Best archery special hunts?

[djnoodle]

I'm new to archery hunting and was wondering what are everyone's favorite special permits to try and draw for deer, elk, moose?

I want to focus my archery hunting on Elk, but I have always been a deer hunter. Not looking for any honey holes or secret spots, but I want to try to draw something to help my chances. All I really know about is the Margaret Elk tag in the rut. But I am certain there are others worth applying for.

Also, I'm on the west side, but I travel to the east side every month for work and have friends to stay with over that way.

Thanks,


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[Tbar]

Dj what are you looking for in a hunt? Questions like yours are very difficult. The general answer would be look at harvest statistics and go from there.  If you are familiar with Margaret then that would be a good choice for bull.  Toutle still has decent numbers especially in archery.  Toutle will require a Weyerhaeuser pass and offer opportunity but very little trophy potential. Toutle also provides a catch 22 in number of tags as there will be a good number of tags and animal behavior will reflect just that. Next I would say White River.  WR has a tree farm that will also will be free access. Along with that it gets a pretty good amount of tribal pressie that will be hunting with rifles.  The Wr should provide opportunity along with a chance at a true trophy. There is a great hunt in the wr in the wilderness areas but to be honest that hunt is too brutal for most. The wr is a very tough tag to draw and I've talked to many that have left disappointed.  The last one I'll touch on is the Nooksack.  The Nooksack is a great unit, however it's a far tougher hunt than commonly thought. You will be granted free access to one of the two tree farms in the unit (as of now).  One thing to consider when putting in for this unit, with 3 tags offered your chances of drawing are very thin. The Nooksack, if drawn has a good  numbers of mature bulls to pursue. In the Nooksack  you will also face competition from tribal rifle hunters with the same access.
This is a very vague start, I will touch on a few east side units if you'd like when I get time.  Good luck.

[djnoodle]

What I am looking for is mostly a place where a beginning archer might have a chance at a bull. Beyond that, I like to hike when I hunt, and I'm in good shape, but packing out a 1000 lbs bull 5 miles is not going to be easy, so I don't want to get myself in too much over my head.


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[Tbar]

I would probably head east if I were you not saying that western isn't worth hunting, just permit choices suck (imo). Eastern hunts are more plentiful overall. Another advantage to east side hunts over the ones I previously mentioned is you won't be entering blind, as the three Westside hunts have no general season. The east side will allow you to gain invaluable information on patterns and get the lady of the land while chasing spikes or cows in seasons prior to your draw. You might want to look into Peaches ridge, observatory, Goose prairie, Rimrock, or Bethel. These hunts all provide some sort of free(mostly national forest) access and all these have trophy potential. They also give you a reasonable chance to draw(vs what equates to an oil hunt on the Westside). Regardless of where you plan on hunting there is no substitute for intimate knowledge of a given area. Hope this helps, good luck.

[Skyvalhunter]

Here's the best bet apply for other states

[djnoodle]

So after talking to a few people and reading your answers, I've decided to hunt elk west side this year because I live here and have the most time to hunt here. I was not aware that you have to buy the east or west tag prior to drawing. So you cannot wait to see what you might draw. Way to think that one through WDFW...

So, on the west side, first I am going to apply for the multi season tags. Then, when it comes time to apply for specials, What should I apply for? Margaret?, Toutle?, Ryderwood?

Are those Hancock permits worth the money?


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[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

All the wayside permits are junk.  More elk on Otc tag land imo. That's why they make you pick prior to the season.  If you want to hunt the more pressured areas for Bulls every year you go west side.  If you want to try for a big bull permit you go east side.  The wet side permits are a waste of points compared.

[blackveltbowhunter]

I agree with the jist of what your saying DIY, but would respectfully disagree that all the permits are junk.

Depending on your experience and expectation the hunt could be the greatest opportunity or the biggest letdown. Dj, it sounds as if your new to archery, my next question would be how much elk hunting have you done and whats your definition of quality?

For someone who has ten + years of life committed to the washington system, has some experience killing elk under their belt, and is looking for a "good" one. Then it is very true the wetside options are very slim. I feel like I fall into this category. And personally dont put in for any st helens area tags, I do wish they would move the Margaret back into quality, and put some "Bull" tags up for grabs during late season in the antlerless only units. But thats another discussion.

For a new elk hunter or archer, a hunter with only a few years invested, or a hunter not concerned about a big 6x6 but just a "next level" bull then some of the wetside options are good.

Dj the examples you listed would fall into the latter category. I have been in on some kills and known several folks who drew st.helens area tags and far and away the expectation of the hunter going into the hunt determined whether they deemed it successful or not. Also the "price" was a big factor as well, I have known a couple of accomplished elk hunters who put in for some of the southern tags for a couple years and drew with a couple points and they were happy to play and have the reduced stress of having lotsa bulls but not the pressure of a coveted tag.

Good luck!

[djnoodle]

I am completely new to archery. I have hunted elk with a rifle a lot, but it has been several years since then. All of that hunting was on the west side in the Randle and Packwood units. My definition of quality is a hunt where my chances of calling in a bull are better than the chances in the regular season.


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[blackveltbowhunter]

In that case, I think you are on the right track . All the units you listed IMO will offer better bull to cow ratio, less hunter density, and depending on unit possibly more/better time.

   My favorite example is a friend of mine who had hunted elk with a muzzle loader and rifle and taken one bull. He had put in for a couple years of ghost points not knowing what he wanted to draw. After getting a bow and starting archery he decided he wanted to bowhunt and drew that year a Mudflow any elk tag. It was a crash course in education, and an amazing hunt where he killed a pope and young bull. Not a monster but a nice bull and more importantly a great opportunity to experience a good hunt.

[Tbar]

The sad reality is that you will not have to worry about drawing since wdfw switched to choosing categories instead of zeroing points after drawing a tag.  The draw odds are horrid and getting worse with so few Westside choices.  With squaring it's a distant dream (not impossible) for low point holders.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

The sad reality is that you will not have to worry about drawing since wdfw switched to choosing categories instead of zeroing points after drawing a tag.  The draw odds are horrid and getting worse with so few Westside choices.  With squaring it's a distant dream (not impossible) for low point holders.

They don't zero that categories points after you draw???

Or do you mean it's only zeroed in the categories that you draw the tag?