we got Winston cow tag's now what?

[dad98684]

how much access will we have in this unit? i see there is allot of private property around. are there places to set up a camp for a couple weeks? are all the roads walk in? i am planning on making my first trip in august.

[Huntbear]

It is mostly state land and Weyerhauser land.  However, you should be able to fill your cow tags opening weekend with no problems.  There are a ton of elk in there, but also a ton of hunters on the weekends.  Weekends is drive in from the Weyerhauser gates, most days during the week is walk in.

[haus]

how much access will we have in this unit? i see there is allot of private property around. are there places to set up a camp for a couple weeks? are all the roads walk in? i am planning on making my first trip in august.

I don't think you'll have too much problem filling your tags 

[funkster]

Modern or muzzle? There is kid valley campground and there is also a turnout where 505 and 504 meet where guys camp. I heard that they where going to limit access to camp 9 so you might have to look into that. Anyone else hear that? That tag should be pretty easy to fill.

[BowForElk]

Winston is closed every year during Early Archery due to "Fire Hazard" Its walk in only. I cannot say for the Permit hunt but i would only assume its the same. Although it conveniently opens up all season long during modern...

[ML_Hunter]

Winston is closed every year during Early Archery due to "Fire Hazard" Its walk in only. I cannot say for the Permit hunt but i would only assume its the same. Although it conveniently opens up all season long during modern...

Yup, same for us frontstuffers.  Locked most of the seaon but still a few area to drive in.  Theres is quite a bit of state land.  I hunt 505 quite a bit and have just explored a little of 504.  There are a few camp ground very close to the unit, and many folks will camp along Longbell rd.  I did hear about issues with campers actually blocking access to roads last year, so I would not be suprised if they did restrict the camping there.

Have fun on your hunt!  I heard that its a good unit to hunt...I may spend some time in there for muzzy deer.

[monster10]

how much access will we have in this unit? i see there is allot of private property around. are there places to set up a camp for a couple weeks? are all the roads walk in? i am planning on making my first trip in august.

COW,easy, Salmon creek rd behind mayfield lake.go in park and walk back on the old roads that go behind the farms.Score.....no probs filling your tag.good luck not needed,how about have fun.Also Blakely tree farm lots of elk.

[ML_Hunter]

how much access will we have in this unit? i see there is allot of private property around. are there places to set up a camp for a couple weeks? are all the roads walk in? i am planning on making my first trip in august.

COW,easy, Salmon creek rd behind mayfield lake.go in park and walk back on the old roads that go behind the farms.Score.....no probs filling your tag.good luck not needed,how about have fun.Also Blakely tree farm lots of elk.

Umm....I'm about 70% sure that Blakely tree farm is in the Mossyrock unit...I could be wrong but I hope not, or maybe thats why no one hunts it when i do  since Winston is closed during muzzy.

[unluckyjohn]

Why would anyone put in for a tag and not already know the area?

[Skyvalhunter]

How many times are people going to ask that?

[bobcat]

Why would anyone put in for a tag and not already know the area?

Maybe because they've heard that it's good? Or they read on here that it's good? Or, they looked at the harvest report and it showed a good success rate? Or, they live nearby and have always wanted to hunt that unit. Numerous reasons why someone would apply for an area they aren't familiar with. I'm not sure why it matters though?   

[dad98684]

Why would anyone put in for a tag and not already know the area?

thanks for you friendly input unluckyjohn. (i hope your luck changes)
i am not into bashing anybody for their opinion. let me ask you, have you ever been out of your comfort zone? ever try something new? you ever want to see what was on the other side of a fence?
we have talked about hunting a new area for years but always return to the same area. the numbers looked good for this unit # of applications/tags issued & relatively close to home and it was our 3rd choice. if we had not applied for this hunt and been drawn, we would never hunt another unit. thanks everybody for you input and good wishes

[520backyard]

So it's a modern cow tag correct? That should make it easy as it gets, just do some walking. As for camping, the good old days of camping on Georges land are over and have been for some time. There are local campgrounds around,but they are generally not in the woods.

