Trask evening hunt 10/8

Tacklebuster · 10-08-2002, 10:39 PM

Do to a medical appt. and some stuff I had to take to calm me down for it, I didn't get a chance to get out into the woods until this evening. My wife and myself decided to hunt an old haunt that has been good to us over the years and she was able to drop a little fork

Ten minutes left until legal shooting hours were finished and he decided to pop out and be seen.

I hear many people talk about the deer decline in the west side and I often wonder how true that is. We have been out 5 times this year and have seen deer every trip. I think they are just adapting a little different, not vanishing as some people tend to think. Whatever the case may be we had a great evening hunt and some quality time together.

Fishplay · 10-09-2002, 03:25 AM

Way to go Mrs. Tacklebuster!!

Congrats on your success. I have not began the hunt yet but when the weather turns nasty and cold and the big boys get careless I will there.

Salmon Stryker · 10-09-2002, 05:55 AM

Yes congrats on the success!! And I think your right as well. It used to be that every time out you could see at least does....and it used to be that does weren't hunted until the last week of the season too. No with the doe permits lasting pretty much all season and deer in general being hunted from August until December in some locations...the deer are getting wise to it. They stay in the thick stuff most of the day and don't come out until right at dark or even after.
I also think there is more cover for them now than years ago. Vast clearcutting is sort of on its way out and the new thinning operations are opening up the forests so that deer vegetation can grow but there is still a lot of cover for them.
I think the population may be down some but I think that any good west side hunter who puts in some time the last 2 weeks of season, and is willing to get out of truck and do some hunting will be successful.

SureSet · 10-09-2002, 07:02 AM

Good work TB! (edit: Or more appropriately, I should say good work team TB!)

SureSet

[ 10-09-2002, 08:04 AM: Message edited by: SureSet ]

Tacklebuster · 10-09-2002, 09:37 AM

Thanks for the replies....

Hey SureSet,
How did you do on your hunt? The offer still stands in my area for that hair tag of yours..

GutshotApe · 10-09-2002, 12:11 PM

SalmonStryker - You may be right about blacktail deer becoming more reclusive due to hunting pressure but in my area, deer numbers seem to be down due to a triple whammy: cougars, clearcuts (fewer of 'em), and cooties (hairloss syndrome). I live in the coast range foothills and believe there are perhaps half as many deer as there were 8-10 years ago - and I live adjacent to a 200-acre timbered basin that isn't hunted (a private refuge).

Cougar numbers are way up and they take a lot of deer.

Clearcuts are way down. Clearcuts offer prime forage for deer for about 10 years then decline in usefulness as the new forest grows and crowds out the forage plants. Logging declined about 10 yrs ago. Thinning opens up older stands a little but if done right, there isn't really very much additional forage on the ground for deer.

Parasite-caused hairloss syndrome has been affecting the local deer for at least 3 years. Every winter when we have 3" or 4" of snow after a few days of rain I find one or more dead deer that just layed down, got covered with snow, and died. Probably half of the few deer I still see have shaggy coats from the syndrome.

Having said all that, I bought a westside tag and intend to hunt later in the season - and hope to fill my tag.

springer_97011 · 10-11-2002, 08:29 AM

cougars eat about a deer a week and there are way more cougars then ever .bring back dog hunting!