just moved to washington

[mrmorton]

Hello. My name is chris and i am moving to Kingston washington in about 3 weeks and i am coming from boise idaho. I got a job offer i couldnt refuse, so im moving. I love to elk hunt and primarily enjoy backcountry/ bivy style hunting. I like to get back in there and be alone. I wanted to introduce myself and try to make some new friends for elk hunting. I am looking forward to some great scouting trips next summer and hope to bag a bull. Also, how much different are roosevelt elk than rocky mountain elk? Do they rut earlier? i noticed the seasons are short and kind of early. the rut usually does not kick off full swing until the 3rd week of september here in idaho. I am excited and I also look forward to hunting black tail as well, im getting tired of mule deer chasing. Im a bowhunter and have been doing it for about 5 years. I have had ok success with mule dear (harvested 4) and have taken one elk. The elk are much smarter than the mule deer I look forward to hopefully meeting up with some like minded individuals.

[ICEMAN]

Welcome to the neighborhood.

There is also an introduction thread you may wish to post in.

Again, welcome.

[Hunterman]

Welcome to Washington  After you try to read the elk regs you will want to stay hunting in Idaho.

Hunterman(Tony)

[bobcat]

For your style of hunting you may want to look into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, around Mt Adams or Mt St Helen's.


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[Hilltop123]

Welcome to the site and welcome to Washington! Not meaning to start with a negative.....but you will quickly see by reading the regs, Washington is not exactly friendly to sportsman. They will gladly take your money, but severely limit your opportunities. With that said, there are opportunities, to be had. Someone on here will have the answers you are looking for......good luck

[mrmorton]

thanks bobcat

[mrmorton]

you guys are bumming me out   I plan on coming back to idaho to elk hunt with old friends but wanted to take advantage of washington sense  i will be living there. Other then short elk seasons what else does washington do to limit hunting opportunities?

[huntinguy]

Getting on timber propery land is becoming harder. More and more are charging access fees and limiting the number of people they let on their land. And of the ones that do let you on, even fewer let you spend the night.

State land is pretty crowded.

It seems like the game department looks to see what animals are in the areas and then only let you hunt the ones they can't find. Well, it seems that way any way.

Few areas let you take bulls like you have in your introduction picture. The east side, is mostly, spike only. The wet side, is mostly, three point or better.

The tribes have a great deal more input into the reguations and seasons and harvest and... than they do in Idaho. (be nice guys, I am not starting controversy here, just stating what I have heard.)

If you like to hike in and hunt, you may want to look at some of the wilderness areas... Just DON'T leave your rig at the trail head or you will have a long walk back to town... and then you will get to meet some of the local LEOs and your insurance adjuster and then pick out a new rig.

Stay out of the Mary Jane patches and leave the meth labs alone.

[JLS]

Welcome to the state.  Take all of the negativity with a grain of salt.  It's not the best place to live in the world for hunting, but everywhere is what you make of it.

If I were you, and you had the funds available, I would plan on going back to Idaho each your for your archery elk hunting.  The reason I say that is not because there isn't good elk opportunity here, but rather because the season is short and the hunter pressure is compressed into that narrow window.  Also, it doesn't give you much flexibility for planning with work, weather, fire closures, etc.

The deer hunting is better than a lot of people will admit to.  I don't know much about the blacktail aspect of it, but the mule deer and whitetail hunting can be quite good. I am assuming you are bowhunting those also?

The biggest limitation to hunting in WA is having to choose your weapon.  It is what is though, and unless you want to pony up for the multi season tags there aren't any other options. 

You can find solitude, but it's going to be more difficult than in Idaho.  It may take some trial and error, but that can happen in any state.

Good luck with the new job.

[nw_bowhunter]

Welcome...nice elk.

There are still lots of hunting opportunity just take you time to learn. I never hunted Idaho so I can't say which is better. I do know it can be difficult to draw but we still have some good elk hunting. If your wanting the challenge of hunting blacktails you find that's lots of areas. After you spend some time with the regulations biggest decision will be deciding if you want to hunt Western WA, or Eastern WA for elk.

[fishingnut71]

Im sorry. You will notice it going down hill for the sportsman. Its all about $ for the state, that's it.

[kevinlisa06]

Welcome to Wa state. It is definitely not like Idaho in any sense. The wife and I are moving to Idaho in 1.5 years up around Moscow area. She wants to move home and I want to get the heck out of this state. Hope you have a law degree to figure the regs out here. Good luck sorry for being negative but it is what it is.


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[rudedawg1085]

i like the "iv had ok success with a bow, only 4 mule deer and an elk in the last 5 years"....id say you have had a good stretch!!! Welcome to WA!

[Hunting7mm]

Welcome!!!!!

[ghosthunter]

Welcome