Hunting Timber Company Lands

[Dtray332]

I posted this under Elk Hunting, thought I would put it up here as well.  After getting my first hunting season under my belt here in Washington, I'm thinking about going to try for one of the Timber Companies. Anyone familiar with Global Campbell or Weyehaeuser (Northern Cascades) areas? Looked at both on Onxmaps and Google Earth. Both have some pretty decent looking areas. Like the fact that you can stay over night in Weyehaeuser and they have multiple locations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.   Thanks, Dave   

[WSU]

I’d suggest looking at the harvest statistics for the units you are thinking of hunting.

[brew]

i'd take harvest stats with a grain of salt.  yes you have to report or pay a penalty but you have to realize how many people actually report truthfully.  why would a person who hunts a unit regularly report they are consistantly taking game in order for someone to read a report then put in for the unit they don't normally hunt ?  bite the bullet and check out an area then make your own determination

[Skyvalhunter]

Well I have had a permit in the area mentioned a couple times in the past. Was it worth it? Not really there even seemed to be less deer maybe because of heavy logging or just a lack of animals

[7mmfan]

It depends on what your ultimate goal is. If it's to gain easier access to country via driving in, and hunting near a vehicle then it's worth it. If it's actually killing an animal, not necessarily worth it.

Its no secret that modern logging, or more specifically replanting practices, a rent friendly to wildlife. Especially browse dependant animals like deer. Also, the sheer amount of vehicle traffic alone and potential for rampant poaching because of vehicle access causes the animals in those zones to be fairly spooky and stick to the thick.

It's my opinion that you will find better hunting working for it behind gates that are locked to everyone, such as DNR gates and other landowners with walk in only access.

One other thing. With those permits you can only bring immediate family with. If you have a buddy or other hunting partner you like to hunt with, they will also need a permit.

[Alan K]

Yeah, you're time would be better spent hunting USFS land... Much better habitat.  The tree farm clearcuts are barren of feed. Ask anyone who hunts the west side, you never see any game in them.

I really don't understand why people have been so upset about recreation permits, or why they sell out so quickly.  People eager to waste their money for some reason... 

(sarcasm!)

I certainly don't intend to increase the demand for access permits, it's nerveracking enough tapping refresh when they go up for sale. That said, there is a reason for the demand, and a reason industrial timberlands are historically the most heavily hunted places on the west side. Access permits have at least relieved the historical pressure on many areas.

Not all of the tree farms have the same game populations. I'd review harvest stats as WSU mentioned and make a judgement yourself. And like brew said, some folks readily admit they lie on their reports, but I'm confident that is a minority. The stats bear out what I would expect to see, working in the woods throughout SW WA.

[7mmfan]

There's lots of the same clear cuts in ground you don't have to pay to access. Just sayin...

[WSU]

I was speaking to elk hunting. I wouldn’t buy one for deer but you could certainly be successful deer hunting.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Weyerhauser has multiple locations, but you have to buy a permit for each one.

[TheGreenHunter]

I've purchased the motorized permit for the Campbell Global property that covers a wide portion of GMU 460 and adjacent to the national forest park property.  I will not buy it again.  I have never seen Elk on the property.  As for blacktail deer, I've seen a lot of does but this GMU is only open for bucks.  I did run into one hunter this year who does use it for predator hunting and has been successful with bear and was trying to get a cougar.

You should also look at the limitations.  Some don't allow you to camp overnight on the property.  They can close their gates if the fire danger is high so you can lose out on scouting and half an archery season if its bad like 2 years ago when they closed the property to recreational use in early July and didn't reopen till Mid-September.

The last straw for me was I walking in an area and I noticed a orange sign that said they had just sprayed Loop Biosolids in this particular area.  It had 2 separate dates written on it.   The first date was a do not enter this area warning date that had expired that week before.  The second date was a do not eat foods foraged from this area warning date that was set for sometime in 2019.

I also came across another area that had just been cleared but its warning sign was about the spraying of a herbicide.  All of this just sort of seemed to defeat the purpose of obtaining good clean meat. 

