Blue Mountains - Quality Elk permits drop

[kentrek]

wait.....yup...i just had an idea....back to excel 

Hey Jack!! I'm waiting for the latest XL file...or did it require Access...not access, please please not access.

haha im still getting smarter at the moment,prolly wont be till tommorow,this math stuff gets deep fast ....i went back an got the trends for the west side units from the last four years,now i just need to apply that to the odds equations  and what not..then i wana figure out a way to make it understandable to everyone thats not a stock broker..prolly post it in the "just for bow guys" thread

So really what's the point in buying "ghost points" for any quality hunt?? You never know when your five numbers and the powerball will come up!!

ghost point are nice for people that cant hunt that particular year..like military or college students...if i draw that oil tag i better not only have a weekend to hunt 

[snowpack]

Wolf Plan also mentioned that the Blue Mountains and the Olympic Peninsula were the areas of most suitable habitat for wolves and likely to allow them to expand the fastest once established.

[nwhunter]

One thing to consider when talking about the tag cuts this year is that last year they increased the tags in some units drastically (such as the east wenaha) and had to cut those way back for the good of the unit. I am sure wolves are part of the reasoning also but to keep the Blues a premier area the tags for big bulls has to be low. I know it sucks to wait years to draw and yes if the wolves get out of control in there the Blues will be ruined but hopefully people and wdfw will do their part to keep them under control. When I drew my tag in 2007 there were only 2 or 3 archery tags for the entire wenaha unit(they split the east and west the next year) so in comparison there are quite a few more tags now but probably more people applying due to the hype. None of us really expect to draw a moose of goat tag from one year to the next we just wait for lady luck to shine on us in the next 40 years and in reality the Blues arent much different and it really is a premier OIL hunt that one should hope to draw someday but not expect it even with 15 plus points. I would fully support a 5-7 year wait period like some states have for quality hunts after a person draws but doubt it would help much. Good discussion and maybe it will enlighten people before the permit application but I for one was glad to see some of the tag reductions this year in some of the units I spend time in. nwhunter

[dvolmer]

We drew 5 big bull rifle tags in Dayton in 2006 and then another one in 2007.  we shot 5 bulls scoring over 315 and up to 398 and one of the tags we didn't fill.  My wife drew a Dayton big bull tag this last year and the hunting wasn't anything like back in 2006 and 2007.  Night and day difference.  The hunt has went into the toilet if you ask me.  For what reason I am not sure but blame it on three things and I could be wrong.  To many permits possibly, over harvesting by natives, and or wolves.  We could argue for hours on what the actual one or combination of the three are but the fact of the matter is that unless something happens you wont see the quality of hunts in the blues that you saw in the past.  Sorry no answers but just the way it is.

[Bob33]

My future?

[snowpack]

Get a gov tag or a raffle tag and skip the wait.  Aren't the Blues where all those tags get filled anyways?

[ChadH]

My future?

 

[trophyhunt]

Get a gov tag or a raffle tag and skip the wait.  Aren't the Blues where all those tags get filled anyways?

Yup

[BLUEBULLS]

The tag numbers are now back to where they should be 

[270Flat]

 

[B.G.hunter]

The one thing I can't figure out is why did they increase the archery bull tags in Lick Creek, where muzzleloader and modern decreased?

[huntnphool]

The tag numbers are now back to where they should be 

+1

[yelp]

The tag numbers are now back to where they should be 

I agree.

[Skillet]

Per numbers from Bob's spreadsheet-

Modern = -39%
Archery = -21%
Muzzleloader = -36%

Not to start infighting, but the pain wasn't spread across the groups very well, IMHO.  The guys with bangsticks must enjoy sharing the woods with the wolves than the sharp stick guys...

[jackelope]

The one thing I can't figure out is why did they increase the archery bull tags in Lick Creek, where muzzleloader and modern decreased?

Poor archery success rates. I think 1 archery tag was filled last year in there?? Tag numbers are relative to success rates among other things. The goal is x amount of bulls killed. If they want 10 bulls killed and there's a 50% success rate, they're going to offer 20 permits. I pulled those numbers out of my hind quarters but you get the idea.