Can't turn back the clock

I was a bird hunter beginning in 1959 then added blacktail deer and elk hunting in 1964. In 2017 the timber company that owned the area I had hunted since 1964 decided to charge $250 per person to hunt there. I looked into other hunting areas here in Western Washington and there are very few public areas left. My health issues in 2018 would limit how and where I could hunt. So now I'm no longer a "hunter" and will have to join the ranks of "shooter". I'll be a shooter because there's no way I'll give up my guns (at least as long as I'm alive then they'll go to my family members). I'll stay on this site since the Savage 99s are my favorite rifles and have been my primary rifles since my 30-30 from 1964. So I'll leave the family legacy of "hunting" to my daughter but she too is finding it hard to find hunting areas and a partner.

When I look back at my early years at being a young broke couple with kids, late 70s early 80s. Hides put money on the table, either from hunting or trapping. Many a grocery bill was paid with hides from coon. I would often read the kids a story when they were small then go out for a few hours with the dogs. It made me feel good that I could do something I enjoyed and provide for my family at the same time. The freezer was full with venison. I don't see future generations being able to do the same thing...sad.

Many factors at the root. Population growth, land being divided and sold etc... The state I am from has made hunting an profitable industry. If you are not blessed with a family member that owns land then you are required to buy into a managed lease that cost between 750 to 20000 a year for the opportunity to hunt a whitetail dear.

Travis,
If you get to the east side of the state, look me up. Thousands of acres of land to hunt here (public and private). If you need a hunting partner, I'll show you around the area. I shot a 125 pound bear and a spike buck last fall, while my son took a doe and a 342 pound bear. All just a few miles from the house. I help the neighbors with the butchering of their kills sometimes and in two months I butchered 4 deer and 4 bears. The good hunting areas are still out there. You just got to come over to the good side of the mountains.

Thanks so much for the offer, Frontier, I'll see if I can work into getting in closer contact with you come Spring (if it ever gets here). The timber company here (name starts with W) started tightening the screws abour 19 years ago. Part of it was understandable, sloppy people destroying spur roads, dumping garbage, poaching, etc. so we could no longer set up a travel trailer on a landing with a campsite and hunt for a few days. My family and I always respected the rules and took out more trash than we took in. Our only evidence of being there would be a fire ring (if they were allowed at the time) and maybe a meat pole. When you get time, drop me a line about the game management areas so I can start some research.

No need to be ashamed to post their name, it's Weyerhaeuser. I spent a lot of time fishing and hunting in the Bald Hills area as a teen and access to much of it has been closed off except by foot.

From their website...

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Weyerhaeuser Company, is one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, owning or controlling nearly 12.4 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and managing additional 14.0 million acres timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada.

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We've been on the east side of the state for almost 30yrs, nothing would get me to move back to western WA.

Travis,
Any more I mainly hunt areas 101 and 105. However 108, 111, 113, 117, 121 and 124 all offer good hunting. I've spent time in most of them but 101 and 105 are closer to home. If you come on over, I'll give you a map and show you a few spots. The Colville National forest is over 1.1 million acres of hunting land. There are plenty of places to bring the family, set up camp and enjoy the weekend with those you love out in the woods.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE...rdb5339056.bmp

Thanks for your thoughts Travis. My family never hunted but always were shooters. Now in my midlife I find myself wanting to go hunt deer and get off the beef wagon. Yet I look at the expense of getting a lease or going to some managed space where you just pick what you want and pretend you are shooting at a range...what fun is that. I feel like the old ways are behind us and things are just getting harder and out of vogue. At least I have discovered a 800 yard range outside of Dallas and I really enjoy hitting steel out there.

Here in Arkansas it is also getting hard to find public land to hunt on, and when you do its pretty crowded. I belong to a hunting club with about 25 members and we lease land from timber companies and private land owners, everyone wants to cash in on the hunting industry. If you add up the cost to hunt - club fees, guns, clothes, stands, vehicles, processing and other expenses - it is getting to be pretty expensive to hunt deer here. Of course you have to consider your enjoyment of preparing and being outdoors against the cost, I'll do it as long as I can afford and physically able to do it.