[ML_Hunter]

COW,easy, Salmon creek rd behind mayfield lake.go in park and walk back on the old roads that go behind the farms.Score.....no probs filling your tag.good luck not needed,how about have fun.Also Blakely tree farm lots of elk.

Umm....I'm about 70% sure that Blakely tree farm is in the Mossyrock unit...I could be wrong but I hope not, or maybe thats why no one hunts it when i do  since Winston is closed during muzzy.

Sorry, I was thinking of another tree farm in the mossyrock area.  Blakely's is in Winston.  Never been there, but if its anthing like the tree farm I was thinking about...it should be a good area to hunt.

[Navyhunter]

PM sent

[bowtech721]

pick a gate somewhere and go for a hike and your hunt will probably have a happy ending 

[Cylvertip]

Beware - I think Port Blakely will not be allowing camping anymore on their property, just like Weyerhauser .  That means some long drives out to get back to camp. 

I've heard that Winston and Margret have more elk per acre than any other units in the state.

In years past for both early and late archery it was nothing to get within bow range of a ton of cows.  During early archery I could typically get within 100 yards of close to 200 animals....  I'm after horns, so even when it was open for cows, I still let them walk. 

Also, if you haven't got one yet, Weyerhauser has a really good map of all of their roads for the St. Helens tree farm ( and others for the rest of their farms too). They will also show the most roads on Port Blakley too.   The local sporting goods stores carry them - Sunbirds in Chehalis has them for sure.

[Yelm hunter]

I have been hunting Elk going on 4 years and have always went to Winston Creek. It's a really good area but lots of people. Last year "2009" my brother drew a cow tag and we were hunting that area everyday. All different roads. We finally ran into elk on 11-09-09 off one of the gated roads. 1 1/2 behind the gate. 5 mins before shooting time we seen the elk but we follow the rules and couldn't shoot. Could have shot been other hunters came walking down the road like they were in "BAND CAMP" and scared the elk away. Well after hunting the area since opening day our elk camp neighbor said he got a Bull on a certain road and told us wear to go. That he seen plenty of cows in this area off one of the roads. To make a long story short... On Veterns day 11-11-09 we all went up in this area and were hunting this clear cut and timber with jeep trails and roads surrounding it. On the back side of the fire dept. After 4 hours of hunting and a SILENT argument with my dad in the morning. My brother and I met up and he's like did you see those deer over there. Well there were 2 deer running together that kept being chased around by other hunters. And were my brother and I met up I stayed there and he left. Well after an hour of staying in one spot I started hearing crackling and brush/tree moving and I knew something had to be there. Well I was like naww its just those damn deer again. lol so I walked further into the clear cut closer to wear I was hearing the noises. took a leak and a little break. And dad calls on the radio and says lets head back to the truck and go to a different clear cut. Well in the meantime of doing all this and talking to the guys on the radio. I said I was staying were I was. Well not 2 minutes later I'm like screw i'll head back to the truck.
As I was getting up to go back to the truck a large bull came walking up againest the treeline and clearcut and didn't see me or smell me. He kept walking and then stopped Looked over towards the treeline as the same 2 deer were there and I took a shot and his back end dropped and he took off to the trees and I waited for like 5 mins and didn't hear anything. So I went over to wear he was at and was *censored* didn't see any blood at all. My brother and dad call on the radio before i had a chance to do it and said was that you and I said yes I just shot a bull. And I think he is down cause i dont hear him but I cant find any blood. Well they run up to wear i'm at and we walk into the woods well the elk was still there and started running thorough the trees. Well to finsh it off... We chased him towards a road that goes through there and I took another shot and nailed him. We ended up getting a 5x6 bull out of there. No cow with his tag but we got a bull. It was fun and we are looking forward to going up there again this November. But getting there early to get a good campsite.  Around November 2nd...







Good Luck in getting your COWS!! There are lots of them up there!!

