Tag soup already

[Ghunt]

Try getting out of the truck.  It helps.

Yeah thanks for the tip. Forgot to mention I hiked all day from about 7 in the morning to 5 that evening. Searched around most of the clear cuts, tree lines, spots with mud. Just weren't there.

[Ghunt]

Went up scouting yesterday where I was hoping would be some elk and unfortunately found nothing. Not even old tracks, old droppings from the winter. Just absolutely nothing. I really wish everyone a good hunting season this year, cause I know i'm already eating tag soup.

Dude, sounds like you have a big area to cross off. That is a good thing, believe me. Look at the features (or lack thereof) and try finding an area that has different or better features. North Slope vs South, water or no, how far from roads, elevation, food sources.

Look at the GMU harvest statistics on WDFWs website. Maybe that unit only produces a few kills a year and you need to move on to somewhere elkier. every successful elk hunter has had dozens of days like the one you describe.

Also, and I will end with this. Sometimes it's a random thing. I've killed a lot of animals in areas that I would never see another animal again. I killed a 120" whitetail buck in an area that I've never seen another deer track. I killed a small bull elk a few years back in a spot so close to the road and so far from where elk usually are, you wouldn't believe it. Discouragement should be something you immunize yourself to. Time in the woods is always valuable if you have a student's heart and mind

I was scouting the North side of GMU 460 around Proctor creek area. Looking at the maps for the area, it all looked good. Except  how steep it was all around us. Now i'm not talking about a hill, it was about 80 degrees straight up. I don't know if its just me but I don't think hang around in areas like that. I know they like to come out to clear cuts late in the evening and early in the morning, but not steep cliffs. I looked around at most of the clear cuts that were there and still no sign. No droppings, not tracks, nothing. I was well more than 5 miles in, so I wouldn't expect the highway and roads to push them back even farther than that.

[Skyvalhunter]

You weren't looking for elk in the Proctor creek area I hope

[7mmfan]

That's your problem. Not many elk hanging out in 460 in general, but especially on the north side of it. There are a few, they tend to be further down the valley and around private land. Head further south in the unit if your dead set on 460. The closer to North Bend you get the better. Puget Sound elk hunting is not really a thing unless its a permit tag in the Nooksack.

[Ghunt]

You weren't looking for elk in the Proctor creek area I hope

I was. This is my first year hunting on the west side and thought it would be a good area. I don't know anybody that's a serious hunter so i've only been going off a few things.

[Ghunt]

That's your problem. Not many elk hanging out in 460 in general, but especially on the north side of it. There are a few, they tend to be further down the valley and around private land. Head further south in the unit if your dead set on 460. The closer to North Bend you get the better. Puget Sound elk hunting is not really a thing unless its a permit tag in the Nooksack.

I'm able to get some private land up in the nooksack area. Any particular spots to be looking at up there? PM me and I can show you a map of the private land.

[7mmfan]

As far as I know, the Nooksack is all special permit only hunting. No general season at all.

I think what you need to do rather than just looking for clearcuts and elky looking ground is to do some research. Look in the regs for GMU's that have general seasons, and then also look at areas that are special permit only, or offer special permits. Then look at the harvest statistics for those areas. It will be immediately clear to you which units are worth hunting and which ones aren't. Here is a link for you to check out.

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

As a general rule of thumb, if you want consistent success on elk on the west side, you need to head to the southern or SW part of the state. The further north you go, the fewer animals there are. Most Puget Sound GMU's (407, 448, 460) have a few elk in them, but are VERY hard to find and rarely on public ground. Success rates are extremely low. If you can find elk in an area consistently, keep your mouth shut and tell everyone you killed them in Willapa Hills.

[Ghunt]

As far as I know, the Nooksack is all special permit only hunting. No general season at all.

I think what you need to do rather than just looking for clearcuts and elky looking ground is to do some research. Look in the regs for GMU's that have general seasons, and then also look at areas that are special permit only, or offer special permits. Then look at the harvest statistics for those areas. It will be immediately clear to you which units are worth hunting and which ones aren't. Here is a link for you to check out.

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

As a general rule of thumb, if you want consistent success on elk on the west side, you need to head to the southern or SW part of the state. The further north you go, the fewer animals there are. Most Puget Sound GMU's (407, 448, 460) have a few elk in them, but are VERY hard to find and rarely on public ground. Success rates are extremely low. If you can find elk in an area consistently, keep your mouth shut and tell everyone you killed them in Willapa Hills.

