Still searching for early archery elk GMU on West Side

[wonder]

I was out scouting last weekend for elk in Winston, Mossyrock, and Randle in an attempt to find a close hunt with a fellow archer that drew the Toutle.  I was reading a lot of the messages about all the closures to land other than Forest Service property and it doesn't sound very encouraging.  I found nothing but gate closures on the Winston and don't know enough about that gmu to say I've exhausted my scouting.  I hunted the Wind River & Lewis River last year and saw very few animals.

Anyone have advice on some areas near the Toutle for early archery elk ?

[WAPITIHUNTER]

PM sent and welcome to the site.

[grousetracker]

if someone has a toutle tag you know, i would hunt coweeman which the road is the boundary . partner and i called bulls acrossed the main road into coweeman last year. get a mountain bike and do the loop. wait till after the first few days,so all other hunters will give up and go home or elsewhere .

[elkman11032]

i hunt up highway 25 out of randle up about 30 miles...... its across from toutle and a great hunt i tell you what!!!!!

i kill elk there every year

mike

"the elkman"

[letmhunt]

just go hunt the winston everybody else does

[bowhiker]

I know the south side of Mt St Helens gets hunted pretty hard, but there are elk in there. The last time I hunted it, I had to take a long round about way to get to the top of a mountain where the elk were bedding to head them off before they went on monument property. Every other hunter was taking the gated roads to get up and the elk knew it. As mentioned before, Coweeman is a good choice, just have to get away from all the ATV elk hunters.

[bobcat]

Where are ATV's being used in Coweeman? That unit is almost all Weyerhaeuser and they strictly prohibit ATV use.

[coldsteel3d]

PM sent, welcome to the site, good luck this year.

[bowhiker]

You would think their wouldn't be any ATV's, but they are there. I was talking to a F&W officer up there last year and he was patroling the skid roads to find people on atv's on Weyerhauser land. He said he finds quite a few, not only hunters but recreational riders.

[bow4elk]

I'll let it be known that nobody wants me to see them on an ATV behind a gate.  Fair warning.   

[PolarBear]

I'll let it be known that nobody wants me to see them on an ATV behind a gate.  Fair warning.   

[wonder]

Thanks guys for the tips on where to go around the Toutle GMU.  Sounds like I've got my work cut out for me just trying to find access let alone an opportunity to take an Elk.