Northeast WA

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WalleyeJason

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Well, Im gonna spend this year looking for a good unit/area to pack 6 guys in next year. I have some local contacts in the Kettle Falls / Colville area who are gonna show me some areas.

Were looking to take horses in 6-10 miles next year to find some good bucks. I should be doing this in the summer but Im too busy fishing:)

Just looking for some pointers, any advice is greatly appricated.

Thanks in advance
WJ
 
Lotsa nice country up there, dont have anything specific for ya, but its basically loaded with game. If you pack in somewhere 6-10 miles and spend a week, you sure ought to see some game!

Good Luck
 
(IMO)
about the only true roadless areas I can think of are the Kettle Crest area near Sherman Crk Pass and the Salmo/Priest wilderness area in extreme NE corner, neither of which are really very big, 10 miles in one direction might have you out the other side.
Kettle crest area has historically been better for large mule deer than Salmo/Preist, but either one could produce a good buck.
Deer density is fairly low in both areas. According to WA DOW you shouldn't expect to see alot of deer, but a significant percentage of the bucks will be what they consider mature bucks.
FWIW IMHO
If I went in with 5-6 guys I would expect that 1 or 2 would get an opportunity at a mature mule deer.
 
Now your talking my neck of the woods! Haahaaaaa......
Stay away from Colville and Kettle falls! The Seattle idiots that dont head to the Okanogan area, head to Colville. He is right about the Kettle crest holding some of the best bucks in the state. Finding a 10 mile horse trail shouldnt be too hard, just dont expect to be alone when you get in there. My #1 hunting buddy use to guide over there and gave it up due to the crowds. Atvs are becoming more of a problem every year also. With all that said. There are still some huge bucks in there, hell, I know of 10 mulie bucks taken opening (rifle) weekend last year that were over 30", one pushing 40". They were on the west side of the Kettle Crest and close to the North border of the Colville Reservation. They were all several miles in on a horse trail, but about 3 and a half miles away from the trail itself. The deal is to just get off of your horse and onto your feet. Most horsemen today just ride in and glass. The deer are accustomed to the trails and traffic so they move into the thick bottoms to hide. I guided aroud Colville for a few years and will never go back. The sea of dayglow orange makes a guy want to puke! I got tired of a$$holes following me in durin rifle season, so I only hunt late archery whitetail in Ferry County.
I tend to get much better bucks that way. Haahaaa....
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Eric
 
Kettle Crest is where I would go.

Polarbear - Do you have any pics of these 10 30" plus bucks? I know that size of deer is in there but that seems like quite a few.....I would like to see some of them if you have any.
 
I dont, but I will see if my buddy does. He said that he had hever seen so many big bucks taken out of the same area in such a short time. I think that the guy who owns the sporting goods place by the fairgrounds in Republic has most of the pics, including the 40". If you want to see some monster E-WA bucks, hike around the Quartz Mtn. area just before Thanksgiving. It is closed for hunting and the big old boys know it. It is amazing how many of them make it year after year with all that hunting pressure during rifle season.
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Eric
 
That would be cool, I don't doubt what you are saying but pics would be really great. That is one part of the state I've always wanted to learn but never made the time to do so, probably becuase it is a long ways away and there are good places closer to home.
 
Polarbear, those are my plans for the late buck hunt with my bow. Do you have any whitetail pictures or stories to tell? Specifics would be nice, your buck or anothers. e-mail me a pm about strategies, I'll probably be alone and my first time doing it.
 
That's one heckuvabuck in the upper left PB. Nice pics.

Michael~All Gods creatures welcome... right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.
 
Nice bucks, what's the biggest one score and what are your methods? Treestand? Private or Public ground?
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-02-05 AT 09:13PM (MST)[p]Biggest is 168 7/8. All taken with a bow out of a treestand during late archery (late Nov-early Dec. all on public ground.
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Eric
 
Nice, how is it that the area is your neck of the woods when you live on the Westside? Did you use to live there and have you ever taken any nice mule deer there?
 
Hey Polar bear, do you mean Quartz Mt. In the Manashtash? cause I have seen some real brusiers there in mid November and wonder why they don't give out any special Nov premits for that unit?? seems like a missed oppurtunity for all of us. Should be a least 5 modern tags for that unit during the rut......
 
Quartz Mt. in the Sherman unit. Actually, the biggest mulie bucks that I have seen in this state were between Seventeen and Little Seventeen Mountains on the Colville rez. It is closed to hunting for non-tribal members. We use to ride our horses in just to see what was out there. Holy balls! One of these years during the rut we are going to ride in and take some pics of those monsters. I am convinced that those 30+" bucks that were shot last year, all wondered off of the rez. I feel that having a hunt (limited permit or not) during the rut is a bad idea. Those bigger bucks need to breed without having a bunch of hunters pushing them around. Since the eliminated the late rifle season in the Sherman unit, the number and quality of mature sized bucks has increased just about every year. Winter severity has a little to do with it as well. Want to see proof? Just visit the Les Schwab or the sports store in Republic and ask to see some recent big buck pics.
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Eric
 
Polarbear, I really want that pm to come through, unfortunately I know the old e-mail address is connected to my account on MM. My new e-mail is [email protected] . Send as soon as you can, I can't wait.
 

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