Late archery opener, Winston

[Angus]

Jumped a herd of elk right at daylight this morning, didn't see them, just heard them crashing off through the brush. After my morning hunt I was driving down the road I had parked on and there was a pickup parked in the road, an older gentleman and a boy about 12 and a girl about 15 jumped out and asked if I saw the herd of about 30 that came off the hill where I was parked, told them I heard them but didn't see any of them. they told me the herd split up and 4 or 5 crossed the road in front of them and they dropped a cow, think 1 of the kids got it . Put about 3-4 miles on the boots and only saw 1 grouse.
Not as many hunters as I expected but I think that will change tomorrow and through the weekend. Did they change the no camping rule or do people just ignore that, counted 6 camps in there today.

[carpsniperg2]

good luck, at least they got to get one always nice when young kids get them

[hunt4]

Did they change the no camping rule or do people just ignore that, counted 6 camps in there today.

Not according to there hotline.
How are the roads? going to take the wife and kid in there tomorrow. going to have to take the pickup and leave the jeep .  But it should be a good family outing.

[bobcat]

Maybe the camps were on state land?  

[Angus]

Roads are fine and all but 1 gate was open, was up at 2500' and didn't see any snow. Not sure where the state land is, I was on the 500/550 roads.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

See ya Friday!
Keep them rounded up for me

[THINK_N_ELK]

If you were on the Winston Creek side of the 500.  That's Port Blakeley and DNR land.  Kid Valley side of the 500 gate is Weyco.

The amount of people will change after Turkey day.

According to the hotline.  The gates that are open will change after this Sun. 11/29. 

[BLKBEARKLR]

Depending on what side you are on, there is State land that you can camp on

[Angus]

If you were on the Winston Creek side of the 500.  That's Port Blakeley and DNR land.  Kid Valley side of the 500 gate is Weyco.

Thanks for the info, wasn't aware of state land in that area!

[MLBowhunting]

was in there today. I saw 3 cows and 11 does with one crab claw 2pt.  lots of road traffic cuz of the rain i think   Beat the timber they are in there

[hunt4]

WOW ROAD TRAFIC!  me included, but i was packing a 5 year old . saw one truck parked and 31 differant rigs on the road in a 4 hour tour behind kid valley. No elk and one forky.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I am joining in the fray Friday morning,,,,"Road scouting" but I will have the wife, 7 year old daughter, 4 year old daughter, and 5 month old son. Scouting for Saturday.......

[barneyfife]

BOBCAT- I believe it was you I got the email from. Just an FYI about FS Rd 25 at 300 line. We ran 2 herds around for 2 days. Got 1 cow and my buddies are up today chasing them again today.
1 herd of 23 and a herd of 13.
The herd of 13 are all nice big cows, no calves or spikes.

[Magnum_Willys]

Holy cripes - drove 504 from Toutle to Kid Valley this evening and saw over 50 RV's moved in for the weekend - three times the camps there was during rifle season.  Gonna be crowded tomorrow.

[hunt4]

I am joining in the fray Friday morning,,,,"Road scouting" but I will have the wife, 7 year old daughter, 4 year old daughter, and 5 month old son. Scouting for Saturday.......

how did that work out?

Holy smokes, stayed in the brush until 11...picked up the kid and wife for a road tour after lunch...think i spent more time in the wide spots than the middle of the road fn ridiculous amount of rigs on the road. pretty sure i saw less traffic on the trip up and back from st. helens
did see two bulls one in the bush and one on the tour
oh and a bunch over one of the lookouts

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Quote from: STIKNSTRINGBOW on Yesterday at 10:13:23 PM
I am joining in the fray Friday morning,,,,"Road scouting" but I will have the wife, 7 year old daughter, 4 year old daughter, and 5 month old son. Scouting for Saturday.......


how did that work out?

  Great ! When we got there we stopped by KV and chatted with some other guys in my group, then drove up the 1900 to look around......just sailing along avoiding oncoming traffic. When out in front of me in the middle of the road is an elk!, I didn't know what to do, so I pulled over and watched 6-7 more cross road while I fumbled around getting my bow out of the case, and my fingers on, my quiver etc.. .... one of these days I am going to have to learn how to road hunt !!!

P.S.  it was 1130 AM

[Alan K]

You've always got to be ready for them in the road in the Winston!  So many guys in there keep them moving and they cross roads all the time.  I've hunted in there a few years, and we just drive roads until we cut hot tracks crossing the road and go on them.  That's what a lot of guys in there do.

Can't tell you how many times I've been on elk in there and they cross the road, then I realize I'm now tracking the elk tracks with new boot tracks in them. . .  I'm sure half the time I jump on fresh tracks crossing the road I'm jumping on them ahead of someone.

That's the Winston for you. 

