Soul Archer Report post Posted April 7, 2015 a couple other questions that came to mind after I hit 'post'. Really appreciate you guys sharing your experience. for treestands down in the narrow ravine water sources, how much tree do you need to get above these deer? Im doubtful of finding the 25' we look for in washington. what can I expect to find? do you have to brush them in? are the deer hitting water in the hot part of the day? or mornings / evenings Does a good rain kill a spot like this for a few days? thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted April 7, 2015 Ah heck, I go in thru the green valley jims on the 22s side big bulls in there, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted April 7, 2015 The only two spiders you need to be concerned with a Black Widows and Brown Recluse. I usually see deer hit water around 8-9AM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesPursuit Report post Posted April 7, 2015 Good luck whatever you decide and post pictures! wow, this looks very similar to the areas im looking at in the hellsgate, same kind of setups. it's somewhat ironic, i've spent the last 7 years troubleshooting hunting out of treestand for 11 hours in freezing temps. Even after considerable effort toward fighting off the cold it is still a pretty miserable sit, looks like ive found the ying to that yang Yes, you have. bugs and snakes are a real bummer... im pretty sure that the sound of me screaming like a 12 year old girl would alert the deer and prompt them to avoid the area, even if they were thirsty... are you hunting out of a pop up blind or a hand built? how do you deal with a ground blind and undesirable invaders, flash bang, napalm?? i freakin HATE spiders and the ones you have here in arizona are spectacularly nasty So, that picture absolutely rocks dude, how often are the deer coming in there? daylight versus night? about how many deer were hitting that spot? I can try make a very long and interesting story short. After getting deer on trail camera every 2-3 days for 2 months from day 1 of setting up the camera, during all hours and once just hour after I was there, I insisted to myself that I needed to hunt this spot in August and I set up a pop up blind for the first time. A bear ripped it to compete shreds within a week (I have photos of 3 different bears) so I pieced it back together best I could and added natural vegetation. I left camp at 2AM on opening day to make sure I could get to the blind before dawn. Nope. I got stuck in between what I truly believe was a yellow-eyed mountain lion and a herd of 8-10 green-eyed whitetail halfway through my journey. I almost stepped on 3 diamondbacks and 2 Arizona blacks, the last one being 20 yards from my blind when I finally got in hours later. I had a black widow in the blind with me too. No exaggeration. I saw the bucks in the distance that opening day but they didn't come to water. A doe and fawn did (she had two fawns the week before on trail cam), from directly behind my blind not 2 minutes after I opened some dehydrated blueberries that had a potent smell. I honestly thought it was the bear that mauled my ground blind!! I didn't have my sidearm out of my pack so staying quiet I took an arrow out of my quiver and I was ready to stab anything that penetrated the blind wall. Lol. I was so relieved to see a doe and fawn and I cannot explain. I was just flat out freaked out from the events of the walk in that morning and the bear ripping up my blind. I left that day after sitting until dark with no funny business on the long hike back, but, I decided for a solo, day hike in during the August archery season, that spot just wasn't enjoyable. I hunted it again the next day, didn't see anything, and took the blind down. I haven't had a rifle tag in that area since and will hopefully continue with early archery success, but I will be back when I've stocked up on BP's and hit the December WT Rifle hunt. I was planning on calling for lions here one morning this June right after the fawns drop. This spot and trail camera pictures are for sale BTW lol jk. a couple other questions that came to mind after I hit 'post'. Really appreciate you guys sharing your experience. for treestands down in the narrow ravine water sources, how much tree do you need to get above these deer? Im doubtful of finding the 25' we look for in washington. what can I expect to find? do you have to brush them in? I learned this year that I do not believe there is set height that a Coues will not detect you, especially in certain wind conditions, and especially again in narrow ravine areas. Some water sources have them, 25' is possible in some big cottonwoods. Wind direction over height for me nowadays. are the deer hitting water in the hot part of the day? or mornings / evenings Some spots I've had all night photos, some all day photos, and some spots a combination of both. Does a good rain kill a spot like this for a few days? IMO, absolutely. thanks! By the way, where in Washington are you from? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soul Archer Report post Posted April 8, 2015 Im from the west side of Washington. Puyallup, if youre familiar with the area. I do all my whitetail hunting in the NE corner of the state That sounds like a pretty crappy experience. I have a vivid imagination and would not be able to stay focused inside a ground blind unless I was listening to a book on tape or something and could not hear outside the blind. Treestand seems the much better choice Talked with a guy on here last night and am now looking at the maxatzals. a little bigger space. I spent about 4 hours logging all the tanks and trails and place names into my google earth and have some scouting plans drawn up. a couple questions that popped to mind while reading through the comments here and while hogging the computer with google earth. THEFT: I see a LOT of comments about stolen game cameras at water sites. there are a couple spots Im looking at that are between 5 and 8 miles into the wilderness. are those sites still subject to vandalism? it's a real bummer. i have never had anything stolen in washington. In fact, we flag our stands so other hunters will see we are hunting there and give us a half mile or so. guess things are little different down south here. TANKS: How tough is it to deepen a tank with a shovel and pick? does it help? is it frowned upon? do any of you filter water from tanks for drinking? GROUND BLIND: Any recommendations on a lightweight (hopefully under 10 pounds) ground blind that is easily packed? Im thinking that for ground blind water sources to set up and take down the same day, being sure to really brush it in. TAG: Is the north half of the Mazatzal (unit 22 I believe) an over the counter archery tag? Still struggling with the regs Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Browns Report post Posted April 8, 2015 All of 22 is OTC in Aug & Jan. Not open in December. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted April 8, 2015 Cameras in wilderness area may not be legal. As far as theft... You aren't in Washington anymore... If someone finds your stuff odds are it will be stolen or vandalized. Just the way it is in Az, antlers make some people loose their minds. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
