Free: Contests & Raffles.
OK Genius how do you suppose people aquire tags to hunt a dwindling supply of game animals if WDFW makes them permit only?That's the future, already the tags are being restricted in the NE going to antlered bull only, that is a measurable decrease in hunter opportunity there hoss. Next up it'll be off limits as the herd declines further like Lolo What do you say to those who've been buying 30 years worth of OIL draw permits for moose when WDFW cuts that off?But hey turkey is doing well, tell them all to just take up turkey hunting huh? Or how about fishing for trips! We got a lot to be thankful for you're right sitka
You miss my point Sitka. Recruitment for hunters is LOW, and it is lowered by less OPPORTUNITY, i did not say harvest. That said there is a reason why the WDFW attempts to give Jr hunters a special shot at does and ducks in a kids only season.There are MANY opportunites for our free time and hunting is just one of them. I will use your example. If i can go experience the outdoor through camping and hinking why do i need to hunt? If there is little opportunity then why pack the gun and buy the tags, why not just take the camera out? Why not just travel to the 3D shoots around the state and shoot my bow at foam if its just for the experience?IMO it is this competion for sportmens time AND $ that the WDFW seems to not Care about or take for granted. WDFW would like to look at it differently but sportmen are THE CUSTOMERS, and not treating them like one is arrogance. I payed to hunt N idaho with out of state tags, and i was rewarded with seeing deer every day multipal times. I Payed MORE for a better experience. I did not shoot a huge deer, but a nice little 4 point WT and i had a great time because i saw animals.Most hunters that have the hunting bug can tell you thier experience when they became "hooked" on thier kind of hunting. I've never taked to a hunter that was passionate about hunting that didn't have opportunity.
Quote from: Special T on February 21, 2014, 09:32:43 AMYou miss my point Sitka. Recruitment for hunters is LOW, and it is lowered by less OPPORTUNITY, i did not say harvest. That said there is a reason why the WDFW attempts to give Jr hunters a special shot at does and ducks in a kids only season.There are MANY opportunites for our free time and hunting is just one of them. I will use your example. If i can go experience the outdoor through camping and hinking why do i need to hunt? If there is little opportunity then why pack the gun and buy the tags, why not just take the camera out? Why not just travel to the 3D shoots around the state and shoot my bow at foam if its just for the experience?IMO it is this competion for sportmens time AND $ that the WDFW seems to not Care about or take for granted. WDFW would like to look at it differently but sportmen are THE CUSTOMERS, and not treating them like one is arrogance. I payed to hunt N idaho with out of state tags, and i was rewarded with seeing deer every day multipal times. I Payed MORE for a better experience. I did not shoot a huge deer, but a nice little 4 point WT and i had a great time because i saw animals.Most hunters that have the hunting bug can tell you thier experience when they became "hooked" on thier kind of hunting. I've never taked to a hunter that was passionate about hunting that didn't have opportunity. Hunting should and can be about much more than harvest, but suggesting that it does not play a factor in participation ignores factual reality. Non-residents pay thousands if not millions to hunt other states with more abundant species.
