feel free to hunt?

[nateshooter89]

So today I drove over 80 miles total and went to 3 feel free to hunt locations and all of them had gates blocking the entrances and didn't have the feel free to hunt sign does anyone know why that would be?

[Kola16]

Probably because most of those are for upland birds, and deer, and not as much for yotes 

[bobcat]

I don't understand the question. How do you know they were feel free to hunt properties if there were no signs? Have you hunted these in the past?

The gates may always be closed to keep vehicles out. Feel free to hunt lands are generally walk in only.

[VarmintVentilator]

You have DNR, BLM and private property.  Feel free to hunt (with that specific sign posted) is generally the private property.  But in all three cases, it's park at the gate or fence and walk from there.  The same with private property that is registraion only and reservation only ( which will be up and running this spring).  There are no free passes for driving. 

[FALFire]

Probably because most of those are for upland birds, and deer, and not as much for yotes 

The signs state "Feel Free to Hunt" Not Feel free to hunt this or that species. If the sign states Feel Free to Hunt, it means just that. Have fun chasing those yotes  But as stated, don't be driving in beyond the gates or property line. Bad juju 

[Kola16]

Probably because most of those are for upland birds, and deer, and not as much for yotes 

The signs state "Feel Free to Hunt" Not Feel free to hunt this or that species. If the sign states Feel Free to Hunt, it means just that. Have fun chasing those yotes  But as stated, don't be driving in beyond the gates or property line. Bad juju 

Yes I know that, but some farmers take those signs down when the main seasons are over. That is all I was saying.

[fair-chase]

So today I drove over 80 miles total and went to 3 feel free to hunt locations and all of them had gates blocking the entrances and didn't have the feel free to hunt sign does anyone know why that would be?

There are several possibilities. Most likely, if you're finding these lands via the GoHunt feature on the WDFW's website, it is that the lands have changed ownership or was taken out of the FFTH program and it has not been updated in the system. I find this quite often, but also find just as many lands posted FFTH that are not (or never were) listed on the GoHunt mapping service. So it's a two way street. Bottom line is don't trust the GoHunt feature to find lands. It's worthless when it comes to the Register To Hunt, Feel Free To Hunt, and Hunt By Written Permission lands. My personal observations lead me to believe that the mapping service has roughly a 50% accuracy rating. So it's a coin flip as to wether or not the lands listed will be there or not. Good news is, a little fuel and you can find multiple FFTH lands that are not listed in the system and therefore receive less pressure.

The other possibility is that someone tore down the signs in order to keep people out and have their own personal FFTH lands. Wether it be another hunter or the landowner himself. This likely happens more frequently than I'd like to believe, but if your so inclined you can contact the WDFW to see if the land is still enrolled in the program or not.

[FALFire]

Probably because most of those are for upland birds, and deer, and not as much for yotes 

The signs state "Feel Free to Hunt" Not Feel free to hunt this or that species. If the sign states Feel Free to Hunt, it means just that. Have fun chasing those yotes  But as stated, don't be driving in beyond the gates or property line. Bad juju 

Yes I know that, but some farmers take those signs down when the main seasons are over. That is all I was saying.

Oh...I gotcha  I do know around here they stay up year 'round but in others they may not 

[Fishaholic]

the sign is pretty clear

[Heredoggydoggy]

Most of the public lands that are posted "Feel Free to Hunt" that I have found are also posted "Walk In Hunting Only", as are some of the CRP sections.  Some of the public land is also leased for farming or grazing, but it's still Public Land and accessible to anyone for legal purposes.  As always, be respectful of any property you are on, public or not.  The aforementioned BLM maps are good for finding public land tracts, but are hard to read, so I transfer all the public areas to a Washington Atlas and Gazeteer book with a highlighter marker.

[nateshooter89]

Wasn't trying to drive in just wanted to make sure i was on the right land. Anyone know of any spots near Spokane?

[Fishaholic]

not there but dayton has coyotes all over i seen 6 between dayton and waitsburg and fro? waitsburg to star buck i seen a bunch to. didnt have a gun with me i was going catfishing at little goose

[jechicdr]

Wasn't trying to drive in just wanted to make sure i was on the right land. Anyone know of any spots near Spokane?

Saw a bunch of yotes last time I was in Revere Wildlife Area.