Hunted the opener weekend in GMU 224, East of Twisp near Beaver Creek and Campbell Lake. One member of party (5) got a big 5x6 but that was one of 5 animals we saw out a huge number of camps. And two of those came from Carlton and Pateros. By all acounts not only success but animal numbers and activity was WAY down. Old timers commented that they never heard it that quite on an opener morning (maybe 5-6 separte "shootings").

Personally, I covered over ten miles of pretty steep terrain to only run into the same 5 deer (2 does and 3 young'uns) several times.

Weather was no help. Full moon saturday night, mid-60's during the day.

i hunted vale and north bend area. seen only 2 deer the whole time. put on over 20 miles of walking both days combined. my parents and friends seen 9 deer total between the 2 days. and the check station at vale said they didn't see as many deer as expected. seems the weather had soemthing to do with it maybe. idk but it sucked.

i killed a very nice 3x4 at vail on sat. about 11am. on the 2090 road off the 2000 main line. it was 20 inches wide and 16 inches high. with forked eye guards. not very many deer killed only 88 on sat. and 47 on sun. maybe this weekend will be better. good luck everyone

Should have been in GMU 239 Chiliwist was a shooting gallery for about an hour from 7:30am til 8:30am then pretty quiet. For the weekend I only saw a small 2 point and a only 13 does and 1 fawn. The doe with the fawn was so dang skinny and ribs poking out was sad to see. I have hunted here most of my life and never seen it this bad.

got this nice buck opening morning on my friend's property in GMU124. 7:09 am from a treestand. i was only there for the weekend, saw a total of 6 deer, one other forker buck and 4 does. i got really lucky.

Took a decent 2x3 from one of the san juan islands (zipper lip for priv reasons) Not a bad buck for a black tail.

By the way, Nice looking critter LCW. What kind of rifle did you take that with? Kinda looks like a winchester model 70.

it's actually a rem 700 in .270win. it's got a semi-heavy barrel. shot him from about 40yds with a 130gr nosler ballistic tip. bullet ended up in the opposite side elbow. he dropped right where i shot him.


willy

How long are you going to hang him? I was thinking about letting mine hang for 3-4 days, but am alittle sketchy.

landcruiserwilly is your rifle a 270wsm? i got the new model 700 sps in 270wsm and love it. but have yet to kill anything with it. anyway just kinda curious the kind of damage that it did to the deer. i've only shot deer with a 243.

nice deer to by the way. looks pretty symetrical too.

sled. only hung him for a day and a half. it was nice and cool (40F at night) over there. i think it's too warm over here to really gain any benefit with out spoilage. if you can keep it cold (40-48 or so) it'll work, but the daytime temps have been in the high 50's and 60's..i wouldn't risk it.

RAB no, it's .270 Win, same case as .30-06, necked down to .284? i think? anyway, i don't think that caliber is as important as bullet selection and shot placement. for this deer, i used a 130gr. nosler ballistic tip, the bullet hit him high in the shoulder on the right passed through the lungs and ended up in the opposite side elbow. there was some bloodshot in the shoulder, the opposite rib cage and the opposite shoulder. the deer did not walk an inch after i shot. a few years ago, i shot a 2 pt from a tree stand, around the same distance with a (i think) a 140 gr sierra game king bullet. i hit it in the chest from around 40 yds (about the same as this deer). bullet went through and through (i assume because of the angle i shot.) the deer ran off down the hill, i could hear him weezing down below. weezing stopped i got down to have a look at my deer, the sucker jumped up and ran off. we looked for 6 hours (4 of us) and never found him. there was a big pool of frothy lung blood where i heard him weezing. that deer was dead within 100 yds of us, but GONE. anyway, my point is that for close shots, (white tails) having a bullet that mushrooms quickly is a good thing. for elk, moose, etc you need penetration and weight retention. don't be afraid to shoot deer with the 270wsm, that is a great caliber! just choose the right load for the game you're after and you can hunt just about anything you want with it.


willy

Wife and I got 2 mulies, 3points with eye guards. Decent wheat field deer.

On the .270wsm, I bought one a couple of weeks ago. A Tikka Stainless/Laminate T-3. Great rifle, awesome groups with factory Fed 140gr Accubonds. First deer was a long ways, and a barrage of bullets. 2nd deer was 230 paces, broadside. 1st shot right through the lungs and he took a a couple of steps. I didn't see blood (he didn't fill up yet, to leak out) so I put one more next to the first shot. Massive tissue damamge, shredded the lungs and both bullets exited! Very pleased with the rifle. I bought 140gr Accubonds and powder last night, so I'll start working up a load this weekend.

snit i baught the same for mine. i like how they group on paper. alot better then the winchester 130 gr i baught to take it out shooting with.

Mine have been hanging since sunday. I guess I should butcher tonight, no nasty smells emitting so far. Thanks for the input

I got a nice 5x5 Muley in hunting the eastern slopes of the cascades. I would post if a picture if anyone can tell me how to.

well i just have to say forget the 270 wsm and shoot a 338 win mag like me

For deer? A bit overkill isnt it.How many deer are wounded because they flinch when they pull a trigger on a 338.

I know a lot of people can handle them just fine,your probably 1 of those.But a lot cant either.

I've hunted GMU 224 for over 30 years, and this was one of the quietest I've ever experienced. My son and I hunted the Cougar Lake, Campbell Lake, Pipestone Canyon, Blue Buck Mt. area for a full week. We saw our share of deer, but nothing shootable. The closest I came was when I snuck up to within 30 yards of a nice little two point that just refused to grow one more point as I layed the crosshairs on his shoulder. Even a group we run into up there every year that "always" gets animals finished up the week with nothing more to show than one small coyote. I'm not sure if it was the bluebird weather, the full moon, or what, but as promising as the season felt, what with the damp quiet ground, mild winter, and reduced hunter numbers, it was one of the most disappointing openers I can remember in a long while.

I bought the .270 WSM and LOVE IT! I wouldnt trade it for any other rifle. it seems to have all of the right stuff you would want in a great all around gun for around here...in my opinion that is, and to add about that .338 that is overkill for around here, I understand if all you hunt is moose and elk and bear but for a deer at 75-200 yrds thats just too much energy.
But whatever works for you.

By the way the group with the 270wsm at 100yrs was 6 shots that covered a quarter to 50 cent piece.

Got my doe out of the Naneum, eeeeasy