Quote from: KFhunter on February 21, 2014, 09:31:08 AMOK Genius how do you suppose people aquire tags to hunt a dwindling supply of game animals if WDFW makes them permit only?That's the future, already the tags are being restricted in the NE going to antlered bull only, that is a measurable decrease in hunter opportunity there hoss. Next up it'll be off limits as the herd declines further like Lolo What do you say to those who've been buying 30 years worth of OIL draw permits for moose when WDFW cuts that off?But hey turkey is doing well, tell them all to just take up turkey hunting huh? Or how about fishing for trips! We got a lot to be thankful for you're right sitka Again, I think your pessimism is unfounded. What area has closed to hunting elk and deer because of wolves? Reduced opportunity...sure. Outright end to elk hunting in NE Wa...not going to happen...even if WDFW is not allowed to ever hunt/manage wolves in WA I do not believe your predictions are accurate. I'm not saying we should be happy with reduced opportunity but you need to wake up to reality here. Permit only with low draw odds isn't much different than closed areas. Give it time I'll be correct in my predictions because WA cannot manage wolves like ID, therefore our herds will be hit harder. And don't go spouting lies that I don't support wolf control efforts in Washington...I hope they get de-listed and classified as a game animal so they can be hunted and managed. I agree that hunting won't reduce wolf populations much, but it can't hurt. If hunting won't reduce populations much -as you agree- then tell me again how that equates to wolf control? If anything it will substantially increase social tolerance. Also, given how many people deer hunt in NE Wa...and how many stories are being posted about all these wolves chasing hunters up trees and chasing people and eating children up there I presume if we ever do get a legal season it will be a slaughter of wolves. Unless of course all these stories are gross exxagerations...but that seems inconceivable given wolfbait himself is reporting a lot of this. There are more stories that can't or won't be recorded, are you calling Bearpaw a liar? Where are you going with this? I fail to find any net benefit for you to pursue this train of thoughtYou seem to cry that nothing is possible to control wolf numbers in NE Wa, that all elk are doomed in NE Wa, so what is your point? As you stated above hunting won't do much, we agree on that. So beyond hunting what is available to control wolves in WA given that WDFW promised to never use helicopter gunning? Seems to me like you should quit typing and just go hunt before the last elk is killed in the next 3 or 4 years. Elk season is closed right now I guess maybe I'm a little more jaded to view points like yours because I've listened to clowns in Idaho preach for 20 years how wolves were going to end hunting there as well...guess what...those some guys are still predicting the end of the world on their barstools and I'm still hunting and killing elk right in the heart of wolf country. because you couldn't hack it in North Idaho anymore you moved your hunting to the middle of Idaho, just like you couldn't hack it in WA either This tactic of predicting the end of the world is a page right out of the extremist environmental groups playbook...it's never worked for them and it's not going to work for you. I would say it's worked very well for them One thing *most* guys who preach doom and gloom about wolves have in common...they don't get their fat @** off the ATV seat long enough to ever see an elk to begin with. Says the guy who can't even hunt here at home
You are sad and pathetic. I hunt in WA too you moron. I was part of 6 successful (in terms of harvest) buck hunts, one was my first muzzleloader kill, and 2 successful bull hunts...all in WA. Then I hunt Idaho and kill a bull and help my dad kill a muley. I did eat my Idaho deer tag this year...just never found one as big as I was after...but I had lots of opportunities. So all your bs about not "hacking" it in Idaho or WA or wherever...give me a break. Sounds to me like you sit up in NE Wa and cry about hunting...my guess is your just a lousy hunter. I hunt multiple states for lots of reasons, and where I hunt has more to do with friends and family...almost nothing in my hunting plans revolve around wolves.Last, we do agree on the efficacy of hunting to "control" wolves in NE Wa...the key difference is you think this will cause the extinction of elk and I think you don't know chit about elk if you believe that.
Quote from: Sitka_Blacktail on February 21, 2014, 09:14:07 AMQuote from: Special T on February 21, 2014, 07:55:10 AMThe reason why the ammount of wolves is important is because the effect opportunity. If people goout hunting and dont see animals they get discouraged. Some will give it a year or two, some will move to a different area and many will just hang up thier gear. People dont pay high prices to hunt out of state for mediocre hunting, I know I wont and that is likely one of the reasons why WA has so little out of state hunters here. There was a time when you could go Anywhere in Id and see pleny of elk.I started my hunting as a duck hunter. I went deer hunting once but lost interest because there wasn't enough action/deer. For all of its double speak Wdfw doesnt do much to recruit hunters, but does plenty to frustrate the hunters it still.has.So hunting is all about success and not about challenging yourself? I guess that's probably why people hire a guide or hunt game ranches. They don't want to feel like a failure or don t want to make the effort to do what it takes to be successful. To me a successful hunt is being in the outdoors, maybe sharing a camp with good friends or family, and matching wits with whatever game is in the area. I have many times hunted an area with slim pickings and once hunted a Texas game farm by invitation. I guarantee you if I had to make a choice which I would rather do, I'd choose the slim pickings free range hunt 100% of the time. It's a lot more satisfying when you have success. No time spent in the woods should be considered failure, even when you come home empty handed.Good for you. Guess what, you are not the standard all new hunters aspire to. They want opportunity. They want to see game. I bet you did too when you started.Your logic suggests that the best hunting would be in a place where the fewest game animals are. After all, its only about being outdoors and challenging yourself.
