Anybody out there getting as pumped as I am as the opener for deer season draws near?

I usually hunt east side (north) and have seen more and more deer over there each year.

Has anyone done any scouting in the Tonasket/Republic area, or know what to expect for the deer season?

Thanks

F/M

fish medic

A friend of mine in Okanogan says its been super super dry but has been alot cooler recently like in the 70s and he has seen a lot of deer scouting on the west have of the county and so usually when it comes to the east half(tonasket/ republic) the hunting is better especially if you hunt watering holes real early for mulies and a few whitetail.

I hope that helps some.

(by the way I am from Okanogan originally)

Thanks, it does help. I am leaving this morning for a quick overnight scout trip, maybe find a few grouse. But mainly to look around for the bucks. I'll post when I get back.

Did you get lost?
Should we launch a search party.
Or was it good and your holding out on us.

WBS fish medic

Maybe I should have gone along as a scouting guide(would have been nice to get back home for a weekend)and he would have been back to update us LOL!!!!!!!!

Hey, thanks for the concern. Glad I was missed :p . Sorry for my late posting. We got back late Sun night, then I had to travel to Aberdeen for a class, which I just came home from, in time to return to work tomorrow.

Scouting was a little disappointing. Very dry conditions and a burn ban in effect. All the water holes were either dry or close to it, but the ones with water had lots of sign around them. Very few deer sightings, and only 2 had horns, one mule spike, and another mule that was branched, but didnt stand still long enough to count points. Couldnt believe how few grouse there were. All the years previous we would step on them w/o trying, and the only ones we saw on this trip were on the drive out of the woods. Hopefully they will get some rain over there before the season opens, they need it. That tent will be mighty cold without a stove burnin.

Anyone heard anything else about the North Central area?

fish medic

Sorry that you didnt see much up there seems my friends areas are holding a few more deer. He is going to hunt above the Sinlahekin Valley on Douglas, Coxit mountains then probably work his way to Conconully over angel pass.

He just told me about the burn ban and in the past it seems to rain just enough before the season to allow fires so dont dispare yet.

Hopefully for you it will all come together at thelast minute (or alot soner LOL!!!!)

I took a few buddies up there the opener of archery deer season just to shoot grouse. That is where I usually archery hunt, but I will probably go modern somewhere closer now that I am back in school. Anyways, in all of the years that I have hunted there, I have never seen it that dry. ALL of the watering holes that I know of that hold deer (and are surrounded by grouse) were either dry or mud. I have never seen it that dry nor seen that few grouse. We did see more whitetail than usual, and we saw a lot of deer, but all does. Not a single buck in over 50 deer we spotted.

Anyways, that was the beginning of September. Hopefully you will find some nice bucks. By the way, is it combat hunting there during modern season? This was my first time back in about 3 years, and we saw only one set of archery hunters. If we were archery hunting, all three of us could have filled our tags with whitetail does if we wanted to.

Good luck!