Restrict Archery and ML seasons to 9 days.

[Kazekurt]

I think sometimes people forget that the seasons are supposed to be a management tool that accomplishes a desired amount of herd reduction.  As a hunter, you must decide what your objective is.  You can either opt for longer seasons but a statistically decreased chance at a deer or a shorter rifle season with greater odds.  I have hunted with all. 3 weapons and have had the multi deer tag almost every year  since it  was introduced.  I am almost exclusively a public land mule deer hunter and can tell you that I have an entire room full of trophy deer (135+) that were all taken in the nine day rifle season you're complaining about.  I, however, have tagged only one trophy buck with my bow since I switched.   I think the seasons are very appropriate and if anything there should be more late archery hunts.  For me, there came I time that I decided that the number of days afield and the challenge  of archery hunting was more important to me than putting another  big buck on the wall.  I've watched some damn nice bucks run off due to blown stalks, misses, etc but I've never regretted putting down the rifle in WA.  The multi tag has certainly opened up some opportunities but I tend to keep my standards much higher with the rifle since I know late bow is always an option.

[Jingles]

Dude, REALLY??? Rifle (now days 500+ yards isnt uncommon perfect example last yr my sister shot her deer with my FULLY SETUP LONG RANGE .243 at 520 yards) muzzy 150 yards or so and the average archer 40 yards or so??? Cry me a damn river and make sure its filled with fish.

Well if you have to shoot 500+yards to get a deer or any game in WA it just shows that you lack real hunting abilities to be able to get closer Cripes why not just lob a howitzer round downrange.

As for those that say get a bow I have one and was extremely proficient with it. Why should archers get so much time??? just because they supposedly can't shoot 250 yards?. Get out do some scouting and become a hunter instead of an arrow slinger and quit being so dayum lazy.

[Mtn.Ghost]

Yea this is gonna get a lot of flak and I'm probably gonna be called all kinds of things but I seriously believe that they should restrict the archery and Ml seasons to the same amount of time they allow for Modern.
If 9 days is good enough for modern deer season then it is good enough for Archery and ML.  The heck with this crap of the entire month then another season for late without having to draw special tags......

For most, modern is not so much hunting as it is killing. Take that easy 100, 200, 300 yd+ shot on that animal you glassed in the clearing from your truck. You don't need more than 9 days to accomplish that That's why I made the choice over 10 yrs ago to switch to archery, it's actually has put the hunt back in hunting. You have the choice to try something new if you could be open minded. Who knows you might like it if you tried it probably more than we current bow hunter's like your bonehead idea of stripping us of the opportunities we have based on the method we choose to hunt          

[Sliverslinger]

I hate how the state of Washington and the the WDFW hold you hostage and tell you which weapon and tag you WILL hunt with. It's not like you have a choice or anything.

 

[bobdog86]

The times are indeed changing. I hunt in SE Washington, where the modern season is 9 days for mule deer, then if i choose, I can go north and hunt late for whitey's. Do I like the fact that when I was a kid, i could hunt from October thru the middle of December with the opportunity to use any method but now I can only hunt 9 days out my back door? Hell no, but thats the way it is. I think some people are mistaking the newer technology with modern firearms of being accurate out to a million yards, with whats important in hunting.  Yes, they may be accurate, but what are you really teaching a 14-15 year old child about hunting? nothing, you are teaching them to kill, not to hunt. So, just because I have a 300 win mag and am proficient to several hundred yards, it doesn't mean I will choose the shot, or teach my children to do the same. Just as certain muzzleloaders will pass on a 150 yard shot or an archer who may pass on a 80 yard shot. Every method, whether its Archery, smoke poles or modern has there positives and negatives, we hear of lost game, crippled game from all of 'em. It's unfortunate, but it happens. I think whats important is to work as a hunting community regardless of hunting options to try and make it better for all us. Lastly, don't forget, our hunting community is the minority, it's us against the establishment, not sure working against each other is in the best interest for any of us. Apologies for the rambling, the PBR's are cold.

[Woods_Warrior]

Piggybacking off of what someone said earlier in an earlier post, I like the idea of a primitive season, maybe give archery hunters with primitive an extra 3 or 4 days in August to hunt deer?  Maybe a couple extra days of ML deer season for flintlock? 
I think some short primitive seasons would be fun and challenging without impacting total harvest numbers too much.

[csaaphill]

Dude, REALLY??? Rifle (now days 500+ yards isnt uncommon perfect example last yr my sister shot her deer with my FULLY SETUP LONG RANGE .243 at 520 yards) muzzy 150 yards or so and the average archer 40 yards or so??? Cry me a damn river and make sure its filled with fish.

Well if you have to shoot 500+yards to get a deer or any game in WA it just shows that you lack real hunting abilities to be able to get closer Cripes why not just lob a howitzer round downrange.

As for those that say get a bow I have one and was extremely proficient with it. Why should archers get so much time??? just because they supposedly can't shoot 250 yards?. Get out do some scouting and become a hunter instead of an arrow slinger and quit being so dayum lazy.

 
never anything out more than a 100yds.
I've layed my  to WDFW many times doesn't seem to matter the status quoe rules no matter what.
One said the divide and conquer statement which i get. for now you have three factions each trying to hang on to their own, and isn't in our best interests,
Seems like the only voices ever heard are those that live or are close enough to olympia to make the public meetings and that sucks.
I've emailed our regional office many times over the 3pt restrictions on how there are way too many two pts rather than 3pt or better but all they say is ill pass it on then nothing.
I think WDFW are closet anti hunters who just dont' give a rats a__ .
I'd agree this weapons allocation thing has been a total washout.
I can remember gettign a deer tag and beign able to hunt almost anywhere you wanted. I remember too being able to get a elk tag and not have to chose weather you want west side or eastside.
you could if you had the money hit the eastside then head to the Olympics for a few days, but now can't if you chose Eastern.
personally get rid of this weapons allocation thing lengthen the total season and if you want to hunt with all those other weapons.
or bring back the idea you can hunt all the seasons if you chose to.
Jingles you were right you are catching flak but think if they didn't have so they have to hang on to what they have then you wouldn't be near as much.
FYI being able to hunt all seasons instead of only chosing one method does not mean more animals just more opportunity to hunt if you didn't tag out in one season go after them in the other.
'I've hunted with a bow it's ok just too damned hot and too far to go in the late season so chose the modern seasone but agree change need to happen!

