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Bucks, Bears, Bruises, and Bows
Hunting North Central Washington By Lon Scott

One of the most exciting times of the year that is anxiously anticipated by my hunting partners and me is the archery deer season here in Washington that runs the entire month of September. This state has all three species of deer (whitetail, mule deer, and blacktail), but the area we had chosen to hunt is in North Central Washington where the whitetail and mule deer are found. This hunting unit is a vast territory comprised of mountains, valleys, rolling hills, dense forests, rivers, lakes, and streams.

Most of the lowland areas are private property and hunting is widely prohibited or restricted on most of the farms and ranches. Forest products, cattle ranching, and alfalfa farming are the major endeavors. Needless to say, the whitetail and mule deer place this top quality alfalfa high on their grocery list.

Since we did not have access to any of the private properties, we set up our hunting camp in the national forest where we would hunt at elevations of 3500-5500 feet. Our plan was to hunt the whitetails in the lower, thicker forest and try the spot and stalk for mule deer and bear in the higher elevations. As far as weather, the summer of 2007 had been one of the driest and hottest in this part of the state in the past ten years and when I arrived on September 9th, it was over 80 degrees.