| Big Game Hunting > Out Of State Hunting |
| Share your out of state experience |
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| ljsommer:
--- Quote from: Alan K on October 19, 2025, 06:13:46 PM ---Definitely better hunting out of state. No question. That said, it's not necessarily a gimme either, especially going in blind to a new area if you aren't already at least somewhat of an accomplished hunter. Most hunting skills translate regardless of state, even species often times. Once you find success and can replicate it here, you can do the same anywhere. If you are struggling to find success here, I'd dissect that and try and understand why. If you're truly just meat hunting, finding a legal animal still isn't difficult here in WA once you figure it out. Just trust your skills and have patience. Finding a mature animal consistently is another story though. You comment on endless local drives... Are you driving to/from University Place to Aberdeen/St. Helen's each day? If so, consider camping in the unit. Less mental pressure to get headed out early and starting the long drive home, and you can be where you want to be at daybreak without getting up at 3:00 am. Less travel time dwelling on not having success can help with maintaining a positive attitude and keep burnout at bay. --- End quote --- Regarding the local drives: I meant just the daily commute to and from. I am not hunting every day of the season, but when I do hunt them, yes I am driving to and from. So for my selected current area (Weyco St Helens) it's 2 hours to gravel, another hour on gravel, then however much time hiking to/from a spot. When I was hunting Aberdeen public land it would be 1.5 hour drive, then a 1-2 hour hike in. I was actually just talking to my wife about camping out there to avoid this issue, because the drive time is just horrendous. When you start to look at 7-8 hours a day of driving, just heading out of state starts to make a LOT more sense. |
| ljsommer:
--- Quote from: builtfordtough on October 19, 2025, 07:08:41 PM ---And $20k for a guided whitetail hunt??? What's the story behind that if you dont mind sharing? --- End quote --- I don't mind at all. https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,275669.0/all.html This is the posting for the hunt: https://shattuckcreek.com/idaho-guided-hunts/idaho-guided-deer-hunts/guided-trophy-whitetail-deer-hunts/ "130 - 180 class BC trophy, 90% successful". Being a novice (still am...) hunter, I booked this as I wanted to get in one really good, successful hunt for my wife and I before we had our baby. She was pregnant at the time and this was our last chance for a while. The price was for 2 people. To say that the listing for this hunt was an exaggeration is putting it mildly. The outfitter owner and his son both bragged about how they'd killed all the bears in the area, and told us stories of dropping a hunter off at a spot and then the guide shooting a great buck on their way out, less than a mile from where they'd dropped their hunter. They were really friendly people but I believe they misrepresented the numbers, and quality of the animals in the area. We hunted exclusively public land. I saw one doe, and one cow elk. My wife saw 2 bucks but they were spikes and on a very distant ridge on their way elsewhere. I really hate the feeling of wasting my families resources. Edit: Sorry, I didn't make it clear - the price for 2 hunters was $5k each, so $10k, plus gas, cold weather gear we didn't own, tip, buying my wife a rifle/scope since she didn't have one of her own at that point in our lives. I wrote that poorly and didn't mean to misrepresent the cost that the outfitter charged us, that was just our total investment in the hunt. |
| Longfield1:
That’s your problem. Your spending more time driving then hunting. Camp in an area for 4-5 days where you want to hunt. No different than out of state. I personally don’t pay access fees because there’s millions of acres that are free to hunt and hold animals too. |
| ljsommer:
--- Quote from: Longfield1 on October 19, 2025, 07:26:58 PM ---That’s your problem. Your spending more time driving then hunting. Camp in an area for 4-5 days where you want to hunt. No different than out of state. I personally don’t pay access fees because there’s millions of acres that are free to hunt and hold animals too. --- End quote --- I must not be driving far enough away to public, because the public land blocks I've found that are within a 2 hour drive are very heavily hunted. My most recent public land excursions in Aberdeen were always very populated and the locals were always upset to see someone hunting "their spot". |
| MADMAX:
--- Quote from: ljsommer on October 19, 2025, 07:33:11 PM --- --- Quote from: Longfield1 on October 19, 2025, 07:26:58 PM ---That’s your problem. Your spending more time driving then hunting. Camp in an area for 4-5 days where you want to hunt. No different than out of state. I personally don’t pay access fees because there’s millions of acres that are free to hunt and hold animals too. --- End quote --- I must not be driving far enough away to public, because the public land blocks I've found that are within a 2 hour drive are very heavily hunted. My most recent public land excursions in Aberdeen were always very populated and the locals were always upset to see someone hunting "their spot". --- End quote --- Public land in Washington because of all the pay to play land is now severely over hunted when you pull into a public gate and there’s 20 vehicles there that’s ridiculous. If you hike in 5 miles there’s somebody else that will hike in 6 |
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