Brookmere & Tulameen Mulies

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Hi folks,

Due to not having the time I expected, I forwent the quest for the elusive Princeton elk weekend in favor of the Brookmere & Tulameen areas on Sunday. Because the areas are new to me, I wanted to get an idea of the lay of the land and the age of the cutblocks in the area. Needless to say, it was a road-hunting marathon!

We did the morning from Andy's Lake down to almost the bottom and then all the way back to the top of Thynne Mtn. Mid day found us in the Thalia area and the evening hunt in the Champion & Lawless areas.

Despite being diligent glassing etc, we only saw a handful of does for the day. I'm just wondering a few things:

1) Are these the types of areas that are vacated quite early in the year by deer (based on timing and regardless of snow), or is it similar to Kamloops in that if the snow doesn't push them out many will stay high late into the season? Is there decent late season hunting around Tulameen or does it empty out pretty good in favor of other areas?

2) Are any parts of the road from Coalmont to Lodestone and then to Wells Lake quite rough (I drive a 2001 Tundra with a 3" leveling kit and 32" tires - would I make it?)? I have no intention of going beyond Wells Lake down the Whipsaw trail into Whipsaw FSR.

3) From a hunting perspective, is it even worth going all the way to Lodestone Lake or Wells Lake at this time of year (or any time of year)?

4) Am I better off sticking to cuts in the high country rather than focusing on the alpine/sub-alpine openings?

5) Any preference or advice between the area Northwest of town (Lawless/Spearing), Northeast of town (Pike Mtn/China ridge) or south of town (Champion/Lodestone)?

Thanks for any comments you might have!
Ben

[mikeman20]

To the best of my knowledge tulameen is good late season hunting. Coalmont to lodestone should be an easy drive but i cant think of the road going to wells lake. Advice given to me is early season high alpine, late season sub alpine cut blocks. As far as i know hunting is good in all those spots - me and my group took 4 bucks (out of 5 of us) spread out all in differnt directions


I mean... There are no deer in tulameen

[SummitX]

from the second meadows in loadstone to wells lake is not in good shape, going down is not as much of a problem as coming back up that one hill in particular they have in there is quite nasty, do you have a winch? If so I would not recommend going any further than the second set of meadows past loadstone lake on your own, or what locals call the second playground. As for the hunting part I am just starting out so can't help you much there, but it is a very busy area for 4x4ing so I might try somewhere else.

[Iron Glove]

Without giving away any secrets ;) we'll be in the Tulameen area for a week starting this weekend.
Probably do some serious looking around NW of Tulameen and some lazy days truck hunting above the Gun Club.

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Thanks for your responses, guys. I'm not even totally sure that I'll make it back down there this season, but I do want to, and at least if I do I'll feel like I have a chance knowing there's a few animals in that country.

[Ditch Pig]

hey Ben are you from Merritt last name Drew?.....

[swampdonkey]

hey Ben are you from Merritt last name Drew?.....
Does everybody no Ben Drew fronm merritt i've none him for close to 30 years now haven't seen him in a while though

[Looking_4_Jerky]

hey Ben are you from Merritt last name Drew?.....

Hi Ditch Pig,

Nope, I'm not Ben Drew from Merritt, although I live somewhat close and have a boss named Drew. My last name starts with an "S".

Is this Ben Drew fellow a good resource on Brookmere/Tulameen? If so I should give him a call! :lol:

[rred]

My buddy and I pulled out two bucks from the Tulameen area middle of Oct. last year. They were the only two bucks we spotted all weekend and they were on the back of the truck by 10:30 of our drive in day, before we had even set up camp. We talked to nearly everyone we drove past and nobody had seen anything, but from talking to a couple locals, I got the feeling that some massive bucks move in late in the season. We pulled out a 2pt. and a beauty 4.
Good Luck!

[3kills]

Does everybody no Ben Drew fronm merritt i've none him for close to 30 years now haven't seen him in a while though

nope i have lived here for every and i dont think i know ben drew LOL

[3kills]

Hi folks,

Due to not having the time I expected, I forwent the quest for the elusive Princeton elk weekend in favor of the Brookmere & Tulameen areas on Sunday. Because the areas are new to me, I wanted to get an idea of the lay of the land and the age of the cutblocks in the area. Needless to say, it was a road-hunting marathon!

We did the morning from Andy's Lake down to almost the bottom and then all the way back to the top of Thynne Mtn. Mid day found us in the Thalia area and the evening hunt in the Champion & Lawless areas.

Despite being diligent glassing etc, we only saw a handful of does for the day. I'm just wondering a few things:

1) Are these the types of areas that are vacated quite early in the year by deer (based on timing and regardless of snow), or is it similar to Kamloops in that if the snow doesn't push them out many will stay high late into the season? Is there decent late season hunting around Tulameen or does it empty out pretty good in favor of other areas?

2) Are any parts of the road from Coalmont to Lodestone and then to Wells Lake quite rough (I drive a 2001 Tundra with a 3" leveling kit and 32" tires - would I make it?)? I have no intention of going beyond Wells Lake down the Whipsaw trail into Whipsaw FSR.

3) From a hunting perspective, is it even worth going all the way to Lodestone Lake or Wells Lake at this time of year (or any time of year)?

4) Am I better off sticking to cuts in the high country rather than focusing on the alpine/sub-alpine openings?

5) Any preference or advice between the area Northwest of town (Lawless/Spearing), Northeast of town (Pike Mtn/China ridge) or south of town (Champion/Lodestone)?

Thanks for any comments you might have!
Ben

those areas use to hold really big bucks i dont know bout some of them now. up andys lake area there use to be some huge bucks before the fire and logging. i also know of a member on here that shot a big one up there few years back. i dont know what its like since the burn and logging only really been in there once just for a bit. i think we are headin up that way next weekend though to do some camping

[swampdonkey]

nope i have lived here for every and i dont think i know ben drew LOL

sure u don't lol

[ravensfoot]

Lots of recreational quad riding in all the coalmont - tulameen area this weekend. I have friends camping and riding up there. Try and get away from the quadders and you might have a chance. Rode up to Loadstone this summer, road seems to be fine for 4x4. Remember, it is up at 6000 feet, might be snow up there now. Good luck.

[freonguy]

I have done quite a bit of hunting in the Tulameen area over the last few years - the bucks seem elusive till early November - my buddy and I have tramped all over the Lawless / Rabbit/ Gun Club areas on foot - to the Towers at around 5300 feet - saw lots of does in mid - October last year, but the bucks stay in hiding till their little head gets them thinking of ' other ' things.
There are lots of 4 pointers taken after Nov. 1 from what I have seen - That being said, you can always chance upon something - I just think they do their running around at night and stay in the heavy stuff during the day.

[3kills]

sure u don't lol

did i miss something?

[6pt_elk_wannabe]

Absolute best way to hunt tulameen is late archery, went there for 2 days late in the any buck archery season and over 2 days saw 40+ does (23 were in a group with one massive 4x4 as the leader) couldn't get a stalk on him without any does busting me so I moved on, next day we saw the remainder of the does and ended up harvesting a little spiker.