunting to help you get a feel for it. Then make the choice with more knowledge of the location.

There is nothing more helpful in deer hunting than knowing the terrain and the usage patterns of the deer. I have been hunting the family ranch now for 16 years. I hunt deer, coyote, doves, and waterfowl there. I also make trips just to get away there. There's nothing quite as healing to the soul as being where you can see the horizon in all directions and not hear civilization or see another human being.

I have gotten to know the land intimately. I can mark each exact spot where I've killed a deer over the years (12, I think). I have watched trees, buildings, gates, and fences age. I've noted rocks that have rolled down hills. I found a half dozen places that, in any given year, depending on weather, tend to be superhighways. Over the years, I've seen how the deer generally move in relation to the time of year and the weather. A hot and dry Fall means tough hunting. A big storm the week of opening day means deer everywhere when it clears. When it's pouring rain you might as well stay in bed, unless you want to crawl through miles of heavy cover.

But then the other basic rule comes into play: Deer are where (and when) you find them. Some years I've sworn there are no deer within 10 miles of the ranch, after not seeing a track or any droppings for days, and then that evening killed a nice buck.

 

[Baseacegoku]

OP Ive hunted the coast outside of Albany a few times, took a couple deer on state land just outside of Burnt Woods. Dad got an elk further out that area one year too. Lots of good hunting out there.

My best advice for going alone is to keep scouting around till you find fresh bubblegum and lots of it not just a few random samples. Tracks are great too but they tell me where they pass thru, but lots of fresh poop indicates your close to where a buck beds down each day. Find that and make that your new secret spot, at that point its time to slow down and stop moving around and still hunt. The coast range is too dense to move them around or flush them being solo, find a spot with a good line of fire covering where the fresh poop is, preferably along a game trail and be there 1/2 hour before light till about 11am. After that get some lunch and hike around a bit for another secret spot to give the first a rest cause if you don't see one they've seen you and lay low for a while, dont hunt a spot you previously visited that day.


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Are you hunting private lands over there? Because for now I am stuck with public land use only.

 

[jsparks747]

OP Ive hunted the coast outside of Albany a few times, took a couple deer on state land just outside of Burnt Woods. Dad got an elk further out that area one year too. Lots of good hunting out there.

My best advice for going alone is to keep scouting around till you find fresh bubblegum and lots of it not just a few random samples. Tracks are great too but they tell me where they pass thru, but lots of fresh poop indicates your close to where a buck beds down each day. Find that and make that your new secret spot, at that point its time to slow down and stop moving around and still hunt. The coast range is too dense to move them around or flush them being solo, find a spot with a good line of fire covering where the fresh poop is, preferably along a game trail and be there 1/2 hour before light till about 11am. After that get some lunch and hike around a bit for another secret spot to give the first a rest cause if you don't see one they've seen you and lay low for a while, dont hunt a spot you previously visited that day.


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What are the GPS coordinates of that trail camera?

 

[mjbskwim]

What are the GPS coordinates of that trail camera?

About here and there

 

[jsparks747]

About here and there

Don't give me that. That photo was last October, he could be big by now

 

[Koda]

Are you hunting private lands over there? Because for now I am stuck with public land use only.

I only hunt public lands. Between Eddyville and Burnt Woods is a swath of state lands then below (south) of that is national forest lands aplenty.

Like I said its been years, dont know what the current conditions are. Hunting has become harder over the years and it was never easy to hunt the coast range....

 

[Baseacegoku]

I only hunt public lands. Between Eddyville and Burnt Woods is a swath of state lands then below (south) of that is national forest lands aplenty.

Like I said its been years, dont know what the current conditions are. Hunting has become harder over the years and it was never easy to hunt the coast range....

I dont expect easy. I just wanna get out there and hunt and when I do finally take my first animal it will be glorious.

 

[Joe13]

I dont expect easy. I just wanna get out there and hunt and when I do finally take my first animal it will be glorious.

Sounds like your well on your way.

Collect gear and hunting partners now before the spring/summer full price stuff hits the shelves. If you even need anything.

 

[Koda]

What are the GPS coordinates of that trail camera?

Literally anywhere in the coast range is like that. Like I said earlier just find a spot where there is lots of fresh poop. Last year will be the last I will use the trail camera because all I get is pictures of deer and elk anywhere I have placed it. I watched that buck all summer but once bow season started all the deer there dissapeared. A few elk still visited, and one bobcat. Caught one bow hunter on that camera too. We hunted there for deer and then again for elk... Didnt get anything last year.

 

[Koda]

Don't give me that. That photo was last October, he could be big by now

I put a trail camera in that area the year befor last (2015) and got a pic of one of the biggest blacktail bucks Ive ever seen. They are out there...

 

[Koda]

I dont expect easy. I just wanna get out there and hunt and when I do finally take my first animal it will be glorious.

Yup, its a lot of work but worth it to learn to provide your own food. Dont get discouraged if it takes a few years because the average rate is only about 15% and half of that is from hunters with access to private lands.

I didnt get mine last year.... Came close, but he outsmarted me by one footstep.

Go to caltopo.com. in the upper right corner is a pulldown menu, select "land management" and wait for it to load.

 

[Baseacegoku]

Sounds like your well on your way.

Collect gear and hunting partners now before the spring/summer full price stuff hits the shelves. If you even need anything.

I actually dont have much if any gear. So I am collecting it as quickly as I can.