November 6, 2015 · Exit133

Tacoma: A Great Place for Retired Hipster Deer Hunters?

We like seeing Tacoma at the top of any "best places for ..." type list. That said, we were a little surprised to see our city at the top of a list of best places for deer hunting.

Tacoma comes in first in the Livability.com rankings, ahead of Ottumwa, IA; Quincy, IL; Louisville, KY; and Montrose, CO. We're not quite clear what metrics (if any) were used in this list, but here's what they have to say about Tacoma:

A hunting paradise, Tacoma is a secret among hunters that you will want to keep secret. It’s one of McAdams’ top recommendations for deer hunting. “It’s not normally considered a top destination for deer hunting, but Tacoma is located right in the thick of some of the best hunting for Columbia Blacktail Deer available anywhere in the U.S.,” he says. “Lewis County is about an hour south of Tacoma and is where the current No. 1 entries in both the Boone and Crockett and Safari Club International record books for Blacktail Deer were taken.”

Hmm. Well, not being hunters ourselves, we'll leave it to the experts. Are there any deer hunters out there who want to weigh in on this?

The other list we found Tacoma on makes a bit more sense: Tacoma comes in fourth on Livability's list of the Top 10 Best Places to Retire. Here's how that review begins:

Originally the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railway, Tacoma, Wash., could easily be the place where all those cowboys who rode off into the sunset ended up. This mid-sized city, nicknamed the City of Destiny in the late 19th century, offers retirees and families with children an affordable place to live with easy access to pristine natural areas and an attractive waterfront. Low health-care costs,great hospitals, a high concentration of parks and golf courses, and lots of other retirees make Tacoma one of the best retirement destinations in the country.

They go on to identify high points for retirees in Tacoma: more than 10 retirement communities and assisted living facilities, as well as a variety of housing options; cultural attractions like Tacoma's museums and theaters; free rides on the Link; opportunities for outdoor recreation at Point Defiance Park, on the Puget Sound, and nearby Mount Rainier. They also list the hipster scene on 6th Ave (no, we're not kidding).

Is Tacoma is a retired hipster hunter's paradise?

Filed under: Tacoma, Awards & Recognition

5 comments

WildCelticRose November 6, 2015

It sort of makes sense. If you want a deer, all you have to do is plant roses in your front yard...
Nick K. November 6, 2015

Im sure Tacoma has more deer, within city limits, than any other mid--sized U.S. city. I see them all over.
- JDHasty November 9, 2015
  
  Hogwash. Some winters Helena Mt and Spokane has five-hundred to a thousand times as many deer w/in the city limits as does Tacoma. Regardless, Tacoma has a decent blacktail herd, but nothing compared to Eugene OR.
JDHasty November 9, 2015

There are quite a few blacktails w/in close proximity to Tacoma, but blacktail deer are notoriously hard to hunt. That being said, we do OK around here. Our freezer is full of deer and elk. IIRC, the World Record blacktail was taken in Lewis County up Lincoln Creek past Galvin well over five decades ago. There are a lot of nice blacktail bucks in that country, there are a lot in Kitsap, Mason, Gray's Harbor, Thurston, Pierce & King County too though. However if you are looking for big bucks, like B&C class bucks, Lane County Oregon is probably tops.
- Howard Collins November 11, 2015
  
  I dunno, about 5 years ago while driving along Narrows Drive over by Gold Creek condos I saw ( actually my dog made me aware of it) a Buck Blacktail with such a large rack it couldn't hardly hold his head up. It was at least a 6 point. I have never seen a bigger one anywhere.