[funkster]

First two days where good with not many guys in the woods. After that it was a zoo. We got on elk every day. Man I wish it still was 3 pt or antlerless, I had 4x5 at 30 yards broadside feeding.

Looks like I picked the wrong week,they are going to close most of the gates this week.

Had a good time helping out a buddy up in the coweeman. He was trying to tag out with a multi-season elk tag. I got him on 3 legal bulls but he is not to comfortable with the muzzle loader,had one at 40yards and he couldn't get it done...ugh!

[Alan K]

Man I wish it still was 3 pt or antlerless, I had 4x5 at 30 yards broadside feeding.

That's exactly why I didn't want to hunt down there.  I love the area and the amount of elk, just didn't think I could stomach having a nice bull in front of me and not be able to shoot it.  We're hunting the units still open to bulls, even though there are fewer elk.

Anyone know why the Winston/Ryderwood/Willipa Hills are now cow only?

[bobcat]

Who knows. Probably the same reason some areas are closed to cougar hunting.       

Or they're just trying to discourage people and cause them to quit hunting. Doesn't make sense, when late archery hunters probably kill 90% cows anyway.

[funkster]

Man I wish it still was 3 pt or antlerless, I had 4x5 at 30 yards broadside feeding.

That's exactly why I didn't want to hunt down there.  I love the area and the amount of elk, just didn't think I could stomach having a nice bull in front of me and not be able to shoot it.  We're hunting the units still open to bulls, even though there are fewer elk.

Anyone know why the Winston/Ryderwood/Willipa Hills are now cow only?

Yeah it sucked but I think it will be good in the long run. I am hoping it will take some pressure off of the bulls and produce better quality bulls. Last year there was 276 bulls taken out of the winston and 300 the year before.It is amazing that the unit can sustain those numbers and still be bulls to hunt.I am all for the switch to cow only in late season.

[bobcat]

But weren't the majority of the bulls killed during the early archery season and not the late archery season? If so how much difference is it really going to make? A lot of bulls are probably killed during rifle season as well, and didn't they actually make the rifle season a day or two longer than it was?

[Crunchy]

Ya has to be the rifle hunters killing most of those bulls.  I cant see most archery guys killing that many of them.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

520 - WINSTON - PMU 56

Archery                        148 antlerless     76 antlered        224 total         11,  3pt.         24, 4 pt.         31, 5 pt.        10, 6 pt.
Modern Firearms                                    195 antlered.                           16, 3 pt.         90, 4 pt.         74, 5 pt.        15, 6 pt.
 

TOTALS                            151              276 antlered       427 total           27, 3pt         114, 4 pt.         105, 5 pt       25, 6 pt.

[Alan K]

Thanks for the stats STIKNSTRINGBOW.

It would be interesting to see what would happen in a place like that if the rifle hunters got barred from shooting bulls for a year or two, or it went to permit only for bulls. 

[funkster]

There is a lot of spikes in there so I wouldn't mind seeing a few years of spike or cow only! They don't really want elk in the tree farm anyways so that will never happen.

[Bullistics]

Looks like I picked the wrong week,they are going to close most of the gates this week.

Don't get your hopes up, yet. I called the hotline this morning and, you guessed it, vehicle access permitted 11/30-12/07

[USAFpj]

You've always got to be ready for them in the road in the Winston!  So many guys in there keep them moving and they cross roads all the time.  I've hunted in there a few years, and we just drive roads until we cut hot tracks crossing the road and go on them.  That's what a lot of guys in there do.

Can't tell you how many times I've been on elk in there and they cross the road, then I realize I'm now tracking the elk tracks with new boot tracks in them. . .  Bash I'm sure half the time I jump on fresh tracks crossing the road I'm jumping on them ahead of someone.