I figured this year i would take the money I would have spent on the permit and use it on an out of state tag and spend time scouting wilderness areas to get away from crowds. 

[blackveltbowhunter]

I am not familiar with the Global permit you ask about. I have had the  Weyco walk in 2 times and my partner the drive in 1 time in the last 3 years. Both of these were for 418 archery tags. Neither of us saw anything on the permit that we deemed worth spending any time hunting elk wise.  I am not sure about the other units the permit covers, I assumed the dismal state of the permit area in a difficult to draw unit would translate to the other units as well, but could be wrong.

As for other westside weyco areas, I think its more about what you want in the experience. Some research will go along ways toward helping you pin down which species you would like to persue.

[brew]

said it before and i'll say it again...buying those weyco permits area waste of time and money

[Matth]

I have bought a weyco drive in permit in western Oregon for the last 3 years, and have harvested 3 bulls, there also has been no shortage of elk to hunt on a daily basis. The flip side to that is that for the 3 years prior to that i had no permit, and killed three bulls as well on state land. I believe that the permit can make a difference in the hands of the right person. It was easier to kill the 3 permit bulls than it was to kill the 3 state land bulls.

[Skyvalhunter]

Sounds like you could have saved money and hunted without the permit.

[NorseNW]

I have bought a weyco drive in permit in western Oregon for the last 3 years, and have harvested 3 bulls, there also has been no shortage of elk to hunt on a daily basis. The flip side to that is that for the 3 years prior to that i had no permit, and killed three bulls as well on state land. I believe that the permit can make a difference in the hands of the right person. It was easier to kill the 3 permit bulls than it was to kill the 3 state land bulls.

Sounds like you need to adopt me and help me find some elk!  Nice work on connecting with the bulls.

[yorketransport]

said it before and i'll say it again...buying those weyco permits area waste of time and money

Based on what first hand experience and where?

I've had a Vail permit very year and it's the best hunting related investment I make every year. The only time I don't get an animal is when I choose to pass on them. That includes bear, deer and elk with an opportunity on a cougar at least once every year. I see more hunters when I'm out in the NF hunting than I do in Vail, and often times I'll go a day or two during deer season without seeing anyone out in Vail (other than driving down the main line). As far as rampant poaching, I see exponentially more evidence of poaching in the state and national forests.

I've never been up to the North Cascades area but based on what I've seen in Vail, Pe Ell South and Aberdeen I would get a permit and try it for a year to see how it works out.

[Dtray332]

Thanks for all of the replies, great information. I'm looking at timber lands because I'm still exploring all of my options. Being new to Washington and looking at the entire state, trying to narrow down the areas that I would like to concentrate my time in. I do like the fact that in Weyehaeuser you can hike and camp besides hunting. I plan to scout more public lands over the summer for good hunting habitat. I definitely prefer to hunt back country, which Wyehaeuser does allow (Campbell Global does not allow over night camping). Again, thanks for all of the great info,  Dave

[Matth]

I probably should have mentioned that on average it took less time to connect with the bulls on the private land than it did on the state land.

[Matth]

I have bought a weyco drive in permit in western Oregon for the last 3 years, and have harvested 3 bulls, there also has been no shortage of elk to hunt on a daily basis. The flip side to that is that for the 3 years prior to that i had no permit, and killed three bulls as well on state land. I believe that the permit can make a difference in the hands of the right person. It was easier to kill the 3 permit bulls than it was to kill the 3 state land bulls.

Sounds like you need to adopt me and help me find some elk!  Nice work on connecting with the bulls.

I have 3 already tagging along, it's kinda crowded as it is.

[KevrosWanderin]

So I learned alot from this thread. I have not gotten to explore much of the area. I have looked into some of these permits. It is not to bad a price to pay to hunt. I am from the midwest though and there it has become a pay to hunt situation.

[fishnfur]

Good luck, however you decide.  Hope to see a success photo sometime next fall.