Excited for 2016! (but could use some advice)

[JosefAbrams]

I'm going to be new to bow hunting next season. I'm going to be new to Western Washington hunting next season. And I'm going to be new to elk hunting next season.

I did a good bit of deer hunting in Eastern Washington growing up, but haven't hunted in probably 8 years.

I'm just looking for a little advice on where to start scouting for WW early archery (or late, if my luck is no good). I don't want your honey hole; I'll find my own eventually. I'm just looking for a good starting point. More interested in meat than a trophy bull. I don't think the wife would let me take down her modern art to mount one anyway.

I'm good with hiking in, jeeping in, or some crazy combination of the two. I bet like everything the best hunting is on private land, and public land is seeing a lot of pressure for modern firearm. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[coachcw]

For the most part you will  e south of i90 or on the coast ..the east side would be your best bet if your trying to learn elk ... your m better off learning elk that you can see 

[Skyvalhunter]

Put in out of state

[Axle]

For starters - put your hunting gear on and go to your local car wash on a really cold day (pick a day at 33 degrees). Stand there in the car wash and get hammered by the water jets for an extended period of time until you can't feel any parts of your body but your chest. If you survive - congrats to you! You have just started to learn how to survive a western Washington hunt.
After that - it's pure Heaven! And of course - there are a few warm and dry days too but those are few and far between.

And the meat (if you happen to get any) is the best God gave to mankind! 

[dvolmer]

My advice, Don't waste your money, start buying points in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

[snarkybull]

Step 1:  accept that taking a cow is pretty freaking awesome.

Step 2:  put your boots on and hike miles and miles til you find a place where elk go frequently and then spend a lot of time there following the game trails and watching the animals from a distance if you can to see where they go in and out of cover.  Look for intersections.  View the area on google earth.

Step 3:  get two weeks off work in september

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

When I came back to the Wet-side after 20+ years I sat down at my computer and went into past seasons harvest reports.
I looked at total harvest as a measure of units that had healthy herds, and listed the top 10 from high to low.
Then I looked at hunter numbers and went the opposite direction, low to high.
I found a few units that made both list, so I looked at seasons.
As an Archery hunter, I wanted a unit that was open for antlerless, so I picked the 2-3 that had that option.
I got on GoHunt and looked at the map to compare access and landowner boundaries, and found which ones had free access, with gated roads. (Walk in areas)
Then I contacted the WDFW biologist for the area, along with making a day trip down to drive the area to confirm my research.
After picking my unit, I used the search feature to see if I could find old threads, and asked for information on a new thread regarding unit.
Then I made several scouting trips to find camping areas and look for actual elk, and walk a few roads in an attempt to familiarize myself with unit, and formulate a plan for season.
Spending a few weekends during the summer to learn the area also provides an opportunity to stop by the local watering hole and lose a few games of pool and buy a pitcher or two for the locals, by being polite and humble you might get access, or pointers from people that live in the area.
Pick a unit, and learn it well coming up with several different options for when the season opens and you find someone else hunting the same spots is important.
You do not want to plan on being at a certain gate, then finding 6 trucks there on opening morning without having a back-up plan.
Elk are where you find them, and with the amount of pressure during elk season having the ability to avoid other hunters, or use them to push animals to you is part of the game.
Get out and walk, you would be amazed at the number of little hiding spots between roads that other hunters just drive on by.
If you see well traveled trails that cross a road, get out and follow them.
When you find where that trail leads through a swampy, brush choked semi-level area away from any road and the mud wants to suck your boots off your feet, and you would not be able to see an elk if it was standing there 20 feet from you, plan on hunting there during season. 

[White Pass Outfitters]

Or make it a little easier on your self and let an outfitter do the work for you. We put our clients in the wilderness no roads or gates to worry about. And the best of all your hunting non pressured Elk.
White Pass Outfitters
www.whitepassoutfitters.com

[Shooting Stix]

This bull is still out there and only my outfitter knows where he is so book your hunt Shootingstixsafaris.com I have hunts in Idaho and New Mexico also

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

 
One of Mike Jenkins of Upfront Outfitters...
too bad that bull likes to hang out on private land so much...

