Let's talk tags

[elk_sniper]

What do you consider the best tags to put in for? I never try for them but 2026 year I am. Do you go for special locations or multi season? How does it work how do you get chosen? Imma tag virgin. Oh and I'm disabled with a placard and companion card if that helps.

[Kingofthemountain83]

Just browse through the special permit apps in the regs and see how many applicants put in for each tag... Pretty easy to see the more popular in areas... I doubt many will say what they apply for but I'll tell...    For quality modern deer I use to put in for Desert and Cowichie... In 2020 I decided to try Chewuch... Now I apply for quality deer in Chewuch and Perrygin after learning the area a little... Buck modern I usually points, this year I did Alkali... I don't put in for any other deer tags... Quality muzzy elk I choose Cowichie and Rimrock, bull usually points but chose Alkali this year, antlerless Cowichie... I have no clue if these are the best areas... I know Cowichie well... Have hunted there since I was a kid, 30 years... I've drawn a Cowichie quality bull tag and filled it... Drew a Rimrock quality bull tag and filled it... Drew 2 cow tags in Cowichie and filled them... I've never drawn a deer tag... Oils tags I only put in for moose bull and antlerless... I forgot which ones... I feel Ram and goat tags I have a better chance out of state... No clue why I keep applying for moose...     

[Kingofthemountain83]

What I'd be after for regular season since you said you're disabled is the key to gates for disabled access in certain areas... I walk in some of these areas... Some of these areas are to much to cover on foot so I have no clue what it's like past a few miles in with a bunch of roads off main lines... And you can put in for disabled special apps too...

[Stein]

A good first step would be to spend a few bucks with Gohunt or any of the providers that estimate draw odds for WA.  Look at the odds and decide if you want to gamble but at least you won't be disappointed with unrealistic expectations.

[BigredRusch]

My best recommendation is to find an area, species, and time of year you want to hunt and out in for it regardless of what is considered best.

WA tags are more about experience than trophies.


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[Tball77]

Sorry in advance for my take.  If you’re putting in you should know the area.  Drawing a tag then asking for intel is a beta play.  If you are using your points you should at very minimum stepped foot into the area.  For those who put im for tags in areas they know well its an insult when you actually draw it.

[link]

There's a lot of tags in various states that I put in for where I've never been to. It's pretty common.

[HntnFsh]

  Ive never worried about people putting in for tags in units they have never stepped in. THey have as much right to apply for those tags as anybody else.

[Mtnwalker]

A good first step would be to spend a few bucks with Gohunt or any of the providers that estimate draw odds for WA.  Look at the odds and decide if you want to gamble but at least you won't be disappointed with unrealistic expectations.

I don't think gohunts drawing odds are even current for wa beyond like 2021

[Dark2Dark]

Sorry in advance for my take.  If you’re putting in you should know the area.  Drawing a tag then asking for intel is a beta play.  If you are using your points you should at very minimum stepped foot into the area.  For those who put im for tags in areas they know well its an insult when you actually draw it.

Sorry if I insult you, at some point.

A few years back I drew a tag for an elk area that I knew very little about, outside of it being one of the better hunting opportunities and areas in the state.

I asked for intel in addition to making a few scouting trips in there. Several people who had the tag in the past were enthusiastic about helping another person enjoy an area they were unlikely to ever get to hunt again, just as I have been since then.

It ended up being one of the best hunts of my life, I took my biggest bull (at that time) and a really nice representation of the area. I think I did the tag justice- I'm glad I drew it.

I'm putting in for several prime deer tags now that I have never set foot in but I don't doubt that when I draw them I will do the hunt justice and have a great time. Sorry, not sorry, that I won't be doing a bunch of scouting in the top two or three deer units in the state, just so that I have a little advanced knowledge in case I actually end up drawing one day.

I've also had several very successful and enjoyable out of state hunts that were based only on e-scouting and intel gathering. I won't be not doing that anymore, either.   

Come to think of it, maybe I'm not sorry if I insult you by drawing a tag one day. Lol. Just because you know the area, it makes you 0.0% more entitled to enjoying a hunt there than me or anyone else. Literally and figuratively.