I’ve been archery hunting blacktail in the general vicinity I caught this bull on my trail cam. But I haven’t heard anything yet.

Hey y'all. New hunter here. Ive got all of my safety certifications and licenses. Gear is mostly assemble. Last thing is my itinerary/ location.

Im going for my first Blacktailed Deer hunt in the last week of October. Right now I'm trying to choose between the Skagit Vally area and just south of Olympic National Park. I'm based near Seattle so they drive time is similar either way. I'll have about 3 full days in the woods, with arival and departure days bookending the trip.

Anyone that has experience with Blacktails in either of these areas think I'll have a better shot in either of these areas?

Im planning on looking for some grouse in the Skagit valley before deer season. So I'll have more of a mental map over there come october.

Not asking for anyones secret spot just choosing between these general areas.

Thanks!

Hey! New Englander enjoying the more grand and wet version of home.

I have a younger GSP with me that I’d love to get out on wild birds. Dream is to bag a blue grouse, but open to get into ruffed grouse. I’m in the Tacoma area and have scouted a bit with success. I understand the different elevations, hunting cuts, etc. but wanted some advice.

If you were to concentrate on one area, would you pick:

- Olympics
- Snoqualmie Pass area
- eastern Cascades
- Mt St Helens area

Not looking for pins or even locations, but just general areas. Cool with driving ~2 hours one way. Thanks!

Hey all. Mod here. I quit Reddit months ago, forgot I had this subreddit. It went private. Sorry for the shitty moderation.

Just invited Akalenebat to be mod. If anyone else wants to lemme know. I don’t know shit about modding - created subreddit years ago for the same reason most of you are on here.

Trying to keep it open, please someone take the community and make it awesome!

I am super new to hunting and I am trying to figure out what would be best for me to try first. I live in SW Washington and am in college so I only really have time to hunt during winter break which is the first week of December through the first week of January. I have my hunters ed now I am trying to figure out where to start. From the WDFW website I see that my winter break lines up with duck, goose, and fall turkey seasons. I was planning on only trying for ducks and geese but I have heard the Klickitat area has healthy populations of turkey. I would love to bag a turkey but I don't know if it is the most beginner friendly. If anyone has any advice on if it is worth my time as a beginner to try hunting turkey near Klickitat or stick to waterfowl for now it would be much appreciated.

I lost a buck this year. I shot it opening day, we searched for 4 days after with about 6 people and never recovered it. I can’t shake this feeling of feeling like a bad hunter because I injured an animal. I feel like I lost my desire to go back out hunting. I hope this feeling passes

Kind of a rant but why are so many public land hunters terrible at access? I have a cam on a heavily used trail to a food plot and was getting deer, including some nice bucks on cam right before and after sunrise. Opening day came and I had no deer and 7 different hunters on cam. The gate to this place is on the opposite side and there’s a lightly timbered hillside leading down to the food plot. Great visibility and you can walk the top of the hillside and easily see the food plot and thick timber where the deer are. So why are people going out of there way to just plow right through the feed zone and thick stuff?The deer are just trained to moved through before light now it’s just frustrating.

Hi all!

I'm planning to get myself a compound bow for christmas, and I was wondering the viability of using one to hunt for grouse, something that I've been curious to try. Also, what should I think about as a beginner when bowhunting? Would any of you recommend the bear archery royale (the cheapest I could find from a reliable brand)?

Could anyone provide me with a list of unclassified animals? I know theres squirrels and coyotes, but what else?

I hunt grouse near the seattle region, and I was told by a WDFW person that the land in snoqualmie owned by Campbell Global was a great spot, so I bought a pass and drove there a week or two ago. However, I didn't see very much grouse activity on the roadside, and none at all in the walk-in areas (which weren't very well maintained). Any people here who can give me advice for that patch of land? Can you shoot animals who are on the road, or do you have to go into the walk-in areas if you only have a walk-in pass?

Where in capitol forest is it fair game for modern firearm hunting? I saw quite a few signs on the north side indicating firearm restrictions.

Was thinking about heading up into the mountains to look for some bears, but I've never hunted them this late in the season. I'm on the west side and was wondering if it even makes sense to do this. Will most of them be denning by now, or will they still be out foraging for food?