[Yelm hunter]

So you might not be able to Camp in Port Blakely Tree Farm anymore?? The area I'm talking about is along winston creek that goes up the mountain both ways to the right and left and the left side you have to cross a bridge. I think it's road 550 but i'm not sure??

[funkster]

From what I hear not only no camping but also no motorized vehicles either! If this holds true, I will be a happy hunter

[Cylvertip]

It that holds true, then whole northeast side of the unit will turn into elk paradise.  That's some big up hill climbing to do from Riffe Lake on foot, horse, or bike, especially if you can't camp overnight....

[MoleyMolson]

My dad had a muzzy cow tag in the Winston last year.  On opening morning, all of the Weyerhaeuser gates were open.  The day before, everything was locked up.  We were expecting to see a lot more elk in there than we actually did.  We thought with everyone being locked out, that there would be some good herds bunched up.  All of the elk we saw were in bunches of 2-6 elk.  Except for one small herd that had 9 in it.  We did see elk every day, but not the big herds we had hoped to see.

[huntinluva]

We had late season cow tags last year and went 6 for 7.  First day I went didn't see a thing, next day saw over 40 elk and tagged out on a healthy cow.  Hunted on Weyerhauser roads and had drive in access.  Good luck to you.

[funkster]

I called port blakely this morning and the lady told me their property in the winston is closed to motorized access. She was very apologetic about the closer but I told her this is the best news I heard all year She also told me that they are not planning on opening it all hunting season. Here is what they have up on their website.

[Yelm hunter]

What's the website for Port Blakely??

[bobcat]

http://www.portblakely.com/pb-tree-farms/public-access-policy/policy

[steen]

Good luck with your cow.  I think anytime you have a cow tage you can fill it with a bit of work.  If someone ruins your first day hunt, cool!   You get to hunt another day.  I can't wait to draw a cow tag and will enjoy it as much as any bull tag.

[dad98684]

we are looking forward to it. we were up in there this weekend looking for grouse, bear and a place to camp. put on a few miles on my boots, they can keep the gates closed, that would work for me. great looking country. lots of hunters, talked to a few, only a hole, not bad i guess from what i have herd. it's going to be a good year

[Three_Oh_Eight]

One thing I've found for modern firearm in the Winston is that you can waste a lot of time glassing clearcuts.  It seems like there are orange blobs stumbling around in every clearcut.  I look for blue lines on maps and hike into the stream preservation belts.  These areas are good escape routes for elk as they go down into the river bottoms.  I found a nice stand of timber with no underbrush, just good eats that allowed me to see quite a ways through the trees under the canopy.  Saw lots of sign and hunted into the wind and was able to sneak up on a nice 5 point and put him down. 

[shorthair15]

ive hunted the winston unit alot there are alot of elk in there. just trying putting some miles on the boots and get away from the roads. ive seen alot of sign in there as well. only hunted it once for elk but have hunted it alot for deer. i live about a 1/2 hr drive from there.   usually early season the gates are locked due to fire danger.

[Cylvertip]

What was the story on access to Port Blakely during early archery?   Was motorized access allowed in the North end of the Winston?

[dlaw]

No gates are to be opened for Archery or any other season.  I can confirm that none were opened during early archery.  Also from a couple posts on here that no gates will be opened during other seasons per Port Blakely.  Its a beautiful thing isn't it.

[WASHBCBOOK]

GO KILL A ELK

[Trailstrider]

Best advice I can give is to call the hot line for the area; Weyerhaeuser 360 425 2150, you have to go through the prompts to get the info. What I know to be fact is some of these gates will be open on a limited basis. The 1900 line up Spirit lake Hwy. will probably be open on weekends only with no camping and only for day use. The Eastern end of this unit holds the most Elk on the boundary of the Margaret unit. Last season opening weekend of rifle season 57? bulls came out of that area. As for the lower West end last season the gates remained open to drive in access all season long. It is known down here that Weyerhaeuser covers there no entry signs with black plastic when the roads are open but some of the folks (not necessarily hunters) will pull this plastic off to keep people out. Therefore your best information on a weekly basis is the hot line. Hope this helps and good hunting!