That's the Winston for you.  Dunno

Alan, but it doesn't have to be.  I worked myself up sick this season due to the "road hunters".  I was the guy on the yellow mountain bike and longbow if anyone recalls.  There's no hunting to it!  The same 12 trucks just drive a complete loop and holler at each other on the CB.  I didn't see one person in the woods in 10 days, but I saw 10 vehicles before 7:00 AM, thinking they were the first ones to the site.  Besides the beer bottles, beer packaging, coffee cups, and general trash thrown out, do you not realize that all it does to the elk is to cause them to go nocturnal?  The moon phase didn't help either, but give me a break.  I walked close to 6 hours each day and had some unbelievable encounters, but for someone on foot like me, in the late season, if I can't watch the herds go from the cuts to their bedding, it's blind luck.  At least hide your trucks; those herds don't move when you're sitting there drinking your coffee and smoking cigarettes.  I could see it for rifle season, but bow?  How can you stop and park your vehicle, grab your wheelie bow, and shoot away from the road??  Unless your that a$$hat that came close to drawing on me as I was coming out of the woods.  Him and his buddy saw what they thought was an elk coming out of the woods, but unless elk wear Pendleton wool plaid shirts and pants, he needs a different sport.  I just don't get it.  Can someone please explain how this is successful?  I expressed my disbelief to one roadie who had the balls to say," yeah, it's tough.  The bottom line is that you just have to get in the woods."  Really??  No $hit man!  So what are you doing in your truck??  O.K. I'm done with my rant for now; I'll be waiting for someone's legitimate response to better educate myself.  Weyco, you owe me another 5 days due the gate opening that you didn't announce till the weekend prior.  A couple of good things I saw- Every roadie I talked with was as nice as they come; not a mean bone in their body.  But parking your car under the herd that I've already been scoping for an hour, and walking the road with bow ready to draw, still is not hunting.  Thanks for screwing that one up.  BTW, get rod of the ridiculous Gamakatsu sticker on the back of your SUV, it's ridiculous.  I also saw a good many girls and young kids out doing some "hunting".  Glad to see your old man is taking you out, but he's still teaching you to be a pu$$y.  Frustrated, yes.  Jerkish, yes.  A bit whiney, definitely.  I do, however, appreciate everyone's money and dedication to our sport.  If it wasn't for road hunters and their tax dollars and the local economies that they immensely support, they're probably wouldn't be any elk for me to hunt in the first place.  I'll try to keep that in the back of my mind when the next tool tries to draw down on me...

[funkster]

That is just scary. Drawing on another hunter is down right wrong. You should not draw until you identify what you are going to draw on, period. No animal is worth that to me. Archery has taken a turn for the worst. The last two years have just been embarrassing during late season. I agree 100% that it is the open gates that brings out all the lazy asses. Opening day we where on elk 3 miles back on a dead end road as a guy pulls up, hops out and spooks the elk. We crossed back over and headed down where he was watching the elk on a dead run. He said "did you see that herd"? I looked at him and said yeah. He then said "where did you guys come from"? I said did you see that rig at the begin of the road? He said yes, well that was are rig. He then asked "you guys know you can drive on thees roads right"? I said yeah and spook the elk like you just did. He then said "oh did I mess up your hunt" I said no,we where just here before the sun rose waiting for you to drive up and spook the elk that we have been on for almost 2 hrs! He did say sorry but that doesn't help much when you feel like beating him(I would say stupid but I think he was already there) with a stump.

[USAFpj]

Funkster, I just wanted to clarify that I never was drawn on.  The two yahoos that I speak of drove by me, stopped, reversed their truck, then both ran out of it and were putting their releases on when they saw that it was just me.  Do they really think that an elk will just sit there for all of that?  But it's funny that you mention about them wanting to know if you knew that you could drive in- this different kid was nice as all get out, but he was a fat *censored* and stated that if Weyco was going to open their gates, then by God, he was going to use them.  Stupid mentality, but better than Nintendo I guess...

[funkster]

We ran into this guy at 7:04 am almost a mile from one of the only gated roads with a opened beer in one hand and his radio in the other. The funny part was he offered a beer and opened up his back pack ice chest and said I have plenty more. He wasn't even hunting(just a pusher) so I guess it was good for a laugh.

[spin05]

You know if your going to hunt on an open road.You have to expect that someone is going to drive up it past your rig. If i see rig at the entry to a road im driving that wont stop me.I dont know if you took off out in the woods or up the road.Who knows what direction you went.If its a deadend rd. just block it with your truck.

[Basket Rack]

If its a deadend rd. just block it with your truck.

I understand a lot of the frustrations up there with the masses of hunters up there in the winston and have posted on that on past threads.  However, this practice of people blocking roads with their vehicles is ridiculous and a good way for someone to vandalize your rig.

[funkster]

You know if your going to hunt on an open road.You have to expect that someone is going to drive up it past your rig. If i see rig at the entry to a road im driving that wont stop me.I dont know if you took off out in the woods or up the road.Who knows what direction you went.If its a deadend rd. just block it with your truck.

I never block a road but I do have the courtesy if I see a rig at the begin of a dead end spur,not to drive down it. I just pick another spot to hunt,if you do your homework you should have no problem with having a plan a,b,c,and d. Just like the guy we ran into,I know he didn't scout the area at all because if he did,he would know that elk are there all the time and would have not drove into the area.This kind of non respect for your fellow hunter is just embarrassing to me.

[MADMAX]

I have had guys almost run us over hauling butt down the road in a rig to get ahead of us when we were working an elk herd during late archery on dead end road last year, the place down there is an zoo.

[Crunchy]

I would likely have killed a nice fat cow on Sunday if it not for the road hunters.  I spotted two cows working their way up this clear cut directly at me and my parnter (hunting buddy-dont get any ideas).  They were about 200 yards away and closing in on us, when two trucks full of road hunters came hauling A$$ by and bye bye went the elk.