Confused and New to Eastern Washington

[GypsySouls]

Hello All,

I just moved up here from Texas and I'm having a hard time finding a place to hunt and understanding all the regulations. Is there a class I can take that breaks everything down? I have a learning disability that makes it really hard to understand what I am reading. Is there anywhere to hunt without a lottery or special permit. The more I read the more confused I get. Thanks in advance!

[Fl0und3rz]

Welcome to the state and to hunt wa.

You are not confused.  You are in the right side of the state, for starters. 

Over the counter hunts abound in WA, but you'll have to understand the seasons and the gear requirements.  There is plenty of national forest land on the west side and east side of the state that is open without any special permit.  State land is another ball of wax, so I will defer to others.

Start by picking your quarry and your weapon type and start looking into the regulations.  You'll find the state is divided into game management units (GMUs) and your local Sportsman's Warehouse probably carries GMU maps that might help.

Here is a GMU search tool that you might find useful to find areas you are interested in.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/gmu/

There will probably be people along to tell you about the WA state hunter ed class, and I will defer to the more knowledgeable people to fill you in.

Good luck and keep coming back with specific questions.

[syoungs]

what weapon choice are you wanting to use, and what is it you want to hunt? there is over the counter tags for just about everything in this state. were in a pretty good spot here in the tri cities, not to far from anything really.

[Jonathan_S]

As boring as this sounds, I recommend picking up the regulation pamphlet and reading it cover to cover (minus the area descriptions in the back) at least three times.  This will help and will probably leave you asking some specific questions rather than a general, "WTF?"

[bobcat]

It's actually very simple. The "modern firearm" season opens October 15th and ends on October 25th. (For mule deer and whitetail deer in your part of the state)

Buy your license and tag online, and go hunting. Your best bet would probably be to hunt the National Forest land to the east. (Blue Mountains)

edit:  I forgot- you'll probably need to buy your first license at a license dealer instead of online, as you will likely need to show proof of taking a hunter education course. (Unless you were born before Jan. 1, 1972)

[DaveMonti]

Send me a PM and I'll be happy to walk you through this as best as I can.  I moved here to WA about 8 years ago, and it's taken a bit of time for me to understand everything.   

The bottom line is that there are general seasons for each, modern firearm, muzzle loader, and archery.  All you need to do is purchase a license and deer tag over the counter at any outdoor store and many supermarkets. 

You will have to select what type of weapon, modern firearm, muzzle loader, or archery, when you purchase your tag.

There is plenty of public land in this state.  Finding a place where there is deer and not many people is a different story!  Texas is mostly private land hunting on leases.  You won't find that here in WA.  If you develop a good relationship with a landowner, they may allow you to hunt. 

There are many species to hunt, from three deer species, two elk species, black bear, cougar, coyotes, lots of waterfowl along the Columbia and other large bodies of water, turkeys, you name it.  If you see a wolf, well, don't tell anyone if you shoot it! 

As I said, I'll help you through the regs if you'd like.  Just send me a personal message.  I don't know all the ins and outs, but from an outsider's point of view, I can relate to the confusing nature of WA hunting.

[GypsySouls]

Thank you very much for all of your responses. I hunt archery and rifle for big game mainly, I'm not a trophy hunter just want to put some delicious organic meat on the table. @DaveMonti I will shoot you a PM. Thanks again all for the advise I will read the regulations guide a couple more times and come up with more specific questions since my last one was very vague.   

[GypsySouls]

Here is one thing that is really confusing... I looked up the GMU map and found the Patterson Deer Unit close by. I started looking into it and no where does it say if it is public land or what. When I went to the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge page it says it is a lottery hunt. Is there a specific place I can look that has a breakdown if it is public land or not? I just don't want to end up on land I shouldn't be on getting slammed with a huge fine or arrested. 

[GypsySouls]

Next question: How do the wildlife areas work? Are you able to hunt them if you have a discovery pass or do I need to look more into that?

[bobcat]

Next question: How do the wildlife areas work? Are you able to hunt them if you have a discovery pass or do I need to look more into that?

I assume you're talking about the WDFW wildlife areas. If so, yes, you can hunt them, and no you don't need a Discover pass. You do need your WDFW vehicle pass which you will get free with the purchase of a hunting or fishing license. The Discover pass is needed for Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lands. It's also valid for the WDFW lands, but as a hunter you don't need a Discover pass for that purpose.

This might help with the Wildlife Areas:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

In the beginning of the deer and elk sections it lays out which GMUs are open for general season.

This is important as you don't want to be hunting a unit that is closed for special permit use only.

It also lays out the antler restriction of each of those units.

Moose, goat, sheep is by special draw only.


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[tonymiller7]

Thank you very much for all of your responses. I hunt archery and rifle for big game mainly, I'm not a trophy hunter just want to put some delicious organic meat on the table. @DaveMonti I will shoot you a PM. Thanks again all for the advise I will read the regulations guide a couple more times and come up with more specific questions since my last one was very vague.

Additionally one thing that will be different for you is that you have to choose which weapon for which species you will be hunting.

[pianoman9701]

You'll find a lot more OTC opportunities hunting archery and just a few less with ML. You also have an early and a late season with archery.

Another thing: If you're planning on hunting elk and haven't been on an elk hunt before, there's a lot of work to do prior. Besides being in great shape and scouting the areas you wish to hunt, you'll need to have a plan for bringing them out once you get one. They're big freakin' animals - 3 to 4 times the size of a big TX buck.

If you have a Garmin GPS with the ability for a chip, the OnX Maps chip for WA is a good investment. It'll show public land (state and federal), and landowner boundaries, as well as the GMU boundaries. It's a huge help when you don't know an area and it'll keep you out of trouble.

[DaveMonti]

The WDFD website has a "GoHunt" application which is very helpful for identifying public land.  Google "GoHunt WA) and to the GoHunt page and click "get started".  On the next page, click the "Big Game" button and you'll be taken to the Disclaimer, click OK and you're in the application. 

The GMUs are clearly defined, and you can zoom in and see different colors on the map, signifying different types of land ownership.  To figure out what each color on the map means, click on the "Basemap" drop down menu on the upper right of the map, and select "More info" at the bottom of the menu.  Scroll down in the information window and you'll see a list of public lands and the corresponding colors. 

This will get you started in identifying public land.  Not real easy, I realize, but it's what I use to initially determine if land is public.