What are you going to do

[WAPITIHUNTER]

I am in the "I kill an elk every year club" well almost every year, there have been a couple years in the past 16 that I didn't get a opportunity. 14 years I have shot or stuck an Elk. 3 non harvests which 2 survived and one did not.

I will never stop archery hunting, not this year not never! I will most likely be getting a Multi season permit for myself and my wife for elk this year. As long as the new regs take effect. Not interested in the deer multi season permit.

For deer I am still in limbo. Not sure if I will do rifle or archery. I am thinking archery just because I can hunt Blacktails for over 2 months long around my place. The changes did not affect me at all, and I am a Doer not a Complainer.

[NoBark]

I say get a license even if you don't hunt. That way, 3 years from now the archers success will be way below the modern and then the modern guys will have to give the archers a ton of time back.

stupid,stupid,stupid proposals

[andrew_12gauge]

i hate to say it but you guys are all over reacting, i looked at the changes and it doesnt seem like they took that much away from archery and there are some really good rifle opportunities now as well, and i am an archery hunter myself, and im thinkin about gettin a washington tag this year still despite the fact that i live in idaho now. let the blasting begin just hope i dont get blackballed for this

[Machias]

i hate to say it but you guys are all over reacting, i looked at the changes and it doesnt seem like they took that much away from archery and there are some really good rifle opportunities now as well, and i am an archery hunter myself, and im thinkin about gettin a washington tag this year still despite the fact that i live in idaho now. let the blasting begin just hope i dont get blackballed for this

No blasting and I sure didn't see anything to blackball you on, but you really don't have any problems with the Game Dept arbitrailly stating something is not socially acceptable and banning it even though there is no scientific reason?  What's next? Might be something you enjoy doing, right?  That is why IMO we have to express our dissatisfaction someway or another then continuing doing the same thing every year.  Otherwise why would they ever really listen?  It's the main reason now they don't listen to us at all.

I am in the "I kill an elk every year club" well almost every year, there have been a couple years in the past 16 that I didn't get a opportunity. 14 years I have shot or stuck an Elk. 3 non harvests which 2 survived and one did not.

I will never stop archery hunting, not this year not never! I will most likely be getting a Multi season permit for myself and my wife for elk this year. As long as the new regs take effect. Not interested in the deer multi season permit.

For deer I am still in limbo. Not sure if I will do rifle or archery. I am thinking archery just because I can hunt Blacktails for over 2 months long around my place. The changes did not affect me at all, and I am a Doer not a Complainer.

Hey as long as you get your elk every year or at least get to stick one it's all good.  Right   

[Ironhead]

Those that think nothing really changed  in the prposals are part of the reason Washington is so lame. Roll over and take what they give you, The sheep mentallity kills me. 

[andrew_12gauge]

no i agree there were some changes and the no bear hunting on public land in august will be huge but this is the bowhunting thread and as far as the bow season goes i see some new opportunities despite the fact that they took some opportunities away, I just think that wdfw is trying to spread the archery pressure out over more units rather than having it all concentrated on the swakane and entiat

[nw_bowhunter]

I'm confused? Aren't they reducing or taking way units so won't that cause more presure in other areas?

[andrew_12gauge]

well they took away units and added others not to mention more areas for special permits even if there arent as many seems to me that they are spreading the pressure out.

ok i just looked at last years regs and it seems they arent really adding to many units just a lot more of them went special permit but they did add slide ridge, alta and chiwawa special permits for archery

[nw_bowhunter]

okay, not sure I see that way. By limiting a major portion of where bow hunters are other untis will be see more pressure. So what they are attempting to resolve now will just happen in another units.

[bobcat]

So archery hunters now have what muzzleloaders have always had...decent opportunities for early season but virtually nothing for late season mule deer.

Actually archers still have it better for late mule deer. As I mentioned in a previous thread,  they still have some good units to hunt, just none in Chelan or Okanogan.

[billythekidrock]

As far as the archery proposals...they really aren't that bad. Most archers I have talked with are cool with no bulls in the late season. As far as cutting back start/end dates. Do some math. Most of these dates are inline with the past seasons. In 2008 late archery started a full week before Thanksgiving. In 2007 it started one day before, same as they are proposing for this year.

[Machias]

Yea it's all good, I mean most states are expanding archery opportunitites, have looong seasons and don't have the other two groups complaining about archer's seasons.  This state causes hunters to sound like my kids when they were younger, hey Cody got more then me, did not, did too.  This is what CYW weapon does, it divides us and pits us against each other.  Tell me why don't they open ALL the GMUs for the seasons?  If they opened the state and stopped cramming us all into a few GMUs hunter satisfaction would be way higher then it is.  I'd rather hunt where there are fewer elk and way less hunters, personally.

[nw_bowhunter]

I'd rather hunt where there are fewer elk and way less hunters, personally. "Good point"

I'm going to have to re-review the prosed changes

[archery288]

Archery hunting is my life and my passion!  I will continue to hunt with a bow in our state and others and I will do what it takes to be successful no matter the circumstances... 

[Todd_ID]

Archery hunting is my life and my passion!  I will continue to hunt with a bow in our state and others and I will do what it takes to be successful no matter the circumstances... 

 

I'm in that same boat.  I'll always be a dedicated bow hunter.  They took away buck hunting in the unit I live in, so I'll have to drive more for a muley buck, but I will.  It takes some of the fun out to lose an area, but there's still plenty enough fun left in bow hunting that I'll keep doing it. With the state's method of forcing you to choose your weapon and area before applying for the special permit hunts, I'll always buy the archery tags because that's what I want to draw tags for.