WEST SIDE ML

[MountainWalk]

hey guys. its so nice to have access to so many life long wa hunters here. i do have a question.....ive rifle , and archery hunted  the south fork hoh and around sekiu some, with no success. on my three archery hunts,, i noticed that ,imo, the rut wasnt quite fired up... so i have thought about the seven day frontstuffer season.. seems like it would be in the peak of breeding time..  ive thought long and hard and researched... 1..is it safe to assume an"any elk" unit  has little oppurtunity?....2...safe to assume any elk units are relativly crowded?...3...branch bull and antlerless units...overprescribed?...   or would a fellow really be better off hunting a 3 pt min unit, if it is indeed during the rut peak?.. my pal and i are really really leaning on this season and are planning on staying the whole season.. i have a small wall tent  and we are going to try to make it happen.... as far as 3 pt units go... how do you guys feel about 602,603?.... in the late season i plan on hunting 601, for sure... i havent killed an elk in two years and never a roosevelt..i appreciate any reall help.  if its not being too foward, i would also enjoy hunting with anyone going west for the smokepole season...thanks guys

[MountainWalk]

kind of disapointing.. was kinda thinking id at least get someone to say something..should i rephrase the question?

[billythekidrock]

Give it some time. Some one will come up with some good tips.

[Smokepole]

More than anything, I think it boils down to how well you know the area.  Of course, you want to pick an elky unit to hunt.  But you need to scout an area or hunt it for a year or two to really get to know the lay of the land and how the animals are distributed.

My advice would be to decide on which hunt you're interested in trying, then scouting it like crazy during the pre-season.

[LongTatLaw]

Tell ya what...in the West Side areas I hunted this year... bow...few were talking but would come in slow and silent.

During ML...I had a 6x7 come screaming and pushing 3 cows as fast as he could all the way to less than 100 yards!!!   of course my tag was filled in bow season but crazy cool!

That was in an any bull area 2 miles from the truck and gate... very very hunted area.

To be honest, even in the heavy hunted public areas...  before rifle starts.... its pretty easy to leave the crowd behind with a mile or three of walking...  my 2 cents

Im in Iraq before season starts but if not...theres a damn good chance Id ML the west side...

I know I could kill an elk with a bow but man Id like to do it with him huffing, puffing, and charging my way!!!

thats my 2 cents

[MountainWalk]

would you say they are still rutting?

[LongTatLaw]

The areas I was in was in full rut...FULL RUT! no question!!!  during the first week in Oct.

was that later than normal? dont know...was my first season hunting here.

but thats where it was happening where I was.

Then again, I called a 5x5 to within 3 yards during the first week of bow season like 3 weeks before...he came in hard and looking for me...but he never made a sound...not one!

Only screaming I heard was after bow and before rifle!

[MountainWalk]

im pretty sure that your right. when i was bow hunting, i really didnt hear squat, excepting during the wee hours. and that wasnt very often.  shoot, in montana where im at they are still singing their hearts out. shoot, i still hear some during gun..

  well even if i dont find a unit with a looser limit to ML hunt,, a three point min unit during the rut cant be too dang bad.           i know where some elk are,, just was looking to find a "better" hunt. grass is always greener.

[LongTatLaw]

hey buddy...im with ya

I dont really have a honey hole for elk...  the place I hunt has 5 trucks parked beside mine most days...  but they still dont make it deep enough to do any good.

I hunted the skook most of the year and saw elk all the time but they are smart and well ready to avoid hunters.

my advice... spend a month prior to season just getting to know ur area and ur herd.

dave

[MountainWalk]

ive never killed a westside bull,, but the seasons i did hunt, ive always seen elk. where i norm hunt during gun or bow, doesnt have an early ML... up in sekiu, i hunt not far from the sekiu river and carpenters creek...ive never seen anyone there except for folks grouse hunting. it is weird, all this talk of westside pressure and never seeing anyone where im at...

[WDFW-SUX]

I hunted western wa opening weekend the first day was quiet so I change spots and the second day they were screaming there heads off  

They have to be in the right mood or it doesn't matter what time of the year it is. If they are being harassed or chased or a predator is in the area they are mute.....

The heaviest rut action I have seen on the west side is always around the 25th of Sep.  The single most crazed bull I have ever seen was on Sep 21st on the west side...

[MountainWalk]

pretty interesting.  what i do notice here is that the cows are a whole lot more spooky than the cows of "my" herd in mt...ever hunt around the hoko river and thereabouts?..ive hunted the north side of it some

[Bigshooter]

I have hunted gmu 607 a few times with a muzzleloader in the early season and they were doing a lot of talking.  Never did kill anything.  I was always finding them in some thick timber and couldn't get a shot.

[Little Fish]

MountainWalk33,
I'll give you my opinion so take it for what its worth. Its based a little on hunting experience (I've only been chasing elk for a couple years...unsuccessfully), but mostly from talking to game bios, doing internet research, scouting and keeping my eyes and ears open.

I researched lots of areas on the West side of the state and although I looked at each of the areas you listed none of them seemed to warrant additional investigation on my part. If I were a local it would be different, but I live in the city so I have to drive someplace to hunt so I might as well drive to a place where the chances of getting an animal are better. 601-603 are either hit hard by the Indians, have private land that is difficult to hunt or are blanketed with older timber that results in lower elk numbers. I haven't investigated this myself, but talked to the game bio who oversees these GMUs.

As far a either sex units go, some offer a great opportunity to take an elk, but others (despite having high success stats) are not as good as they appear on the surface. Places like Puyallup and Battle Ground have lots of private land (not held by timber companies) so the locals and land owners may get their elk, but its a lot harder for outsiders.

In my opinion, if you are going to target elk in Western Washington you should be looking at areas South of the Chehalis River. I don't know specifically which areas are open for muzzleloader (I switched from muzzleloader to archery this year), but its a good bet that timber company lands are going to have higher populations of elk....maybe not a lot of big bruisers, but more elk in general.

Oh and the last thing...I think they are still rutting during muzzle loader season.

LF

PS With a little luck I'll draw the multiseason permit and get to hunt archery and muzzle loader this season. We'll see.

[edmondshunter]

I found that a few of the any elk areas can hold a decent number of animals, but you have to find the transition areas to find the elk.  Do your home work on line first then scout scout scout.  Most of the county websites have a tax parcel maps you can look at,  use these to find the private timber company and or public land.  Call the county clerks office and ask about easements between private residential land parcels.  Some counties have easement use rights that grant access for the public to land surrounded by private ownership.

I'm hunting the westside Muzz. this year, my bets on the areas around the Gifford Nat.for. .

The rut will still be in full swing for Westy Muzz.