Tagged out? Willing to help a newby learn the ropes?

[lamrith]

New hunter here, only hunted some grouse in AZ and followed on a couple elk hunts in AZ.  Never had to find/scout an area myself before.  So I am a bit lost on where to even start and hoping one of you that has tagged out and is willing to help a new guy.  Or not tagged out and wants a partner to help packing out each others harvest.

Went out yesterday early to an area that has held elk previously and completely struck out.  Formerly good spot had not a single sign of big game of any kind.  Only one coyote too far out for bow and before shooting light.  If we had known there would be no big game sign, we would have waited 5min and called that yote in for a splinter treatment session.

I am not looking for your sweet honey hole spot, just looking for someone to educate me a bit on how/where to find big game here in WA.  I need to get into some animals so I can get some meat in the freezer and have a successful 1st year.  I have Archery tags for deer and wetside elk.

I live in Puyallup, but will travel around, went from Northbend to Eatonville yesterday checking out areas, but with my gps acting up, it was more frustration than anything.  I will be limited to weekends unless it is right here in the immediate puyallup area and can be reached after I get off work 3:30.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Well ..right there is the 1st lesson for a newby  Always scout an area before go hunting .. I could never figure out why guys goes into the woods blind folded . Meaning they expect to just go out and kill something but it does happen and usually they get lucky and kill something big the 1st time out . I remember in High School when a friend of mine never hunted until we were seniors .. Never even fired a gun . His dad buys him a 12ga and some slugs ..He drives up a road and says to himself this looks good enough and walks up the ridge and finds a tree and sits down ..about 20 minutes later here comes a buck ..A huge 20 + non-typical  Heavy horned freak ..he pulls up with his 12 ga and Poooooow ... Only firing this gun for the 1st time and his 1st day hunting ..crazy ...So I have talked with him just last year and he has not killed another deer since  that was about 1984 ..

[billythekidrock]

Scouting is key.

Learning how or where to find big game is not something that can be taught or learned in a couple days afield. A mentor will speed things up but be prepared to do a lot of learning on your own. Take note and investigate where you see animals. Look at their tracks, follow their trails, look for signs of feeding. 

It is not always as simple as some make it appear. For a first year hunter (and archery at that) I would consider spotting and stalking game a success. Learning elk sign, how they behave, how they communicate and where to find them would be positive steps and could be considered successes. Notching a tag would be gravy for your first year. I am not sure what the stat is anymore, but something like one elk per 7 years used to be the norm for the average hunter.

 I would suggest hunting elk and deer in GMU's that allow antlerless harvest to widen your target base and I would suggest trying for any legal animal. Don't hold out for a monster buck or bull. You are going to have failures and you need to learn from them.

[Russ McDonald]

I can vouch for lamrith.  Good guy and willing to learn.  I took him out yesterday to give him some tips and show him a few spots that i knew held elk in the past.  Matter of fact saw elk in the area 2 months ago.  Due to my bad knee i wasn't able to do a lot of climbing or walking.

[lamrith]

I can vouch for lamrith.  Good guy and willing to learn.  I took him out yesterday to give him some tips and show him a few spots that i knew held elk in the past.  Matter of fact saw elk in the area 2 months ago.  Due to my bad knee i wasn't able to do a lot of climbing or walking.

Thanks for the help and taking me out Russ, too bad that area went dry.  I wish your knee was better as I know we can make a good team and found something if your knee was not bad.  Not even a sign of anything other than that pesky yote.  The other side of the river was crowded with campers and heavy mtn bike/hiker traffic too.

Make sure to keep my number if you go out and get something down, will help you pack out.

[Russ McDonald]

Next year for sure.  Hopefully you can get out and get something to fill the freezer.