Yeah I saw that the nooksack gmu has a only modern general season for deer. Guess this year will just be more scouting and researching.

[cbond3318]

As far as I know, the Nooksack is all special permit only hunting. No general season at all.

I think what you need to do rather than just looking for clearcuts and elky looking ground is to do some research. Look in the regs for GMU's that have general seasons, and then also look at areas that are special permit only, or offer special permits. Then look at the harvest statistics for those areas. It will be immediately clear to you which units are worth hunting and which ones aren't. Here is a link for you to check out.

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

As a general rule of thumb, if you want consistent success on elk on the west side, you need to head to the southern or SW part of the state. The further north you go, the fewer animals there are. Most Puget Sound GMU's (407, 448, 460) have a few elk in them, but are VERY hard to find and rarely on public ground. Success rates are extremely low. If you can find elk in an area consistently, keep your mouth shut and tell everyone you killed them in Willapa Hills.

Yeah I saw that the nooksack gmu has a only modern general season for deer. Guess this year will just be more scouting and researching.

Make sure to bring a weapon....

[4fletch]

I wouldn't give up until the day after the season closes

[steelhead59]

I think more elk are killed on private property in Western Washington than are killed in Timber company lands. My last four elk were killed on private property, it only took the balls to knock on a few doors and ask for permission.

[Ghunt]

I think more elk are killed on private property in Western Washington than are killed in Timber company lands. My last four elk were killed on private property, it only took the balls to knock on a few doors and ask for permission.

What area?

[D-Rock425]

Went up scouting yesterday where I was hoping would be some elk and unfortunately found nothing. Not even old tracks, old droppings from the winter. Just absolutely nothing. I really wish everyone a good hunting season this year, cause I know i'm already eating tag soup.

sound to me like you already have up.

[bracer40]

Ghunt, it sounds like you're pretty new to elk hunting and are probably willing to work hard to learn. You're not likely to get anyone to give you a spot where you're sure to see elk (unless it's a Nat'l park, it probably doesn't exist anyway).

But there's a lot U you can learn within this forum about many aspects of elk hunting if you spend the time looking. And by looking, I mean running searches on various topics related to hunting. You'll find all sorts of Intel searching elk hunting, west side Bulls, west side access, etc......brainstorm a list of topics and start searching and reading.

Another avenue worthy of pursuit is seeking out a more experienced hunting partner (s). It was just a few weeks ago I read a thread about an experienced hunter looking for new members for their elk camp. If you're the kind of guy who's willing to work hard and be a good camp participant (or not an Ahole), you can get farther up the learning curve much faster.

Also, don't disregard some of the guys out there turning their experience and expertise into a revenue stream. Corey Jacobson, the Elk Nut ... Couple others....can offer years of learning for the price of a tank or two of gas.

Elk hunting is the coolest thing I do all year long.....it's also something I can "do" all year long.....

Good luck and don't give up!

[Ghunt]

Ghunt, it sounds like you're pretty new to elk hunting and are probably willing to work hard to learn. You're not likely to get anyone to give you a spot where you're sure to see elk (unless it's a Nat'l park, it probably doesn't exist anyway).

But there's a lot U you can learn within this forum about many aspects of elk hunting if you spend the time looking. And by looking, I mean running searches on various topics related to hunting. You'll find all sorts of Intel searching elk hunting, west side Bulls, west side access, etc......brainstorm a list of topics and start searching and reading.

Another avenue worthy of pursuit is seeking out a more experienced hunting partner (s). It was just a few weeks ago I read a thread about an experienced hunter looking for new members for their elk camp. If you're the kind of guy who's willing to work hard and be a good camp participant (or not an Ahole), you can get farther up the learning curve much faster.

Also, don't disregard some of the guys out there turning their experience and expertise into a revenue stream. Corey Jacobson, the Elk Nut ... Couple others....can offer years of learning for the price of a tank or two of gas.

Elk hunting is the coolest thing I do all year long.....it's also something I can "do" all year long.....

Good luck and don't give up!

I myself (15) is new to elk hunting yes. But my Dad has had over 15 years of elk hunting experience. He's use to elk hunting Idaho and never hunted in Washington. I'm trying to get as much good info and prove to him that we can hunt over here. Ive read a lot of forum posts on elk hunting over here, looked at all the gmus and harvest reports, and still stumped.  It also doesn't help that I can't drive and he works most weeks and weekends so we rarely get out and scout. I think thiss year we are gonna try deer and elk in 448 and see how that goes.