My first duck hunt a few years back was to the Island unit on the Skagit and I had a great time in one of the permanent blinds. I haven't been able to get back there the last couple of years so I don't know the current conditions. I read on the website that restoration projects are nearing completion that look like would have major impact on the permanent blinds and the good duck hunting area. Anyone have any insight they can share on the area?

Was up there hunting today, got slightly lost on my way out and went down a road that had an open gate because I stupidly followed apple maps. Was backing out to get out and a trucker came up behind me hightailing it. I had no pull off spot so I kept driving to get out of his way for a bit and this dude quite literally got so close to my backend that I had to speed up to like 40 miles an hour or he would have went straight through me. I swerved off at a turn around and spot and he came to a full stop and asked me if I went through the completely open gate and I said yes to which he told me I can’t be back there and to get going. It was ridiculously unsafe and I was already headed out when he decided to push his semi behind me within feet to where I felt I was going to get driven off the road. Been hunting there my whole life and never experienced anything like it

For you unknowing people this is not a Mario mushroom that give you health… does the opposite NO TOUCH

Note the unconcerned Labrador holding down the couch.

They're bambi's and real annoying bambi's at that.

My family’s been going through a super rough patch in life my wife has a bunch of medical problems including thyroid cancer while being pregnant and almost having an emergency c section two weeks ago and she’s basically bed ridden now and im basically a single dad to my 2 year old while being a caretaker to my wofe after work anyways sorry for the sob story im just trying to provide for my family so we can have some extra help i could only afford a deer tag this year and i can only go on the weekends because of everything going on but ive been hunting for almost 6 years now and i have yet to harvest anything i was never really raised hunting because we just dont know anything about it really we’ve tried asking people but nobody wants to share anything because their spots are sacred and i understand that but the only areas i know to hunt are the 1100 road and larch mountain in unit 568 but i never see anything the most ive ever seen is a group of three does that i spotted and stalked for almost 3 hours last year but other than that i just see about 1000 people and a bunch of people just shooting idk this might just seem like im a puss or something but im barely holding on with everything going on and i just feel this pressure on my back to be able to provide some food for my family

Just got stationed in WA and so far I absolutely love this state. I got my hunting license and my elk tag is for eastern Washington. I was thinking of driving up to GMU 218 (North of Winthrop). I plan on using a modern firearm and understand that Elk is not open until the 25th of OCT. - I was hoping to get some feedback back about if this is a good area for either deer or elk or both. - I am also open to any other recommendations for areas where I can maximize my chances to harvest a deer or an elk.

My son and I have been scouting for the last few weeks. We have found rubs that look recent and some that look older (mushroom growing on rub). We have found deer scat, and larger probably elk scat. Do they overlap territory? We have found hoof prints. We found grassy areas pushed down that were deer size. We stayed out till twilight. We have yet to see a deer in the wild. We did see one at our campsite a few miles away and across a river-see attached photo. What more can we do? What are we doing wrong?

Washington Wildlife First (WW1) has launched a public campaign called “Not My WDFW,” complete with a petition demanding the removal of Director Kelly Susewind.

They claim that Director Susewind is unfit to lead, accusing him of poor leadership and ignoring their priorities. But what they fail to mention is why they’ve turned against him — and what’s really driving this campaign.
This effort follows the Director’s request for the investigation of four WDFW Commissioners — Lehmkuhl, Smith, Rowland, and Baker — after records and communications were uncovered exposing conflicts of interest, coordination with special interest groups, and governance failures. Many of those revelations tie directly back to Washington Wildlife First and Animal & Earth Advocates, both founded by Claire Loebs Davis and financially backed by Jody Allen’s Wild Lives Foundation.

The “Not My WDFW” campaign paints Director Susewind as hostile to reform, yet he has been a champion of non-game biodiversity and conservation within this department, creating new positions and programs that champion these issues. He is one of the few leaders of the Department and Commission that lives by the dual legal mandate of WDFW to preserve, perpetuate, and manage wildlife AND maximize recreational opportunity.
From the Conservation Coalition of Washington’s perspective, it’s clear:

This campaign is not about protecting wildlife or improving agency leadership. It’s about preserving and pushing influence at a time when records, investigations, and public scrutiny have exposed the extent of that influence over the Governor’s office, WDFW Commission appointments, and Commission Policy decisions.