Maps for public land......?

[Bean]

Howdy Everyone, I'm new to Washington and looking forward to hunting this year. I'm learning as I go about the different seasons, tags, and all the regs that come with hunting up here. Down south we just buy a permit and shoot anything that moves Does anyone know where I might find a map with public land marked or different areas that I can access with whatever "non draw" tag I'm gonna need? And are there Archery only areas? I dont rifle hunt. Thanks to everyone that takes the time to point me in ANY direction that might help me get in the woods some this year.

[jackelope]

There are archery only seasons, and there are some firearms restricted areas where you can only use a bow, shotgun or muzzleloader. With a bow tag you can only hunt the bow seasons or you can hunt the rifle seasons wearing your blaze orange but you do have to choose one or the other.
on the WDFW site there's a mapping feature called GoHunt. It takes a little getting used to. It explains everything. The best way to do it is with the regs in one hand and a map in the other. One of those Gazeteer maps is a good starting point for something simple as the GMU's are outlined. You can get more detailed maps or there is also a map of GMU's in the regs book.
Once you get the basics figured out the regs are really not that complicated IMO.

[Snapshot]

Bean,
What we have available to us that best matches the description of what you are looking for is the "Major Public Lands" map published by the Dept. of Natural Resources. The closet regional office to you is in Sedro Wooley; 360-856-3500. Once you have that map you can then get a Gazeteer as mentioned by jackelope and start scouting.
Good luck!

[jackelope]

I guess I should maybe clarify what I meant. I would only use that gazeteer map for the GMU boundarys and major roads. It's a decent starting point and thats about it.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

As far as I know there are only 2 "Archery Only" areas in Washington, one is a small hill near Enumclaw, the other is Long Island, a small Island between Naselle, and Ilwaco.
Other than that, Archery Deer/Elk season is before the other "Gun" seasons, but you share the woods with Bear Hunters, Grouse Hunters, etc...
As far as public land, National Forest and State Lands, are available, but you will find a lot of private Timber companies also allow access, usually (but not always) gated seasonally or year around depending on their policies.
You might check in at Riverside (?) Archery there in Mt.Vernon, and see if they have any advice, or hook up with other hunters to show you around.....

[Snapshot]

I wouldn't understate the value of that Gazetteer you mentioned, Jackelope; it is a great resource for gaining a general understanding of the lay of the land, the drainages and how accessible (or inaccessible if that is your preference) a given area is. When it comes time to seriously do some map hunting I then turn to the USGS 7-1/2 minute series maps. On one of those things a guy can practically circle where the elk like to hang out.

[Bean]

Thanks alot for your inputs guys. I plan on picking up a map or two this weekend.

[bobcat]

The best maps are the DNR Public Land maps and they can only be purchased online, or in Tumwater at the Dept. of Printing. Go to the DNR site and you'll find them. They are $9 each.

[Snapshot]

Those maps that Bobcat turned you onto look great and will save you a bunch of time. The Major Public Lands map was free (in 2005) and it shows the whole state on one map that is the size/scale of a typical highway map; like 7/8" = 10 miiles. I was thinking that with it and the Gazetteer you could identify some likely spots to hunt and then get detailed maps for those specific ares. But if you've got $400 to spend you can have the whole state in 1:1,000,000 scale. Such a deal!  

[bigtex]

As far as I know there are only 2 "Archery Only" areas in Washington, one is a small hill near Enumclaw, the other is Long Island, a small Island between Naselle, and Ilwaco.
Other than that, Archery Deer/Elk season is before the other "Gun" seasons, but you share the woods with Bear Hunters, Grouse Hunters, etc...
As far as public land, National Forest and State Lands, are available, but you will find a lot of private Timber companies also allow access, usually (but not always) gated seasonally or year around depending on their policies.
You might check in at Riverside (?) Archery there in Mt.Vernon, and see if they have any advice, or hook up with other hunters to show you around.....

If you hunt on the eastside you might also want to get a map that has US Fish and Wildlife land, as well as Bureau of Land Management lands on it. There is some USFWS land on the westside but you can't hunt most of it, whereas on the eastside there is actually a lot of huntable land. BLM basically only has a couple acres on the westside but they are becoming quite a force on the eastside and buying up a lot of land, especially in Grant, Okanogan and Lincoln Counties.

[bobcat]

The DNR maps show all public land.

[dreamingbig]

Like Bobcat said, the DNR maps are very helpful.  Another thing to consider is that all the wilderness areas are public land.

[NWWABOWHNTR]

Welcome Bean... check out Silver Arrow Bowmen,  the archery club there in Mt Vernon... lots of good members,  great course/range to practice on.  The members there can help you out a lot.  Also,  Riverside Archery there in Mt Vernon and Wilderness Archery in Bow, Wa.  Silver Arrow is on facebook also.  Wilderness Archery can be found here   www.wildernessarchery.us   Not sure if Riverside has a website. 

[halflife65]

Welcome to Washington, Bean!  Great suggestions from the guys that mentioned DNR maps, etc.  I also got the National Geographic mapping software.  After you figure out unit boundaries and determine where you want to scout you can make your own maps with it.  A bit expensive (I think maybe around $100 or so) but it's been worth every penny.  You can put your GPS points on it, too.  I have the last couple of years of deer/elk sightings GPS'd and put on maps.  It's kind of interesting.  In some areas, there seems to be a pattern and others it's just random - they are where they are.

Also, after you figure out where you want to be you can use Google Earth to look at it, as well.

Good luck with the hunt this year!  I hope we see a picture of you with a nice buck and/or bull around the end of September.

[Recurve-Elk]

Hey you know, Google maps is free, and they have a great system.  You can get just road maps, satellite, or elevation.  I find the elevation to be extremely detailed.