Big Game Hunting > Elk Hunting

Eastern Elk Management

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nwwanderer:
More than 30 years for spike only in the SE, any elk, OTC in the NE and those elk have higher calf survival.  Connected?  Complicated, certainly not directly.

NOCK NOCK:
There is really no plausible reason why more branched permits could not be given out, plenty of them die every year by old age.

Jerry does have a valid perspective IMHO. It would prolly work, but would take quite a few years to get back to any kind of "normal" hunting.

Henrydog:
I am pretty sure OTC Spike only started in 93, or 94.  About the time dogs were banned for Cougar and Bear and I676 was the first knock at the wall for our gun rights.  Draw your own conclusions.    Putting my tin foil hat back on.

Pathfinder101:
I think the "spike only" management plan stems from three things; too many hunters, not enough elk, and WDFW wants to keep selling elk tags OTC to everyone who will buy one (because WA hunters kind of demand it). 
I don't think there is anything nefarious about it.  Like you said; there are more elk hunters than there are elk.  I don't think that is going to change.  The only way to sell that many tags, but limit the bull harvest so that it doesn't dip into the carrying capacity is to say "You can have a tag, but you can only shoot a spike". Spike elk are generally easy to identify (even for novice hunters), so it's not a hard policy to enforce (for the most part). 
The only other option would be to change all elk hunting to a draw system.  That would probably manage the elk herds better, but would ruin all those Elk Camp traditions that people have been partaking in for 100 years in WA. 
As for gobs of big bulls dying of old age... probably not.  Like was said earlier; I think the tribes take care of that "problem" for the most part.   :twocents:

ShedHead20:
As someone going into the 2026 WA draw with 17 quality elk points and 18 bull points, I would %100 percent loose them all just to go to a draw system that has no points, liberal tag allocations, longer seasons, and the chance to hunt big bulls with any weapon every 2-4 years. I would not hesitate to do the same for mule deer.
Ive always thought to appease all the high point holders (because we all know the guys to complain about “Oh I have all these points cant draw a tag, this state sucks, blah, blah, blah, even though I only apply for the most sought after units in the state with a rifle with almost zero draw odds) that a points cut off would be established in the first couple years of the new draw only system. Meaning, guys with, for example, 15 points and above would get to keep their points in the draw and then guys with less automatically go to zero points and stay that way. After a few years, the guys who kept their points will have much higher chances to draw and will get phased out. Kinda like grandfathering in high point holders. Once a guy drew a tag with points, the next year he would be at zero and stay at zero forever just like everyone else.
This way, the people who have been applying for decades can actually get their tags and keep some hunters happy. Then, after 5-10 years with the new system, everyone would be at a true level playing field with ZERO points. One name – One Chance.

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