[Buzz2401]

I shot the last elk and the last deer in washington last year.  I wouldn't bother. 

[kenzmad]

"Get out and walk, you would be amazed at the number of little hiding spots between roads that other hunters just drive on by."

For example, when I hunted the Coweeman unit. I would walk in on a trail. This trIl leads out of the timber to the clear cut. Once out of sight of the road, the amount of trails paralleling the road were alarming. These animals know where they are visible and where they are not. Good raingear for the wetside is a must. You wont stay out all day if you are wet.

[pd]

When I came back to the Wet-side after 20+ years I sat down at my computer and went into past seasons harvest reports.
I looked at total harvest as a measure of units that had healthy herds, and listed the top 10 from high to low.
Then I looked at hunter numbers and went the opposite direction, low to high.
I found a few units that made both list, so I looked at seasons.
As an Archery hunter, I wanted a unit that was open for antlerless, so I picked the 2-3 that had that option.
I got on GoHunt and looked at the map to compare access and landowner boundaries, and found which ones had free access, with gated roads. (Walk in areas)
Then I contacted the WDFW biologist for the area, along with making a day trip down to drive the area to confirm my research.
After picking my unit, I used the search feature to see if I could find old threads, and asked for information on a new thread regarding unit.
Then I made several scouting trips to find camping areas and look for actual elk, and walk a few roads in an attempt to familiarize myself with unit, and formulate a plan for season.
Spending a few weekends during the summer to learn the area also provides an opportunity to stop by the local watering hole and lose a few games of pool and buy a pitcher or two for the locals, by being polite and humble you might get access, or pointers from people that live in the area.
Pick a unit, and learn it well coming up with several different options for when the season opens and you find someone else hunting the same spots is important.
You do not want to plan on being at a certain gate, then finding 6 trucks there on opening morning without having a back-up plan.
Elk are where you find them, and with the amount of pressure during elk season having the ability to avoid other hunters, or use them to push animals to you is part of the game.
Get out and walk, you would be amazed at the number of little hiding spots between roads that other hunters just drive on by.
If you see well traveled trails that cross a road, get out and follow them.
When you find where that trail leads through a swampy, brush choked semi-level area away from any road and the mud wants to suck your boots off your feet, and you would not be able to see an elk if it was standing there 20 feet from you, plan on hunting there during season. 

I just found this.  Best post of 2015.  That is some amazing advice, and very logical.  I hope the OP was paying attention.   

[wooltie]

I would pick a unit and cover as much of it as you can.  If you see areas with lots of sign, note those areas but don't rush to thoroughly investigate them.  Instead, I would continue canvassing the peripherals of these areas to get an idea of where the elk are and where they aren't.  Only after you've canvasses the entire unit would I pick the most tore up parts and thoroughly scout them.

Come September I think you'd want to cover as much of the unit as possible to find the elk because they will move around.  Knowing the hot and cold areas can make covering the unit easier. 

You strategy just depends upon how much time you have to scout, me thinks.

I hunted one unit last year.  Public unit, lots of logging roads.  I found some areas with lots of sign, trails, rubs, poop.  Hung cams and thoroughly scouted the area.  Saw cows and heard bugles during July/Aug scouting trips.

Come September I didn't see any animals or new sign so I expanded my search. 

I wish I would have covered more of the unit pre season and spent less time focusing on just a few areas.

As far as where to look goes--look for abandoned spur roads, especially those overgrown with alder.  Game trails are often 20-40 yards off the gravel road in the timber.  Elk seem to travel the ridge lines up and down.  Try to figure out why elk travel down one section of a draw but not the other.  Elk seems to hang out around flat spots at the top, bottom or middle of draws, based upon where I see piles and piles of poop in some areas and not others.

When you see only 1-2 cows, there are probably 5.  When you see only 3-4 cows there are probably 10.

If you see cows, identify the lead cow.  She's always on alert, and not the one you wanna piss off.

If you find a herd, situate yourself nearby and wait.  Be patient.  Don't rush in.  Watch them to try and figure out what they're doing.  If you hear cow calling a distance...bugle!

[Jmp_21]




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