SCOUTING TRIPS, TARGET practice and prep work all can help archers ready themselves for the opening day of early archery general deer season.
The early archery hunt for black-tailed deer opens Tuesday and runs through Wednesday, Sept. 30, here on the North Olympic Peninsula.
But not all units are alike.
Archers are allowed to take male or female black-tailed deer in units 621-636, lands which comprise the eastern edge of the Olympic Peninsula and the Kitsap Peninsula.
Only bucks may be hunted in units 601-618 on the West End.
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said conditions are far below optimal for a successful hunt.
In fact, the dry, tinder-box-like conditions around the Peninsula and the state could not be much worse.
“The biggest challenge will be the dry woods, so pray for rain,” Menkal said.
“Everything will be so dry and noisy. It will be a really tough hunt. That’s what it’s going to come down to.
“Archery is challenging enough, but with it being so dry and the fire danger, this magnifies the difficulty.”
There are a couple of tactics archers and hunters, once the muzzleloader and modern firearm seasons open in October, can use to improve their odds.
“They can buy some scent-free items like ScentBlocker to keep their scent down,” Menkal said.
Deer basically exist as a large nose on four legs.
They have a more developed sense of smell than they do hearing or sight, so eliminate as much of your scent as possible.
Cover your skin with clothing that wicks sweat away and dries quickly.
“Using a soft-soled boot versus using a hard-sole can play a big role,” Menkal said.
“You’ll make less noise walking in the soft sole, and those thinner soles will help you feel sticks and other debris beneath you, so you don’t make that big crunch.”
Knowing your range also will help.
“With these issues, everybody should prepare for taking longer shots,” Menkal said.
Menkal said the majority of archers are conscientious out in the field and understand their strengths and limitations as hunters.
“It happens much less with archers, but know your range and don’t take a desperation shot,” Menkal said.
“Be familiar with your maximum distance and stay within that range. Be fair to the animal and don’t go out there and wound it.”
Menkal said his hat would be off to any archer that overcomes the odds and bags a deer in this early-season hunt.
He also advised to prepare the animal as soon as possible.
“It’s been quite warm, so get your animals out and dressed before the meat spoils,” Menkal said.
“Get it gutted, skinned and in a cool place immediately. Pack it out, something big may take two or three trips, but get it into something cold or cool as soon as you can.”
Common sense advice
With the massive fire danger, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife offered some advice.
Fires or campfires are not allowed, but personal camp stoves or lanterns fueled by gas or propane are acceptable.
Smoking cigarettes should only take place inside an enclosed vehicle.
This tip doesn’t make too much of an impact on archers.
“Smokers and archers don’t get along too well,” Menkal said.
“It’s the smell. A deer could scent that out from a long distance.”
Don’t use a chainsaw or other internal combustion engine-powered piece of machinery.
Hunters also should stick to developed roads.
Parking is permitted in areas without vegetation within 10 feet of the roadway, in developed campgrounds and at trailheads.
“The biggest problem is people being careless,” Menkal said.
“Driving off-road through fields and a hot tailpipe starts a hay fire that grows into something major.”
Menkal said that type of behavior is more likely to start a fire than a misguided arrowhead.
“We haven’t had these kind of conditions in 20-25 years,” Menkal said.
“They shut down the modern firearm season in October back then.”
The silver lining for archers is the start of late-season deer hunting isn’t until Wednesday, Nov. 25.
“We should have plenty of rain by then, I hope,” Menkal said.
Gene bank comments
Fish and Wildlife has extended the public comment period until Monday for selecting Puget Sound rivers where hatchery steelhead will not be released by the department.
The state is accepting comments online at tinyurl.com/PDN-Genebanks.
At least one wild steelhead management zone will be designated in our region, the Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Watersheds under consideration are the East, South and West Hood Canal, the Skokomish River, Sequim/Discovery Bay, independent tributaries along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Elwha River.
Wild steelhead management zones, or gene banks, are one of a number of management strategies identified in the Statewide Steelhead Management Plan to conserve and rebuild Washington’s wild steelhead.
Paddlers meeting
A presentation on paddling Orcas Island will be presented at a meeting of the Olympic Peninsula Paddlers Club on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
The meeting is at the Vern Burton Center, 308 E. Fourth St. in Port Angeles, at 7 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
