GMU 113 Selkirk

Whitetail are the primary deer and are found at lower elevations, generally below ~4,000 ft, with the highest densities on private and valley ground; distribution here is more localized and densities lower than the farm-forest units to the south. WDFW data show the district's lowest hunter density and lowest deer success (~16%) — a quiet hunt, but you work for a buck. Legal harvest is buck-only for all user groups.

• →Concentrate below 4,000 ft along the Pend Oreille River benches, LeClerc/Harvey Creek bottoms, and old cut edges.
• →Still-hunt slowly through the thick timber, glassing for parts of a deer; whole animals rarely show in this cover.
• →Stand-hunt trails and funnels between bedding cover and feed at first and last light.
• →Hit the mid-November rut with rattling/grunting to move mature bucks.
• →Trade success odds for solitude — this unit's low pressure means undisturbed, patternable deer if you go deep.

Mule deer occur but in much lower abundance than whitetail, favoring the higher, more secluded northern Selkirk country. Much of the unit is too timbered for classic open-country spot-and-stalk, so muley opportunity is incidental and hard-earned.

• →Push into the higher, more open northern ridges where muleys separate from valley whitetail.
• →Glass ridge breaks and subalpine openings from vantage points at first and last light, then stalk.
• →Be prepared to backpack — the best mule deer ground is far from roads.

Selkirk-herd Shiras moose are well established and hunted by special permit (draw) only. WDFW rates numerous drainages as productive on both the west and east sides of the range — a high-quality, hard-to-draw tag in scenic country.

• →West side: hunt Skookum Lakes to South Baldy, plus the LeClerc Creek, Harvey Creek, upper Sullivan Creek, and Slumber Creek drainages.
• →East side: try the West Branch Priest River, Flat, Goose, Kalispell, South Fork Granite, Cache, Willow, and Gold Creek drainages.
• →Glass willow bottoms, beaver ponds, and lakeshores morning and evening; moose are solitary, so hunt sign and cover ground.

Black bear are common through the Selkirk timber and taken mostly opportunistically during deer and elk seasons. A two-bear limit with an August opener; the abundant public land helps.

• →Glass clearcuts, avalanche chutes, and berry benches in late summer and early fall.
• →Hunt the same lower-slope berry fields you'd scout for deer.
• →In the far NE, know you are in occupied grizzly range — be certain of your target (see watch-outs).

Cougars occur throughout the unit and follow the deer; the Selkirk has a healthy predator complex (also wolves and, in the NE, grizzly). Most cats are taken incidentally, more readily with tracking snow.

• →Cut fresh tracks after snow on forest roads and ridge saddles in the lower whitetail winter range.
• →Hunt where deer concentrate below the snowline.
• →Check the unit's cougar harvest-guideline closure status before hunting.