Starkey experimental forest

[backcountry55]

Has anyone every elk hunted bow in there? It used to be like August 26th -30th which is stupid I see now its September 9th -17th  could be good just don't know what kind of quality is in there thought I would ask!! Before blowing lots of points!!!!

[tmike]

I hunted it the first year they gave tags a long time ago and it was good. I'm not sure whats going on in there now I'd be interested in knowing. You would think 19,000 acres would be easy but there were certain pockets that held most of the elk. I have enough points to draw it to. Your best bet would be to contact a biologist. If you do draw it I can tell you where we found the best hunting. Good luck.

[Axle]

I have friends that have hunted the Starkey but there used to be quite the crowd and I didn't want a crowd to hunt with.
Instead - I hunted the desolation unit with a couple buddies for several years but the retirement plans for some employees required a much higher tag price and that put me out of the game.
I would have considered returning for a few more years but they let cougar and bear numbers get out of hand and elk numbers were dropping by nearly 50% per year from what we could see. The hunting was simply not worth the cost of the tags and license. It was incredible for a few years though.
I've since read that they've gotten rid of many cougars but not enough and the tag price just doesn't make it worth it. Bear numbers are still way too high. I would rather buy some beef and stay home.
I love the Blue Mountains though. Every moment in them has been cherished.

[rtspring]

Way better places than Starkey,  if your a bowhunter many units are OTC. 

Less people than Washington!

[Gentrys]

Bob Staples with Blue Mountain Adventures in Oregon is a good guy and knows that area well.  He'll have a booth at the Sportman's show in Puyallup and could probably answer some questions for you.