The absurdity of WDFW draw system

[elk247]

"There is no lack of mule deer. There in every roadside ditch in EWa. "

thats about as ignorant as it gets and its obvious u have not traveled all parts of E WA 

C'mon man. Obviously I didn't mean literally. I was referring to the places with high mule deer populations. Ignorance is making an assumption of my knowledge of the state. Where I hunt I see road kill. It happens.

[huntnnw]

Well you typed it

[skywalker253]

Well you typed it

]

LMFAO

[elk247]

If its a distribution issue then why not just drop the whole eastside/westside elk tags? Just make it an elk tag good for the whole state like deer is.  Then run the general elk seasons on both sides of the state at the same time.  People that hunt the west side will still hunt the west side and people that hunt the east side will still hunt the east side.  Then you can put in for whatever special elk tag you want to and still be able to hunt your regular areas.

How about this? Option 1. Statewide general elk season. All open gmu and current restriction apply. If you choose this tag you cannot apply for special hunts.
Option 2. Choose east/west and apply for tags of that choice. If you don't get drawn you still
 hunt general season of side you chose
This would benefit all IMO. If eastside hunters want a chance at a branched bull they can go west. It would then limit the amount of applicants for eastside allowing for better draw odds.  Antlerless would be available in both east and west side for hunters that just need to fill the freezer. (Only gmu's that need to be managed) The last rule would be hunters have to choose OIL or quality bull/bucks and are limited to 3 choices
Once drawn applicant must wait 5 years before applying in the region they were drawn in. (Region not gmu)

Thoughts?

[idahohuntr]

non res needs to be capped at 10% like most states!

This would have no effect.  There are very few non-res hunters in Washington and they do not come even close to taking up 10% of the tags now...in general hunts or draw hunts.

[B.G.hunter]

non res needs to be capped at 10% like most states!

This would have no effect.  There are very few non-res hunters in Washington and they do not come even close to taking up 10% of the tags now...in general hunts or draw hunts.

[huntnnw]

all it takes is 1 guy to draw in some limited units where they shouldnt draw a tag at all

[sakoshooter]

Limiting choices like many are talking about will not make for much of an improvement. With the exception of doe and cow permits. But for the primo buck, bull, and OIL permits, I don't see how odds would be changed by much. Sure for the person who already limits himself to only one application per year, it would be a benefit. But for most of us, who like to apply for everything, your odds actually would go down (potentially.)

The same number of people, vying for the same number of permits, odds will not change by a simple change of the rules. The only way to REALLY increase odds, are not going to be popular. One would be a substantial increase in the cost to apply. Say $100 for each OIL app, and how about $50 for each Quality deer or elk app? I could see many people dropping out if it were that costly.

The other thing would be to have a 2 or 3 year waiting period if you draw any quality or OIL permit.

The cost to apply has already gone way up. Think about it: It used to cost $4 for a special hunt app that included bucks & does or bulls & cows. Then they raised the cost of an app to $6.50. 150+% raise. Then they separated them so you have to apply for bucks and does seperately. This doubled the cost or a 300% raise. Then they seperated quality buck and bull from regular buck and bull - 600% raise. Then they raised the app fee to $13.70 for quality apps and $7.10 for the rest and cut your chances in half by allowing you only two choices that cannot be the same. Now we're up to over a 1300% raise to apply for the chance to hunt good bucks and not much less for does and cows. The % of raise I'm refering to all  took place in less than 5 years and you want to raise it some more? Sorry, I don't share your opinion.
Can we even fathom the amount of money the WDFW takes in just from application fees to hunt what we used to hunt during the general season with a regular hunting license?

[bobcat]

The % of raise I'm refering to all  took place in less than 5 years and you want to raise it some more? Sorry, I don't share your opinion.
Can we even fathom the amount of money the WDFW takes in just from application fees to hunt what we used to hunt during the general season with a regular hunting license?

I think you misunderstood. My opinion is NOT that costs should go up. I was only saying that raising fees would be a way to increase odds. People keep complaining because they're not drawing the permits they want. Many of the "solutions" they come up with will make very little difference, IMO. That is why I brought up a couple of things that WOULD increase odds. Of course both of these are not popular, as I also stated.

No, I would not be in favor of any more increases at this time. I think the increases they just recently did, came at a bad time. People are making less money now than they were 4 or 5 years ago. At least I know I am. I can't afford to go pheasant hunting anymore because of the price of gas. I used to go several weekends every season. But it's $200 a trip just for gas to get there and back.

So now I try to do all or most of my hunting within 10 to 20 miles of home. Which means no more bird hunting, only deer, elk, and bear.

Nope, my suggestions were only to point out what I feel would make a difference in draw odds. To increase odds you need to decrease the number of people applying. The only way to do that is to make it more expensive. Or, institute a waiting period, as I said.

The thing is, I don't really have a problem with our draw system. I don't see a need to change it. And as for the fees they charge, I really think a decrease is in order, until the economy improves (if ever.)

[Mr Mykiss]

  I just spent $175 for Oregon points, the year after I cashed in my 8 NR hunts for the pleasure of not shooting a elk last year...

[sakoshooter]

The % of raise I'm refering to all  took place in less than 5 years and you want to raise it some more? Sorry, I don't share your opinion.
Can we even fathom the amount of money the WDFW takes in just from application fees to hunt what we used to hunt during the general season with a regular hunting license?

I think you misunderstood. My opinion is NOT that costs should go up. I was only saying that raising fees would be a way to increase odds. People keep complaining because they're not drawing the permits they want. Many of the "solutions" they come up with will make very little difference, IMO. That is why I brought up a couple of things that WOULD increase odds. Of course both of these are not popular, as I also stated.

No, I would not be in favor of any more increases at this time. I think the increases they just recently did, came at a bad time. People are making less money now than they were 4 or 5 years ago. At least I know I am. I can't afford to go pheasant hunting anymore because of the price of gas. I used to go several weekends every season. But it's $200 a trip just for gas to get there and back.

So now I try to do all or most of my hunting within 10 to 20 miles of home. Which means no more bird hunting, only deer, elk, and bear.

Nope, my suggestions were only to point out what I feel would make a difference in draw odds. To increase odds you need to decrease the number of people applying. The only way to do that is to make it more expensive. Or, institute a waiting period, as I said.

The thing is, I don't really have a problem with our draw system. I don't see a need to change it. And as for the fees they charge, I really think a decrease is in order, until the economy improves (if ever.)

I guess I did misunderstood ya.
I also gave up pheasant hunting two years ago when they doubled the price of the western Wa pheasant license and cut the released birds in half.
Gas prices being double what they were a few years ago with no hope fo coming down and reduced wages because of this economy has me picking and choosing also. Can't afford to drive to eastern Wa for birds anymore like I used to.