Do your research before you draw tags!

[BOWHUNTER45]

O.K Since the heading states ( Do your research before you draw tags ) I will re-word my thoughts  I would do my research before I applied for a tag if it was going to be on private property ! Example Skagit River Elk Hunt ...( 90% ) private ...if you do not have permission why would you apply for this tag ? I would get permission 1st or see how the landowners feel about me hunting on their land ....OTHERWISE I would wait until I know I drew a tag then do my scouting ...animals do move around and chances of him being there when it is time to hunt them is slim ! 

[Button Nubbs]

I agree. Same has been said about salmon and steelhead info on websites for years.

The internet has killed many salmon and steelhead fishing spots/rivers. A buddy of mine brought up a good point the other day, different techniques are very easy to learn now by fining them on the internet, making everyone more efficent. It used to be "always how, never where" I think that adage is not necessarily correct anymore.

[pendoreilleadventures]

I agree with you Roperfive88, do your home work first, I always go check out a unit first before I put in for it. Oh yeah u can become a game unit expert in this state u just have to get off your lazy a$$!!!

How does not wanting to drive 5 hours one way because of fuel cost  before they draw the tag make them lazy? Someone will have more then enough time to scout an area once they get drawn. I totally agree with most of you if someone doesn't want to put in the work then then don't deserve to have and pointers. But just because you want the tag because you live in the gmu doesn't mean you are more entitled to that tag then anyone else.

I apply for the Blue mountains every year but don't hunt them during general season because I live in Any Bull units that hold good bulls. I just want a chance at that once in a lifetime bull. If I got drawn I would go down as many times as I could afford to learn the new area prior to season. I don't see why someone has to know every draw, creek and wallow to put in for a tag. I drew a general season mule deer tag in SE Utah a few years back. went down a week before season and we all tagged out. Should I have not put because I had never hunted down there?

I drew the tag did the work and killed a deer.

[Houndhunter]

I might have agreed with the first post a few years ago, but now I see no problem with a guy applying for a hunt hes never been too. Nor do I see an issue of asking for help on a tag that takes a long time to draw. How do you know the hunter or what hes about? Maybe hes a die hard hunter who's going to put in more effort than you. If you have info and don't want to share than don't.

It does irritate me when I see guys draw a really good tag and not put much effort out to fill a tag ive been dreaming bout drawing. But who am I to tell them what to do with THEIR tag? Im sure there'd be guys thinking that the tag I drew this year should be theirs because they know the unit better than me. Point is dont tell people what to do, if you see a thread asking for help dont post in it, that simple

[rosscrazyelk]

I have a friend who has been hunting for three years now.  Instead of asking for help he applied for his permits by himself.  He was drawn for three tags.  I can almost guarentee those tags will not be filled or even used for that matter.  He was drawn for permits that is mostly private And will not do the homework.  I will not go farther into it.  But i know at least three animals are safe. Not that they were in danger in the first place

[Fl0und3rz]

Because it makes much more sense, than the other way around, to scout/research potential areas for years when you may never get drawn for those potential areas.  It's just a natural reaction to the regulation regime that we are forced to accept, with all the quality this, restricted this, time-limited that. 

As an aside, it's their money and it's your time.  Don't begrudge their choice, and they shouldn't begrudge your unwillingness to help out a fellow hunter.

[ELKBURGER]

Im glad that I am a natural born loser when it comes to drawing tags. I'm also glad I joined this forum a long time ago so IF I draw, not when, I should expect to get everyones honey holes cause it wont be my first post

[bearpaw]

 

[CedarPants]

I've been to all the areas I apply, but I can't fault a guy that hasn't.  I wasn't introduced to hunting until I was a single college kid with no real sense of obligation - which allowed for plenty of time driving across the state scouting.  Had I not been introduced to hunting until later when things like marriage, employement, and kids came along - there's no way I'd know where to go on some of these permit hunts.