Quote from: Special T on February 21, 2014, 07:55:10 AMThe reason why the ammount of wolves is important is because the effect opportunity. If people goout hunting and dont see animals they get discouraged. Some will give it a year or two, some will move to a different area and many will just hang up thier gear. People dont pay high prices to hunt out of state for mediocre hunting, I know I wont and that is likely one of the reasons why WA has so little out of state hunters here. There was a time when you could go Anywhere in Id and see pleny of elk.I started my hunting as a duck hunter. I went deer hunting once but lost interest because there wasn't enough action/deer. For all of its double speak Wdfw doesnt do much to recruit hunters, but does plenty to frustrate the hunters it still.has.So hunting is all about success and not about challenging yourself? I guess that's probably why people hire a guide or hunt game ranches. They don't want to feel like a failure or don t want to make the effort to do what it takes to be successful. To me a successful hunt is being in the outdoors, maybe sharing a camp with good friends or family, and matching wits with whatever game is in the area. I have many times hunted an area with slim pickings and once hunted a Texas game farm by invitation. I guarantee you if I had to make a choice which I would rather do, I'd choose the slim pickings free range hunt 100% of the time. It's a lot more satisfying when you have success. No time spent in the woods should be considered failure, even when you come home empty handed.
The reason why the ammount of wolves is important is because the effect opportunity. If people goout hunting and dont see animals they get discouraged. Some will give it a year or two, some will move to a different area and many will just hang up thier gear. People dont pay high prices to hunt out of state for mediocre hunting, I know I wont and that is likely one of the reasons why WA has so little out of state hunters here. There was a time when you could go Anywhere in Id and see pleny of elk.I started my hunting as a duck hunter. I went deer hunting once but lost interest because there wasn't enough action/deer. For all of its double speak Wdfw doesnt do much to recruit hunters, but does plenty to frustrate the hunters it still.has.
Quote from: Odell on February 21, 2014, 10:00:18 AMQuote from: Sitka_Blacktail on February 21, 2014, 09:14:07 AMQuote from: Special T on February 21, 2014, 07:55:10 AMThe reason why the ammount of wolves is important is because the effect opportunity. If people goout hunting and dont see animals they get discouraged. Some will give it a year or two, some will move to a different area and many will just hang up thier gear. People dont pay high prices to hunt out of state for mediocre hunting, I know I wont and that is likely one of the reasons why WA has so little out of state hunters here. There was a time when you could go Anywhere in Id and see pleny of elk.I started my hunting as a duck hunter. I went deer hunting once but lost interest because there wasn't enough action/deer. For all of its double speak Wdfw doesnt do much to recruit hunters, but does plenty to frustrate the hunters it still.has.So hunting is all about success and not about challenging yourself? I guess that's probably why people hire a guide or hunt game ranches. They don't want to feel like a failure or don t want to make the effort to do what it takes to be successful. To me a successful hunt is being in the outdoors, maybe sharing a camp with good friends or family, and matching wits with whatever game is in the area. I have many times hunted an area with slim pickings and once hunted a Texas game farm by invitation. I guarantee you if I had to make a choice which I would rather do, I'd choose the slim pickings free range hunt 100% of the time. It's a lot more satisfying when you have success. No time spent in the woods should be considered failure, even when you come home empty handed.Good for you. Guess what, you are not the standard all new hunters aspire to. They want opportunity. They want to see game. I bet you did too when you started.Your logic suggests that the best hunting would be in a place where the fewest game animals are. After all, its only about being outdoors and challenging yourself.Special T and Odell,Predators have never limited my opportunity to hunt. But logging companies have. Charging fees limiting the number of hunters on their tree farms have kept me and others out of the woods. New subdivisions have also kept me from hunting in old honey holes. Changes in ownership of land have kept me out of other traditional spots. ANILCA has prevented me from hunting in traditional haunts. Guides leasing up hunting rights have limited my choices of where to hunt. By far, all the limits to my OPPORTUNITY to hunt have been man made and have nothing to do with how many animals are in the area. A wolf or other predator has NEVER locked me out of the woods.
