Free: Contests & Raffles.
You still have over two weeks worth of hunting in January. I wouldn’t be giving up on you’re tag yet and letting that time go to waste. It will look a lot different up there once the leaves fall and everything goes dormant for the winter.
My quality nooksack tag went unfilled. I hunted everyday of the season and had the best action the last day. In a way I feel this would have been the hunt of my dreams with a season that allowed for better rut timing. Hard to kill elk that hide and wont call except for at night. I had opportunity to fill my tag several times on bulls smaller than i have taken on otc hunts I chose to pass because that just wasnt my dream. I put the work in and just did not make it happen covering more miles than ever in remote areas and overnight bivwack trips to early morning grinds uphill for miles pushing a bike. I ended up passing bears unable to hunt them on spi land and my bear total at 29 1 of those a harvested bear from another hunter. I called a cougar to 10 yards and made the hair on my neck stand straight up. 3 cougars total and enjoyed watching 2 play thru glass. First cats I have seen alive in the wild. The best part of this hunt by far was the people I met along the way some in very remote locations and some on this forum. Thank you for the support and chance to hunt those places that I never would have found. I hope to build those friendships in the future. I am humbled by the effort that several hunters did on this hunt and saw them taking time out of hunting to help guide me in the unit. Truly selfless people who were gaining nothing in return. I was able to get in tight to several shooters and 1 nice bull just got out smarted or winded by those smart old bulls. I know of 1 bull taken and I chose not make a play on him hoping to meet my goal of a mature bull. Those of you considering this hunt think hard with limited knowledge of the unit and poor hunting dates and those that have only a week to hunt think hard. I HAVE MORE ACTION IN MY GENERAL ELK UNIT! I just wasnt looking for any elk after 17 years. I am deflated and that hunt took away some of my drive but the general season is here and I still have my tag and work to do I like eating elk. The fires limited my hunt area and made breathing tough. In a way I feel I failed myself but realize you cant get big bulls shooting little ones. Trophy hunting is tough and bow hunting is tough. The last night of my hunt I had a bull at 60 yards 10 min before dark just didnt send it. Tag soup sure sits hard on the mind but that is hunting not just the kill. I wanted that up close action that you only find in sept with a bow and never got until the last day. I would have traded the 19 days for a week of the prime and as another member put trade 2 weeks for the last day. HE WAS RIGHT! Hard to believe its over. I gave it everything I had and came up short. I spent time in places most wont ever see and learned even more about myself and why I love elk hunting with a bow that up close interaction seeing and smelling the sounds elk make when in close that you would never here otherwise. Bow hunting is a true challenge with no sure thing. Good luck to all you hunters this season and may you find the bull or buck of your dreams. Mine is still out there waiting for me to find him and maybe someday I will. JK
Thank you spin and congrats on your bull my late season is another 19 days jan 1-19 This was a first for me setting a standard on elk and tested me as a hunter like never before. On this hunt realizing I have more willpower than I knew and was looking to set the bar higher than general hunts. I have been lucky enough to harvest handfuls of elk and just felt I could find a mature bull. Score was never a concern because honestly I could care less. I did want to find a old bull hopefully a 6 point but a big old stinky warrior would have been more than welcome. I try not to judge a bull by points however a washington 6 is still one of my goals. I hunted hard solo and was hunting elk farther than i could recover them big giant bodies and realized losing meat could happen. I have packed bulls myself often and have learned what it takes to get them out and to the freezer and that is the main goal. Anyone who has worked over a elk solo and packed all night can understand. I did make memories that will last and spent over a month in the unit seeing all the wildlife it has to offer. Goals are different for each of us as we progress in stages or success what we search for often changes. I am growing older and have seen sweet september come and go and find myself wandering how many seasons do I have left to chase elk . I also wont ever get my dream bull shooting the first little one to run in. Let me be clear I have never passed a legal bull before this hunt. You cant eat the antlers but I sure do enjoy looking at them on the wall. I did my best and and if your just looking for any elk get to know a otc well. Waiting for a draw tag to kill a nice bull may never happen even if you do draw.I wont quit on this tag but also wont wait for late season to fill it. Now is the easiest time of year to kill a bull with a bow and nothing as exciting to have screaming bulls working toward your set up. To me that is what elk hunting is about.