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Originally Posted by Wayne Nixon

Here in Arkansas it is also getting hard to find public land to hunt on, and when you do its pretty crowded. I belong to a hunting club with about 25 members and we lease land from timber companies and private land owners, everyone wants to cash in on the hunting industry. If you add up the cost to hunt - club fees, guns, clothes, stands, vehicles, processing and other expenses - it is getting to be pretty expensive to hunt deer here. Of course you have to consider your enjoyment of preparing and being outdoors against the cost, I'll do it as long as I can afford and physically able to do it.

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Not much better here in Ohio anymore either, at least not up in my part of the state. It's all flat as a pancake wide open farm ground up here with woodlots being few and far between. A great many of those woodlots have been sold off in the last 15-20 years and have had houses built in them, or been clear cut and bulldozed to plant more corn to take advantage of the ethanol craze. Those that remain are either off limits (don't allow hunting or they hunt it themselves) or the land owner lets everybody and their brother hunt it. Public hunting land in my part of the state is all but non-existent so that really isn't an option unless i want to drive 3+ hours each way.

Down in the southern half of the state permission to hunt private land is getting harder to come by due to the number of so-called "guides" and "outfitters" that are leasing it all up. The bad thing is that the ODNR continues to refuse to do anything to regulate or oversee these businesses that are profiteering off our wildlife and the tax dollars that go to supporting it. At the very least require them to purchase an annual license that requires they meet certain guidelines and pay a per-hunter tax on their services that goes to supporting wildlife management.

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Originally Posted by J.Baker

Not much better here in Ohio anymore either, at least not up in my part of the state. It's all flat as a pancake wide open farm ground up here with woodlots being few and far between. A great many of those woodlots have been sold off in the last 15-20 years and have had houses built in them, or been clear cut and bulldozed to plant more corn to take advantage of the ethanol craze. Those that remain are either off limits (don't allow hunting or they hunt it themselves) or the land owner lets everybody and their brother hunt it. Public hunting land in my part of the state is all but non-existent so that really isn't an option unless i want to drive 3+ hours each way.

Down in the southern half of the state permission to hunt private land is getting harder to come by due to the number of so-called "guides" and "outfitters" that are leasing it all up. The bad thing is that the ODNR continues to refuse to do anything to regulate or oversee these businesses that are profiteering off our wildlife and the tax dollars that go to supporting it. At the very least require them to purchase an annual license that requires they meet certain guidelines and pay a per-hunter tax on their services that goes to supporting wildlife management.

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I posted something a week or so ago about Indiana pushing to bring more youngsters back into hunting, and their lack of acknowledgment that it is lack of places to hunt that are killing the sport.

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Originally Posted by celltech

Thanks for your thoughts Travis. My family never hunted but always were shooters. Now in my midlife I find myself wanting to go hunt deer and get off the beef wagon. Yet I look at the expense of getting a lease or going to some managed space where you just pick what you want and pretend you are shooting at a range...what fun is that. I feel like the old ways are behind us and things are just getting harder and out of vogue. At least I have discovered a 800 yard range outside of Dallas and I really enjoy hitting steel out there.

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Dallas? Man, if I was in Texas I would be all over the feral hog hunting. From what I understand, EVERY landowner wants them killed. Good eating too....

PhilC, I'm not ashamed to name the timber company. They issued 10-20K permits in each of their 100+ areas. They admitted that they were selling EVERY permit EVERY year. When I added up the numbers, they were taking in more than 10 MILLION dollars a year and never selling a log for it. Just another case of riding to the bank on the back of hunting industry. And thanks, Frontier, for the info. I'm in Seattle so it would be a healthy drive but that would be OK for a 3 or 4 day hunt. I'll keep in touch.

