My 2016 Season

[Kazekurt]

2016 was a banner year!  I'll go through each species individually and retell the story to the best of my recollection.😀

Deer Season:
   My prospects for deer weren't looking good, as I didn't have any real great ideas on where to hunt, so I appealed to the HuntWA forum members and was given several honey holes to scout.  Unfortunately, I realized that scouting actually required effort so  I pulled the GPS location off of one of BoneAddict's pics and it put me right on the game!  When i arrived at the spot, there was a large, official looking sign saying that it was "hunting by written permission only" so I quickly wrote myself permission and started my hunt. 
  About 2 1/2 beers into the property, I spotted a giant buck so I rolled down the window and ranged him.  275 yards!  Now, I can put 5 rounds into a roadside sign all day long at 100 yards, but 275 is a hell of a poke.  Anyway, I just wasn't sure I could execute the shot without damaging the rack so I decided to close the distance by attempting a stalk.  I had my good friend MLB take the wheel and I climbed in the back and the stalk was on.  Unfortunately, since I had been driving to that point, MLB was 4 1/2 wine coolers in so things got a little crazy.  The truck approached the buck at approximately 35mph,  but I was able to make several nice off cab shots with my mini 14 and the buck piled up. 
   After spending the next hour texting pics to buddies, I quickly knocked out a Facebook post and then decided to field dress my trophy.   About 1 1/2 beers into the gut job, I noticed a vehicle parked near the gate where we entered the property.  As luck would have it, that truck turned out to be a game warden; and would you believe he had the audacity to question my permission slip.  (In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have used crayon) The officer then tried to claim I hadn't properly tagged the buck.  I, of course, vociferously disputed this point, arguing that I had "tagged" the buck a number of times from the back of the truck!  Fortunately, news of a possible shellfish violation came over the radio and the warden didn't want to catch hell from upper management for being so far off the water so he bailed and I was free to return home with my trophy. 

[Boss .300 winmag]

You must have been hunting benchleggers if you were that close to salt water. 

[Kazekurt]

Elk Season:
  Elk season was Epic!  As always, I struck out in the draw so it was OTC for me. (For those of you not familiar with this anacronym, OTC means over the counter, not over the cab.) I decided to hunt some state land on the Eastside, but wasn't seeing much so I needed some new  turf.  So, I headed to the Westside to see if MLB could get me on some Elk. 
   Shortly into our hunt, I spotted a nice bull but I needed to confirm that all of his points were spiked before shooting. (spike only unit) Much to my chagrin, one of the tines seemed a bit broomed off, and I wasn't sure if it was truly spiked, so I decided to call WDFW for some clarification.  I didn't want to get the runaround, so I demanded my call be forwarded directly to the Deputy Chief.  He was originally happy to take my call, but when he learned it was regarding big game he became enraged and stated, "How many times do I have to tell you, nobody gives a $@?! about deer and elk."  I figured that was as close to permission as I was going to get so I lined up the shot!  Boom, bull down!!! 
   After once again taking plenty of time to celebrate my kill with friends and on social media,  I field dressed the bull, loaded him in the truck, and headed for camp.  Once back at camp, a couple of hunters from a neighboring camp came to gawk at my trophy.  Sadly, one of the hunters was quite certain there were some illegalities involved in my harvest so he launched into an interrogation that would have made the forum lawyers on Hunt Washington proud.  I assured this jack wagon that my kill was legit, but that it really didn't matter anyway since this particular area had been part of my family's traditional poaching grounds for five generations and we, therefore, had ceded rights to poach there and had even been issued a number of "documents" from wildlife officials over the years.  This explanation seemed to suffice in satisfying his concerns and he left.
 

[Seabass]

I almost pissed myself laughing. You covered most of it on that one!

[cbond3318]

Tag.

[Kazekurt]

Bigfoot season:
 I'd go here, but Bigfoot threads never end!

All joking aside, have a Merry Christmas ya'll and hopefully next year will bring plenty of exciting harvest stories and pics!  The forum can get crazy at times, but it can also be a useful tool for exchanging ideas, making friends, and even sharing a laugh!

[Ridgeratt]

You Sir are a genius for this post.

[Kazekurt]

I've got to pull a Hirschey and shut it down for a bit😀  I'll do a bear and cougar post later.

[Boss .300 winmag]

I can't wait for your Moose, Mt Goat, and Sheep hunts. 

[packmule]

You should post more, these are some of the best this year!

[Kazekurt]

Bear season:
  After spending a fair amount of time driving around in the woods, I just wasn't seeing the quality of bears I was looking for here in Washington.  Then, in a stroke of genius, I recalled hearing in my concealed weapons class that we had reciprocity with the state of Alaska so I figured my tags were obviously good there as well.   Alaska, here I come!
   Much to my disappointment, Alaska doesn't have nearly enough roads to  road hunt, and walking just isn't my style, so I purchased a boat.  MLB and I set sail on the Yukon and it wasn't long and we were into the beers I mean bears.  I spotted a large brown bear coming down to the river for a drink and decided I just had to have him.  MLB objected, explaining that my tag was for a black bear and not a brown bear.  Never have I been more ashamed of MLB!  I just couldn't believe he would pull the race card at a time like this.  Anyway, he threatened to unfriend me on Facebook if I shot the bear illegally so I had to let it walk. 
  Once back at the hotel, I quizzed MLB about his racist favoritism toward black bears and he told me it wasn't the color that concerned him most, but rather some other details I was not aware of.  Apparently, you have to hire a licensed guide to hunt brown bears or have a family member who is an Alaska resident within 2nd° of kinship.  I've always been a do it yourself kind of guy, so hiring a guide was definitely out.  This left only the family clause and MLB just wouldn't fudge the rules so I had no choice but to craft an alternative plan.  I went to a local bar, hoping I could find a resident lady to marry, but unfortunately, there are very few women in Alaska so I had to swallow my pride and marry a dude. (it cost me several rounds to get him to agree) Hey, you have to do what you have to do to hunt Grizz and I figured Id just divorce the guy later! 
So with MLB and my temporary husband in tow, we headed back down the Yukon
  Anyway, it was all worth it when I harvested my first Grizz but Alaska Fish and Game didn't think to kindly of my Washington tag.  I reminded them that we had reciprocity,  but they claimed it didn't apply to hunting.  However, when they learned all I had done in attempting to satisfy their requirements they decided to just let me keep the bear.
 

[cbond3318]

Tag.

[NOCK NOCK]

A "Menage a trois" bear hunt 

Good Stuff, keep em coming

[WAcoueshunter]

NICE WORK KAZE!  Story around the Harvest Moon was something about a lope or four from The Rez, look forward to the story! 

 

[Kazekurt]

NICE WORK KAZE!  Story around the Harvest Moon was something about a lope or four from The Rez, look forward to the story! 

 

Lol, unfortunately, these are the kind of stories you have to tell on the years that you eat tag soup!   It's been a while since I had to eat a deer tag, but it just hasnt happened for me this year.  I passed on a few with the rifle, missed a nice one in the ML season, and held out to the bitter end in late bow.  I probably should have stuck a doe or small buck in late bow but I wasn't hurting for meat so I just kept hunting😀  There are still a handful of open seasons around the state so I May still find a way to notch that multi tag, but it won't be a muley this year🙁   How did your season go?