WA Muleys up High

[mkollman74]

Hey Guys -

Pretty much a newb here. Anyone here hunt WA for muleys up higher during the general season? Not asking about your honey hole, just looking for general info RE: your success if you've done it. I've taken most of my deer in the farmlands around Walla Walla/Prescott, and am looking to combine my hunting with my love of the higher elevations. This board looks like a good place (hopefully) for me to ask stupid new guy questions...

 

[Justin Crossley]

Some guys do it with success. You can expect to see less people than you would during the high hunt. The bucks will also be harder to find than they are in September. Instead of being up in the open, they tend to stay in the timber more and you have to catch them around the edges. Also the weather can be pretty brutal in October up there. Overall it's not a bad way to hunt though if you like to get away from the crowds.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Don't expect too much response here. While rokslide is full of helpful ppl, the relatively little available high country in WA compared to the amount of backcountry hunters is staggering thus info is mainly earned by putting miles on the boot leather. Best of luck!

Mike

 

[fillthefreezer]

in my limited experience the high country in october, riding out storms outweighs time spent hunting. can be very difficult to glass, but some people know how to get it done like that.

 

[mkollman74]

Thanks for the responses guys. Yeah, Mike I don't mind putting in the miles, but not if the effort is futile, hence the question. Fillthefreezer and Justin, that's really helpful insight - Thanks.

 

[Jackelope]

I've been in the high country on the east side and the west side in general season and will concur. It's harder to find deer and the weather can really screw you up. Fog has been a big issue for me, especially on the westside. Post holing in a couple feet of snow will get you too, although it's hard to believe that looking at the mountains this year.

 

[mkollman74]

Yeah, Jackelope, I hadn't really considered the fog. That would hamper the spot and stalk a bit...

 

[HighHunter1232]

I dealt with days of fog this last general season on the eastside. Pretty disappointing to peek into a secluded basin at first light and be met with almost no visibility.

 

[mkollman74]

All the cool gear doesn't help much with fog like that ... Did you head lower?

I dealt with days of fog this last general season on the eastside. Pretty disappointing to peek into a secluded basin at first light and be met with almost no visibility.

http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/dantennant_22/media/Mobile Uploads/image_zpsirnipswr.jpg.html

 

[dirtytough]

The last time I hunted the high country during General my buddy and I passed a 150"ish 4X4 cause it was broken. It was the only deer we saw. There are a few things a guy needs to look for when hunting general season. Do some research and you should be able to find some deer. At least you will not have much competition

 

[HighHunter1232]

Yeah. It's always a tough decision, when will the fog burn off? In this specific case I dropped back down 2000 feet, and then watched in horror as the skies cleared at the top at about 10 am. I would rather be at the top glassing mid day than down on the trail without a good plan.

 

[mkollman74]

Quite true. It can be a gamble. I guess that's what keeps us interested.

Yeah. It's always a tough decision, when will the fog burn off? In this specific case I dropped back down 2000 feet, and then watched in horror as the skies cleared at the top at about 10 am. I would rather be at the top glassing mid day than down on the trail without a good plan.

 

[Sundodger]

People bring up some good points above, but another thing to think about is as someone that has hunted both the palouse and the high country I can say you are going to be very disapointed in the numbers of deer per sq mile. The high country of washington even in the best times isn't even close to the deer densitys that the palouse has. As long as you are ok with that and you don't let that discourage you, it can be a lot fun (weather dependant of course).

 

[mkollman74]

Yeah Sundoger, that's the choice I am trying to navigate through. I can hunt property where I'll see multiple legal bucks in a day, or go into the mountains where, frankly, I love to be, and maybe not see a thing. I am trying to weigh my sense of adventure against the likelihood of success.

 

[HellsCanyon]

People bring up some good points above, but another thing to think about is as someone that has hunted both the palouse and the high country I can say you are going to be very disapointed in the numbers of deer per sq mile. The high country of washington even in the best times isn't even close to the deer densitys that the palouse has. As long as you are ok with that and you don't let that discourage you, it can be a lot fun (weather dependant of course).

There are mainly whitetails in the Palouse.... Makes the decision an easy one!!!! Head for the mountains

Mike

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I've got a better solution! Move to another state. Colorado quietly kicks out big bucks. Idaho is pretty well known on here for having good mulies in the mountains. Montana puts out fewer stud bucks in the mountains, but they exist, and the sheer area of mountains is huge! Wyoming is relatively unheard of but might be the best state if you are a resident.

 

[forkedhorn]

ast year was the first year of hunting in Washington and after having success hunting higher elevations in other states was eager to do the same in Washington. I originally planned to focus on the high hunt but a work trip got in the way and instead ended up hunting the general season. I parked in a pretty well known and extremely heavily hunted area and ended up packing in 8 miles or so, other than a drop camp at mile 4 I had the entire valley to myself and never saw another track, let alone a person. I'm not sure if that is typical or a result of the weather but I'm guessing the former. I had scouted a bit in the summer for the high hunt but that area wasn't accessible so I focused on a trail head and valley that looked good on google earth and that I couldn't find any reference to on any hunting forums (reverse internet scouting?), as I think drop camp traffic can be fairly high in some areas. I also looked for areas that allowed me to get as far away from trails as possible as I have found that to be a huge factor in past success.

I haven't hunted in any of the really premier high country states so I don't have much to compare it to but I have never really found many deer up high, and this hunt was the same. I never saw a ton of sign and the combination of rain, snow, fog and wind pretty much killed any opportunities to glass but still hunting the right below tree line got me into deer (not a ton though) and they were almost all bucks. I really prefer glassing but it sure beats sitting in the tent and still hunting in the driving wind and rain has accounted for a fair number of deer for me over the years.

As other poster have said don't go expecting to see many deer, and the deer you do see probably wont be giants (although they are definitely a few out there). But if you love being in the mountains I think Washington has some absolutely awesome mountain ranges that also happen to hold mule deer which was the big draw for me. I ended up moving out of state but there is a good chance I'll be burning vacation days to do the same hunt next year.

Most of the areas I found from my summer scouting as well as this hunt required a long approach so even a three day weekend trip wouldn't have been enough time, also be prepared to get camp and a deer out in one go so make sure you have a decent pack and are in decent shape. This was the first year I actually trained (trail running) and on day 5 I felt better than I did on day 2 of years past which made a huge difference. I was in the northern part of the Cascades, other areas might be different though. As long as you adjust you expectations and are in it as much for the experience as anything I really can't recommend this hunt enough. I know people complain about the crowds but from my experience and from talking to others they are mostly in areas with a lot of trails, get off the trail a few miles and you probably won't see many people. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

 

[Matt W.]

My family has been hunting the same are in Eastern WA since the 50s. Its around 5,000 feet or so and crowds seem to vary from decade to decade. Its more about the tradition and coming home to a familiar spot than finding big bucks. We have taken decent bucks out there, but its more because we know the area than anything else. A new guy would struggle a few years till he figured it out. We also seem to be dependent on migratory bucks for it to be a banner year. We think weather up north of us is a factor in that, but of the 5-10 of us that hunt and the 2-3 (Dad and Uncles) that really know the area, various theories exist.

Another factor has been cougars. Both my brother and cousin have had some fun experiences with cougars....