WA Deer opener, How did you do?

Big TULE · 10-12-2002, 10:40 PM

Well the opener started out like any other, 7 guys in one clear cut. Didn't see a darn thing untill noon wooohooo saw 6 does eating in an alfalfa field. Brother in law and i decided it was time to quit deer hunting and start elk scouting, much more important. We can hunt on monday when the crowds are gone. Well we go to our elk area and we walk and we walk and we see alot of old sign, thinking wow we need rain bad. We we see no elk but we see 2 grouse, got one. Well on our drive out we are talking about the size deer we would shoot if we see one and i say i would shoot a big fork "Because i havn't shot a deer in about 8 year" And my brother is driving he says fork. So i hop out of the truck and am off on a foot chase down hill, So for about 1/2 mile i am running straight down hill not realising that i am an idiot for doing this but i whistle and the buck stops. Got one shot so i must make it good. Well with a 300 win mag shooting 150 grain bullets it really doesn't matter where it is placed the deer goes down. I neck shot it and the head was about clean off, sorry for the graphic nature of the explenation but it was. Well Fork was about 12 inch spread with about 4-5 inch forks. Carried it back up hill on my back gutted and i was dead when i got back to the road. Well my deer hunt for this year is over, How did everyone else do???

KingFisher85 · 10-13-2002, 10:44 AM

Well, the day started off with a good salmon trip. Slow.
When home took a small nap and waited till my buddy came over. We went up to a zipper lips spot. Got into some deer but well nothing. To windy.

Killertraylor · 10-15-2002, 10:29 AM

I bought an out of state tag and went to Twisp, Washington and stayed at my parents cabin right across the street from the Okanogan/Methow Valley Game range. Opening day climbed to the top of Pole pick mountain before light and only saw 4 does and a fork. This area is 3 pt. and better. Around 9:00 a.m. all hell broke loose on the game range. I spotted no fewer than 80 hunters over there - spaced about 300 yards apart, sometimes closer. They were all hunting open cheat grass country - very few places for deer to hide or bed down. Made me wonder what the heck they were all doing. This area is one where youth can shoot any deer and the youths started shooting around 9:00 at random does running like hell trying to avoid people. Saw one get shot and several misses. It was as interesting watching the melee over on the game range as it was hunting.

Went out Sunday night behind the cabin and hiked about 5 miles, never saw a deer. On the way back to the cabin, spotted a nice mulie buck about 200 yards from the cabin. My parents live there full time and haven't seen a legal buck there in several years. This one had huge forks, but couldn't see the third point because it was too dark. I thought it was past shooting hours too, so we passed it up.

Went out monday morning to the only brushy draw above the cabin, thinking that buck might be bedded down in there. As I was walking into the brush he stood up just 40 yards away and turned broadside and looked at me. He turned his head a little and I saw the third point on one side and also an eyeguard which technically made it a 4x2. One shot from the .257 weatherby behind the shoulder and he took one hop and dropped. It was the biggest bodied deer I'd ever shot - we drug it whole about 800 yards to the cabin and got it on a scale and it weighed 180 lbs, guts and all. It had 1 inch of fat all the way around it and the innards were filled with fat too. The rack wasn't huge, but this was a very nice deer for this area considering what we'd seen hanging in camps and all the does around.

Flying Roast Beef · 10-16-2002, 02:52 AM

Killertraylor, I've been through that Okanogan area. The fire that went through there must have been hell on earth. Looks like buck country to me.

SR1 5 · 10-20-2002, 08:39 PM

Today was the last day of the season here and one of the most enjoyable hunts of my life. I took a friends 16 year old son out this morning and after a long stalk in CRP he was able to shoot a 3 point buck with one shot at about 250 yards. I have shot nearly 20 bucks in my life with two being in the "trophy" class and watching this kid shoot this little buck this morning was the most rewarding experience I have had in a long time and way more gradifying than shooting an animal myself. Take a kid hunting and may you be blessed as much as myself!