Popular Archery Unit
The Sherman Unit has been a popular destination for bowhunters for years. The state's harvest reports give an accurate portrait of how productive the unit has been.

In 2007, 784 bowhunters tagged 162 bucks and 81 does. That pencils out to a 31 percent success rate, one of the best in the state, and is actually better than the modern firearms season in the unit.

Moreover, numbers similar to these have remained remarkably consistent over the years. The average deer harvest since 2003 has been 221 and the success rate has hovered a little above 30 percent.

In 2007, 811 hunters took to the field with bows in the Sherman Unit, the most in recent years.

There is one overriding reason why the unit is so popular with archery hunters: There is no late modern firearms whitetail season like there is in most northern Region 1 units, but there is an extended late white-tailed deer bow season.

Beginning in early November, the late hunt gives bowhunters a chance at rutting deer that haven't been hunted for a couple of weeks.

In addition, in recent years, the Sherman Unit's late hunt has been 10 days longer than neighboring units. This year, it will be 16 days longer.

As for mule deer, the early season has traditionally run for the entire month of September, similar to other archery units. However, unlike the other nearby units, the Sherman Unit's early hunt is broken into two sections: Sept. 1-15 has a 3-point minimum regulation, and the rest of the month there is 3-point or antlerless.

This season, however, the WDFW and Fish and Wildlife Commission reduced the early archery season in the unit by five days. The 2009 early bow season unit now runs Sept. 1-25. There is no late mule deer bowhunt.

More Days for Muzzleloaders
In a year when blackpowder hunters were allocated significantly more hunting opportunity in much of Washington, their advances in GMU 101 were relatively modest.

During 2008, the early season ran for seven days in early October. This year, it will be nine days, and it will run Sept. 26-Oct. 4. As in past years, any whitetail will be legal, but only 3-point-or-better mule deer bucks can be taken. There is, once again, no late blackpowder hunt in the unit.

During the 2007 season, primitive firearms hunters killed 54 bucks and 43 does and achieved a 31 percent success rate.

The trend in the muzzleloader harvest in the Sherman Unit has been on a slow but steady increase over the last five years. Blackpowder hunters took 76 deer in 2003, 88 in '04, 96 in '05, and 93 in '06.

The number of hunters has also gradually increased, from less than 200 in 2003 to 287 in 2007.

How Bad Was The Snow?
The large, persistent and late snowfalls that beset northeast Washington last winter made news throughout the Pacific Northwest. For deer hunters, the first question that comes to mind is "Was there much winterkill?"

Well, there is both good news and bad news for hunters planning a trip to the Sherman Unit this fall.

The bad news is that some winter mortality most likely did result from the snow. However, the snow wasn't as heavy in Ferry County as it was farther east, closer to Spokane.

"It was a severe winter," said Madonna Luers, WDFW Region 1 spokesperson. "But actually the worst was in Pend Oreille County, not Ferry County."

That's reasonably good news for hunters who want to experience the Sherman Unit's forest and mountains, its low human and large deer population, and its ease of access and compelling vistas.

Indeed, this portion of Ferry County offers just about everything a Washington deer hunter could want.