[Mtn.Ghost]

I just don't see how archery hunting could be called "lazy" by the OP. What EXACTLY makes it lazy? What EXACTLY makes modern or muzzle such an ass busting proposition in comparison?

I never had to work very hard to harvest animals with a rifle that were well beyond any bow range. I have had to work my butt of to get into bow range many times though. I personally wont shoot over 50 yds max even though I'm capable of it, I don't but that's my ethics.

I agree with other statements. We need to be supporting all methods and promoting ethical hunting not trashing on each other for our chosen method/weapon      

[csaaphill]

man a lot of status quoe youngers on here don't know whats gone because they weren't alive or too young to know what was.
easy to say it's bad to have a bit of a longer rifle season when you never knew it exhisted.
But isnt that what all this is about to get us all to use muzzloaders. or bows and your all falling for it too.
 

[csaaphill]

[quote
I agree with other statements. We need to be supporting all methods and promoting ethical hunting not trashing on each other for our chosen method/weapon      
[/quote]
 

[Billdos Uncle]

Dude, REALLY??? Rifle (now days 500+ yards isnt uncommon perfect example last yr my sister shot her deer with my FULLY SETUP LONG RANGE .243 at 520 yards) muzzy 150 yards or so and the average archer 40 yards or so??? Cry me a damn river and make sure its filled with fish.

Well if you have to shoot 500+yards to get a deer or any game in WA it just shows that you lack real hunting abilities to be able to get closer Cripes why not just lob a howitzer round downrange.

As for those that say get a bow I have one and was extremely proficient with it. Why should archers get so much time??? just because they supposedly can't shoot 250 yards?. Get out do some scouting and become a hunter instead of an arrow slinger and quit being so dayum lazy.

If your so proficient with a bow then u should be 100% proficient with a muzzloader or modern... Its common sense! The hunt in general is harder and it seems like people all over the nation see that... That's why every state has a longer archery season DUH... 

[westsidehntr]

Dude, REALLY??? Rifle (now days 500+ yards isnt uncommon perfect example last yr my sister shot her deer with my FULLY SETUP LONG RANGE .243 at 520 yards) muzzy 150 yards or so and the average archer 40 yards or so??? Cry me a damn river and make sure its filled with fish.

Well if you have to shoot 500+yards to get a deer or any game in WA it just shows that you lack real hunting abilities to be able to get closer Cripes why not just lob a howitzer round downrange.

As for those that say get a bow I have one and was extremely proficient with it. Why should archers get so much time??? just because they supposedly can't shoot 250 yards?. Get out do some scouting and become a hunter instead of an arrow slinger and quit being so dayum lazy.

Live defiant die defiant i guess

[pianoman9701]

Dude, REALLY??? Rifle (now days 500+ yards isnt uncommon perfect example last yr my sister shot her deer with my FULLY SETUP LONG RANGE .243 at 520 yards) muzzy 150 yards or so and the average archer 40 yards or so??? Cry me a damn river and make sure its filled with fish.

Well if you have to shoot 500+yards to get a deer or any game in WA it just shows that you lack real hunting abilities to be able to get closer Cripes why not just lob a howitzer round downrange.

As for those that say get a bow I have one and was extremely proficient with it. Why should archers get so much time??? just because they supposedly can't shoot 250 yards?. Get out do some scouting and become a hunter instead of an arrow slinger and quit being so dayum lazy.

Live defiant die defiant i guess

If you didn't have to wait until November to hunt, maybe you wouldn't be like this to other hunters in September. Pick up the bow you're so proficient at and possibly you wouldn't need all the Advil Extra Strength PMS and Stress pills. Just sayin', Jingles.

[KimberRich]

Dude, REALLY??? Rifle (now days 500+ yards isnt uncommon perfect example last yr my sister shot her deer with my FULLY SETUP LONG RANGE .243 at 520 yards) muzzy 150 yards or so and the average archer 40 yards or so??? Cry me a damn river and make sure its filled with fish.

Well if you have to shoot 500+yards to get a deer or any game in WA it just shows that you lack real hunting abilities to be able to get closer Cripes why not just lob a howitzer round downrange.

As for those that say get a bow I have one and was extremely proficient with it. Why should archers get so much time??? just because they supposedly can't shoot 250 yards?. Get out do some scouting and become a hunter instead of an arrow slinger and quit being so dayum lazy.

Live defiant die defiant i guess

If you didn't have to wait until November to hunt, maybe you wouldn't be like this to other hunters in September. Pick up the bow you're so proficient at and possibly you wouldn't need all the Advil Extra Strength PMS and Stress pills. Just sayin', Jingles.

Was that supposed to read Advil Extra Strength PMS or Advil Extra Strength PM's?  Either way I laughed. 

[TriggerMike]

I've seen upwards of 15 legal Muley bucks since Sept 2 in Central WA and have gotten within 100 yards of all of them but haven't been able to close that last little gap and get a good enough shot yet. If it were rifle season, every single buck would have been dead with a shot that most hunters could make with their eyes closed. Limiting archery to 9 days just because Modern is 9 days is    Muzzleloader is already 9 days so not sure where that came from