Archery High Buck Hunt August 15th-August 30th

[shanevg]

Right, the high hunt is not technically anything special for archery hunters. It's just a regular season like most of the rest of the state is for the archery guys at that point.

Except you can only kill a deer with a bow in the wilderness area if you have a multi season tag.
An archery deer tag won't cut it.
Or am I wrong?

All the other areas are open during the general archery season so you could use your archery tag. I suppose if you had a multiseason tag you could kill a deer with your bow In the Pasayten. .

The other potential downside (that some may not think is a downside)is you'll have to wear your blaze orange if you're hunting the high hunt areas with your bow during the high hunt seasons. Everyone will have to wear orange since there is a rifle season going.

Correct, you have to wear stupid hunters orange.  (I hate hunters orange!)

And to answer the previous poster's question.  You can hunt with your bow during the high buck hunt if you have a rifle, muzzle loader, or multiseason tag.  You cannot hunt if you only have an archery tag. 

Additionally, I believe all other high hunt units are open for 14 days prior to high buck season (September 1-14) for archery only while the Pasayten is not. 

[jackelope]

Anyone know why it is that the Pasayten is closed?

[bobcat]

Anyone know why it is that the Pasayten is closed?

Probably no reason other than so people hunting the September 15th season get to hunt deer that haven't been pressured yet. Could be something the outfitters wanted. Who knows, it's been that way forever.

[Bill W]

No archery season in the Pasayten... well then I'd suggest you learn to shoot a rifle.   

That's similar to what I did when I wanted to hunt the bugling season for elk.  Rather than petitioning WDFW to open a rifle bugling season I broke out a bow.

[Chad E.]

No archery season in the Pasayten... well then I'd suggest you learn to shoot a rifle.   

That's similar to what I did when I wanted to hunt the bugling season for elk.  Rather than petitioning WDFW to open a rifle bugling season I broke out a bow.

With the availability of the deer multi season tag the need to switch is a non issue.  Although I totally agree with shanevg that wearing hunter orange while bow hunting is not exactly awesome.

[jackelope]

You gotta wear orange in any of the open for modern firearm hunting wilderness areas during the high hunt.

[boneaddict]

I used to wear Hunter orange and hunt modern with a bow all the time.   It's no big deal. 

Correct, need a multi season or modern tag for the pasayten.   It's been that way for as long as I remember.

[Odell]

What is the objection to buying a modern tag or multi-season tag and hunting peseyten with a bow? In some ways, all of us have to make some compromises to hunt when and where we want.

[hunt2hunt810]

doesnt archery already have enough time to hunt?
another 15 days when they already get two other seasons (one of which is durring the rut usually)

[Bill W]

If archery was still the traditional stick bow, no sights and wooden arrows I wouldn't be opposed to a special season in the Pasayten.   That style of hunting required more stalking than the modern compound bows.

[shanevg]

Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the reality is that archery success rates (even with more advanced compound bows) are still WAY lower than rifle success rates.  Correlate that to tag numbers and even a 30% success rate (which would be EXTREMELY high) for 25 tags would still only result in 7 or 8 deer being killed a year. 

Yes archers can wear hunters orange and hunt rifle season if they buy a rifle/muzzie/multiseason tag but they are putting themselves at a distinct disadvantage to everyone else that is hunting by using a primitive weapon. 

In regards to some comments saying "elk hunters that want to hunt the rut learn to hunt with a bow, so archers who want to hunt high buck just need to suck it up and hunt the seasons given to them" are really not even comparing remotely comparable situations.  The reason archers are allowed to hunt during the rut when elk are more vulnerable is because of the lower success rates that archery hunting provides.  If rifle hunters were able to hunt those seasons it'd be a blood bath. 

Where that argument does compare is specifically in support of a Pasayten archery season: Rifle hunters DO get tags in nearly every single unit in the state during the elk rut.  The tag numbers are extremely low specifically because success rates are so high (over 80% success for most of those hunts.)  Those hunts are justified by providing tags for a favorable season to a user group (rifle hunters) that wouldn't otherwise get to hunt that season because the relatively few numbers of animals that are harvested (1-5 elk max per unit.)  This proposal would achieve the exact same result!  Let archery hunters (who are not able to hunt the Pasayten) have a limited entry opportunity to a unit (Pasayten) that they can't otherwise hunt without 600+ rifle hunters running around.  That opportunity is justified as the relatively low number of animals (5-8 deer harvested per year assuming 20-30% success rates for 25 tags) is marginal compared to the overall population in the unit.

And in regards to hunters orange, it really is no detriment to me.  I would just as soon there be no hunters orange law in our state and hate wearing it. 

[boneaddict]

If I were to lobby for something cool, I think I'd lobby for a late trad bow hunt. 

[Odell]

Besides "we want it", what exactly would be the justification for opening up an August high hunt? And what would we be willing to give up for it?

I want more opportunities for everyone but at some point we need to limit the amount of time the animals are pressured. On years when I want to hunt peseyten I put in for modern. Other years I chase deer with a bow.

[boneaddict]

   exactly

[Jonathan_S]

Somebody please post a legitimate reason why there should not be a few early archery permits. And don't say cause of the pressure or meat spoilage.

That's why I said to dispute the original idea with something other then those two arguments.

This has me laughing so hard... must be really easy to win arguments when you can censor the opposition