deer in 31

[2244rollin]

Hi all,

I am going to do some scouting in unit 31 in a couple of weeks. Never hunted the area before, and was wondering what to expect. It looks like there's a lot of roads in the area, but a few pockets to get away from the roads. Is this unit pretty packed with hunters during the season? Is the deer population doing ok here?
All info is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[judkins1]

Wouldn't waste my time in 31. More hunters and wood cutters than deer. Now if you drew a bear tag...

 

[bootspearo]

I second that I archery hunt in there for elk and if I see a couple deer in a week I am doing pretty good. Lower by steck park there are some pockets of deer.

 

[bigcreekmetal]

+1 what the other said. You can find some good deer if you get WAY off the roads toward the river, or if you can get on private ground way down low the deer hunting can be fantastic. But getting permission can be difficult as usual. Rest of the unit sucks for deer for the most part.

 

[ID_Paul]

I hunted 31 several years ago and won't go back. We camped an hour's travel off the highway and there was so much traffic past our camp I couldn't believe it. We had draw elk tags and general deer tags, and the openers of both seasons were ruined by people driving in on closed roads right through where we had hiked in to hunt.

On a more positive note, I saw some really good-looking country that would have been huntable from the road that goes in along Brownlee Reservoir. If you're hunting 31, I'd suggest starting from that side instead of the Mann Creek side.

 

[2244rollin]

Thanks for all the info guys.