New to Washington

[treeclimber2852]

Ok...I know how this works.  I'm the new guy and when I tell you that I've moved from North Carolina that will probably make it worse.  But for the record, I grew up in Idaho and hunted with my grandpa and uncles in the Cascade/McCall area.  Having hunted the baby whitetails (limit is 11 in NC) of the South East, I am feeling really out of my element here.  I know I'm getting a late start and have even contemplated sitting it out this year.  If I did decide to get into the woods this year, any advice or tips to get my feet wet?  I live in Sumner and have wandered around Snoqualmie Pass a bit but would love any help you could offer. 

[h20hunter]

Welcome. Obviously....I would suggest staying on the wet side, grabbing a elk tag for the season/weapon of your choice, maybe add a bear tag, and get out and start exploring. If you Google "washington quadrangle maps" you will find a link that has some very usefull paper. There is also the GoHunt app on www.wa.gov.

[CP]

11 deer, now that’s a limit.  Does your dog fetch those up for you?

Welcome 

[treeclimber2852]

No...but it's easier to field dress and get the meat off of them than it is to gut and filet a salmon I have found.  . 

[Dhoey07]

Ok...I know how this works.  I'm the new guy and when I tell you that I've moved from North Carolina that will probably make it worse.  But for the record, I grew up in Idaho and hunted with my grandpa and uncles in the Cascade/McCall area.  Having hunted the baby whitetails (limit is 11 in NC) of the South East, I am feeling really out of my element here.  I know I'm getting a late start and have even contemplated sitting it out this year.  If I did decide to get into the woods this year, any advice or tips to get my feet wet?  I live in Sumner and have wandered around Snoqualmie Pass a bit but would love any help you could offer.

Welcome.   Washington has a "g" in it 

[CP]

I 2nd the go-hunt app.  There is a good deal of public land to be hunted in WA but it takes some homework.

[nastybynature]

I 2nd the go-hunt app.  There is a good deal of public land to be hunted in WA but it takes some homework.

  http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/

Best $99 bucks I have spent so far on hunting my first year here as well. Private Property is closed to hunting without written permission.

[Smoke]

11 deer limit??  thats nothing.. I moved out here years ago from South Carolina... deer season is 4 1/2 months long and the limit is 2 a day... figure it out..

[funkster]

Treeclimber, welcome to the site and the state. With that said, you picked a crazy year  for a new comer to take to the field. This summer has been record breaking dry and I'm sure you've heard about the devistating fires that are burning. This in itself, is going to make hunting in Washington pretty tough this year.

Here are a few quick FYI's that come to mind.

-East side equals more state land. The West side equals more private/private timber lands with access fees

-To hunt elk in this state, you will have to
Choose either east side or west side and select a weapon.

-Typically, the majority of west side general elk hunting has a 3 point min. To hunt bulls on the east side, you will have to apply for a special permit.

- You have missed the special permit aplication period, so you are stuck with general season.

- To hunt deer, you don't have to specify east/west but you do have to choose a weapon.

- Game regulations can be found here http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/

- Harvest reports can be found here  http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/

This site is a great source of info. Members will be willing to share basic info, but don't expect to get their hot spots or honey holes! There is plenty of time to get into the woods. Makes sure you're legal, make sure the area you choose to hunt is not closed to fire/fire danger, do some online mapping of the area and go have fun!

[treeclimber2852]

Thank you all for the tips.  Just to clarify...if I choose to hunt Archery...I can't hunt muzzle?  And, yes, I did most of my hunting in SC...they still have the 2 deer per day limit and a 4 and a half month season...but they now cap you out at 11 deer. 

[bobcat]

You buy an archery elk tag, you can only hunt the archery seasons.

However you could buy a muzzleloader deer tag so you could hunt deer with one and elk with the other.

[treeclimber2852]

What would you suggest would be more successful?  I've hunted deer with the bow from a tree stand...are the black tail nocturnal and as skittish as the whitetail?  Do I really want to be trying to bugle a bull in to archery range from the ground my first season?  I've also heard the crowds here are nuts. 

[Smoke]

Thank you all for the tips.  Just to clarify...if I choose to hunt Archery...I can't hunt muzzle?  And, yes, I did most of my hunting in SC...they still have the 2 deer per day limit and a 4 and a half month season...but they now cap you out at 11 deer.

yes... ya have to choose your weapon, and thats the only season ya can hunt... they do have drawing for multiple weapon tags that allow you to hunt all 3 seasons but still just one animal limit, but those drawings are over now... 50-60% chance for multi weapon deer... about 25% chance for elk...
back to the SC limit... the GMA had a limit of 5 for the season back then, but not cap for private land... is that 11 deer cap for GMA or statewide?  ( I averaged 3 per back then, so the cap never mattered to me, but was sure nice that if I got one my season wasn't over like here)

[Smoke]

What would you suggest would be more successful?  I've hunted deer with the bow from a tree stand...are the black tail nocturnal and as skittish as the whitetail?  Do I really want to be trying to bugle a bull in to archery range from the ground my first season?  I've also heard the crowds here are nuts.

depends on what side ya want to hunt.... east side is more open and mostly spot and stalk... the muzzy will give ya more range so ya dont have to be as close... west side is more dence forest (except for the clear cuts)... ground blinds and stands work good for deer, elk ya might want to move so I mostly hunt them from the ground... shots will be a lot closer so the bow can be a good choice... calling wasn't much use before during archery, but they pushed the season back 2 weeks this year putting us closer to the rut, so the calls might work better... we'll see

[treeclimber2852]

The cap is statewide and on public and private lands.  They have even tried to modify it with making you buy doe tags...although every weekend during the season was either sex.  Archery now has it's own limit - 3, but those three still count towards your season limit.  Can you apply for multiple drawings or are you limited to selecting only one?  Since I'm near the Hancock and Weyerhaeuser farms I was looking at access permits - the Weyerhaeuser look to have sold out crazy fast, except for a few non-motorized permits.  Hancock has some, but their forests are closed indefinitely.  The western units look to start just the other side of Rainier...and it looks much drier over there.  Would it be worth the extra drive to hunt over that way?  I'm thinking the Rosie's are going to be more like the whitetail hunting I'm used to back east.