Hey, Robinhood. I guess my problem with W timber company is that I started hunting this area in 1964. There were stands of fir and hemlock, alder and maple so you could still hunt (don't why they call it that as you're moving through the stands of timber looking for game) through the trees. They started their clear and selective cutting and left most of the branches on the ground (to compost down into the soil). Then they went in and did tree management by planting new trees. In some places the new trees were so close together that they killed all the ground cover that deer and elk live on. There was less that 10 percent of the acreage still standing. All the rest was clear cut or re-plant. A lot of the replant was good but wouldn't be huntable until the trees were 20 or 30 years old as the ferns, buckbrush etc. was 3-4 feet deep. And they called this "Progress".

Man I feel your pain,
Fortunately The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has very good leadership and quite a few public meetings giving us a voice in the states management programs. Through the fees associated with use of state lands, we now have user fees shared by everyone who uses these public lands not just hunters and fishermen. This includes hikers, campers, those who use the shooting ranges, trails, everyone.
We now have huntable populations of many species that formerly were shadows ghosts and stories of days gone by when I was a kid. There were very few if any whitetail deer and turkeys in Northwest Georgia even though there were seasons and strict bag limits. Now we have great opportunity's all over the state. Maybe it's time to start holding officials and politicians in your area accountable and demanding a sustainable conservation plan to ensure public opportunity's. After all that's what license and tag fees should be used for. It took decades but it happened.
Here's an example of what's available to us in Georgia despite our growing population and urban sprawl.
https://georgiawildlife.com/allwmas
Good luck

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Originally Posted by Travis98146

PhilC, I'm not ashamed to name the timber company. They issued 10-20K permits in each of their 100+ areas. They admitted that they were selling EVERY permit EVERY year. When I added up the numbers, they were taking in more than 10 MILLION dollars a year and never selling a log for it. Just another case of riding to the bank on the back of hunting industry.

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You're so right about that. There were no permits when I was hunting/fishing there 45yrs ago but back then most everyone respected the land and most all of it was open access, not so anymore. We're feeling the squeeze around the more populated areas in eastern WA, I'm south of Spokane and it's a "who you know deal" here already.

Phil,
If you are in the Spokane area, besides coming up my way, you could also go north of Spokane on Highway 2. Go past Usk into the Skookum lakes. Great camp sites (privately owned and state operated). Good fishing, good deer hunting, awesome moose (if you get drawn) and bear hunting. I've seen bear poop that was bright purple from huckleberries.

$250 is really not a bad price.

Sorry to hear of your plight.

I am paying about $6,000 annually in property and school tax for a home on enough property that allows me to hunt and shoot on my own land.

We all have hard choices where the limited funds go and for what. That was a priority for me.

Hey, 12b. In a way the $250 isn't a bad price except that it's for a single area only. Then if you bring a partner/wife/girlfriend/child along that's another $250 whether they hunt or not. And, you can't stay overnight on the land so you have to pay (or have friends nearby) for a place to stay/park your RV etc. I guess I've been spoiled by the "good old days".

Frontier Gear. I had the opportunity to drive through the Spokane/Cour de Alene area (on my way to Kalispell) a month ago. It was beautiful country and looked promising for a hunt. Sadly though, just the drive from Seattle to Spokane was enough to wear me out so I'll have to pass on your generous offer. You have earned a heart felt commendation for offering to show a West-sider around your areas. Take care and good hunting.

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Originally Posted by Stumpkiller

Sorry to hear of your plight.

I am paying about $6,000 annually in property and school tax for a home on enough property that allows me to hunt and shoot on my own land.

We all have hard choices where the limited funds go and for what. That was a priority for me.

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Life is full of choices, some good, some bad.
Just think, some prefer to starve rather than move on to a better life.

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Originally Posted by Travis98146

Frontier Gear. I had the opportunity to drive through the Spokane/Cour de Alene area (on my way to Kalispell) a month ago. It was beautiful country and looked promising for a hunt. Sadly though, just the drive from Seattle to Spokane was enough to wear me out so I'll have to pass on your generous offer. You have earned a heart felt commendation for offering to show a West-sider around your areas. Take care and good hunting.

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You are welcome. It is a long drive. I completely understand. Best of luck finding an area closer to home.

We have many off the same issue in Or.