09 goose prairie archery bull tag

[Austrian Hunter]

Any Elk with a bow is a trophy elk, it even tastes better then an old bull, and you save on taxy costs too

[vfilbert]

ya dont sweat it, id of done the same thing, basically you had an any elk tag, and you filled it, good job.

[MIKEXRAY]

I had that exact bull tag last year and passed on the cows in the first few days and ate tag soup. The dumbest thing is late season I was hunting cows & had the easy shot in Sept. I know you made the right choice. My older / wiser neighbor told me " Don't pass up an animal on the first day that you would shoot the last day ! ". I now will live by that. Side note: This year no bull tag & I saw 5 I could of shot. Mike

[dreamingbig]

I would have to say mine is the best tasting elk i've ever shot too.

That makes three!  My cow from GP this year is the cats meow on the grill.  We had the tenderloins and heart in camp and I could tell it was going to be good then.  They sure were fat this year; mine and the the three others I helped pack out were all pretty chunky.

With all that said... I am still envious of that tag and hope to draw it before I get too old.

[ridgefire]

been wondering how you did on your hunt knew you drew the bull tag and been watching for photos or a post. kind of a tough situation its meat in the freezer or possibly a bull meat tastes better than antlers anyways. this is wade from the machias range congrats

[MAVsled]

"...kinda wasted a bull permit"

well, maybe in the trophy sense of the ANY BULL tag. But your tag filled per legal parameters in WA state. As long as you don't lose sleep over the tag, eat well.

From an experienced & successful elk hunter like myself:
What razzes me in my modern elk gmu is the ANY BULL tag holders shooting spikes in the first days of their special time to hunt in advance of regular bull season. Some guys don't care for the trophy aspect of the tag, just put the quickest meat in the freezer they can.
Well, why the heck even apply if they have little commitment and/or dedication to holding out for a trophy bull. Perhaps a big bull tag limitation such as 3pt or better would weed out those applicants who are less willing to pursue that trophy bull...thus reducing the number of applications. And increasing my chances

I've drawn the ANY BULL tag 2x for my WA GMU, 2x in 12 years of applying. Know my GMU well having hunted it since 1968 with my dad and his hunting buddies (all his buddies are gone now to elk hunter's heaven).
Filled my bull permit both times; first on a decent 5x6 (after 6 days hunting) and last year a 3x3 (after 5 days hunting, 3 days prior & 2 days after general season started and 2008 was a horrible hunting weather year/no snow in my GMU). With both ANY BULL tags, I passed on several spikes. Now I've been fortunate the last few years without the ANY BULL permit to harvest spikes, being limited to spike only. Also tagged several branch bulls prior to the current antler restrictions...yes, back in the day.

It just comes down to choice and who has the gumption to committ to holding out for a good bull. I only hope one day the WDFW will get it right!
British Columbia does...in most of their elk areas.