I'd have no problem helping a guy like that out if it meant doing my part to introduce the heritage I have come to love to someone else.  That same person could also walk away with a very bitter taste in their mouth, caused by the very same group he is trying to join.  I don't see the point in having the latter be the end result 

[furbearer365]

This is not a black and white subject.  For someone to put in for tag and not even know if there is land available to hunt is crazy and I call BS on those that wont even check to make sure they can hunt if drawn.  But a very elite hunt may take up to 15 years (or more) to draw, so scouting a unit and knowing exactly where the animals are year after year for the next 15 years until you draw just isn't conceivable unless you live close.  Cant fault a guy for living in an area that doesn't have 350 class bulls.  I do some research on the units I put in for so I have a general knowledge of what is going on, but wait for the real pavement pounding to happen once I get the notice that I drew.  If done correctly, getting a few months to learn 1 unit is actually not to bad.  To be completely honest, scouting that has happened in the past usually wont help you at all for this years tag.  Just because you hunted it every year as a kid (15 years ago) doesn't mean you know how the animals react and have adapted today.  They change year to year, and honey holes last year may be dead this year.  So what is wrong with a guy trying to find advice on the newest of info that may be going on in the unit he drew. Maybe learning a new "sleeper" hole that may produce a whopper.   

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

I agree with you Roperfive88, do your home work first, I always go check out a unit first before I put in for it. Oh yeah u can become a game unit expert in this state u just have to get off your lazy a$$!!!

How does not wanting to drive 5 hours one way because of fuel cost  before they draw the tag make them lazy? Someone will have more then enough time to scout an area once they get drawn. I totally agree with most of you if someone doesn't want to put in the work then then don't deserve to have and pointers. But just because you want the tag because you live in the gmu doesn't mean you are more entitled to that tag then anyone else.

I apply for the Blue mountains every year but don't hunt them during general season because I live in Any Bull units that hold good bulls. I just want a chance at that once in a lifetime bull. If I got drawn I would go down as many times as I could afford to learn the new area prior to season. I don't see why someone has to know every draw, creek and wallow to put in for a tag. I drew a general season mule deer tag in SE Utah a few years back. went down a week before season and we all tagged out. Should I have not put because I had never hunted down there?

I drew the tag did the work and killed a deer.

Have you ever been down there?  The place has elk, but they aren't standing on the side of the road like people hope.  I hunt there and I only apply for the GMU's i actually know because there is a lot more going into my thought process than success rates and permit numbers.  I grew up hunting that place and I know the units I wont apply for and the ones I will.  Weather, terrain, people, camp spots, scouting results all go into it.  Its a waste of a tag to just scout for one summer and hope for the best.
I hear there are good tags in the Cascades, but I dont apply for them because I know I cant learn the area in a summer.  Its far more satisfying to apply in a area you have put your blood and sweat into learning over the years and get a tag, than getting drawn and hoping someone else will guide you in the right direction.  Apply for tags in areas you know you will have the best chance of success.  I never ceases to amaze me whenever someone asks what the private land/ public land ratio is there.  LOOK AT A FRICKIN MAP?!  They are not worthy of anyones hard earned knowledge asking stupid questions like that.  They only want that big rack for the wall and to be able to post pics, thats not anyone I want to pass the legacy on to.   

[Bob33]

I drew a moose permit a few years back. I had never been in the area before. I had never seen a moose in Washington in my entire life.

AFTER being drawn I spent every weekend I could to prepare. I met locals, spoke with biologists, and did a lot of on the ground scouting. I drove across the state on many weekends to scout.

I took time off work to hunt and had a great experience.

Tell me again what's wrong with that.

[2MANY]

I think this whole thread was started by an individual that doesn't apply for 20 different special hunts. 

[jk]

I think this whole thread was started by an individual that doesn't apply for 20 different special hunts. 

or just didn't draw his tag and wants yo whine about it.

[WAcoueshunter]

I drew a moose permit a few years back. I had never been in the area before. I had never seen a moose in Washington in my entire life.

AFTER being drawn I spent every weekend I could to prepare. I met locals, spoke with biologists, and did a lot of on the ground scouting. I drove across the state on many weekends to scout.

I took time off work to hunt and had a great experience.

Tell me again what's wrong with that.

Nothing at all wrong with that.  Several of my favorite hunting experiences have come from drawing an awesome tag in a new unit (whether in WA or elsewhere), and getting to learn a new area, new style of hunting, or a new species.  That's part of the challenge and the trophy to me.