GMU's North of US2 and West of US97

[snowninja]

hello, new to the site, glad i found it there's a wealth of info here. since this is my first year elk hunting (modern firearm) in WA i wanted to solicit feedback from the experienced hunters on the forum.

i am beginning my focus on a rather large hunting area and plan to scout over the next serval weekends to narrow this down. this includes areas such as 242, 243,245, 246, 247 and 250. other areas (spike only) we are looking at are 249, 251, 328, 329, and 335.

does anyone on the forum have experience hunting these areas? what is chance of finding elk here? any areas that should be avoided? do any of these areas have "elk camps" that are good base areas? we are prepared to hike long and far and spend as much time as needed. one other question, i have camped at haney medows and have seen many elk up there but what area is this in exactly? seems it would be 251 but I also see an overlay of 2051 and 2032..

thanks!

[DOUBLELUNG]

WDFW manages the east Cascades north of Highway 2 for NO ELK - hence the any elk season.  Try looking at the harvest stats on the WDFW website, you will see hunter success is near zero with only a handful of elk harvested in all of those GMUs.  There are only small pockets of elk in remote locations.  You'd be better off bear hunting in those areas during that season, and shooting an elk if you happened to see it. 

Haney Meadow is just south of GMU 251 in the Naneum, GMU 328.  2051 and 2032 are elk areas, within GMU 251. 

BTW, hop on the introductions thread and let us know who you are.  First time posters asking for hunting information are traditionally verbally abused, but I am looking forward to a 3-day, hunting season weekend, and am in a generous mood. 

Welcome aboard.

[snowninja]

thanks doublelung, i appreciate your response. i just posted an intro up on the main page. i will take a look at the harvest reports. i am just learning the in's and out's of WA hunting and i can see there is ALOT to learn. growing up dad and i hunted only a few miles from the farm on a place called the flats, lots of wild grass but mostly open plains and shelter belts (maybe a term most people don't know). mountain hunting is a completely different game and am looking forward to the challenges it will bring. so those areas north i mentioned are not worth scouting, will save me alot of time. i am not looking for handouts but in which direction could i be steered to at least have a good chance of seeing something out there? i know the success rate of the general hunt is 8-10% but i sure would like to be one of the 10%!  i'll keep doing my research.

[stickslinger]

If you plan on hunting the naneum unit be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with other hunters and dodging bullets flying over your head,  and unit 251 does not hold allot of elk which very few are spikes and almost none are true spikes.   

[mikelonsford]

Most of the units on the east slope of the cascades and from the Teanaway on south have lots of elk...are spike only without a special permit....and have small cities show up during rifle season looking for those elk.  Depending on where you hunt, snow will be a big help to drive the elk from higher elevations towards the wintering grounds and get them into a more dense population.  You'll see lots of hunters wherever you go and hopefully some elk on the way.  You can PM me if you are interested in more info.  I no longer rifle hunt and could tell you some "secret" spots that only a lucky several thousand people know about.......Good Luck in any Case!