West Side Special Permit

[jbeaumont21]

Since I am not willing to hunt spikes during the regular season plus the fact that I live on the west side I am trying to decide on which unit to put my points towards.  I have been doing a little homework and it looks like these three units have the best odds of shooting a 6x6 plus bull.  What's your vote??

According to last years harvest reports (however inaccurate they are) shows the following stats:
White River had 30 bulls harvested and 11 were 6+pt
Loo-wit 17 bulls harvested and 4 were 6+pt.
Margaret had 25 bulls harvested and 5 were 6+pt.  

Lastly here are the stats for the number of applicants and the number or permits for both Quality Elk Hunt and Bull Elk Hunt:
Quality Elk Hunt
White River
Modern Firearm 243 Applicants 1 Permit
Archery 337 Applicants 13 Permits
Muzzleloader 0 and 0
Total of 580 Applicants 14 Permits

Loo-wit
Modern Firearm 955 Applicants  5 Permits  
Archery 1,340 Applicants 5 Permits  
ML 693 Applicants 5 Permits
Total 2,988 Applicants 15 Permits

Margaret  
Modern Firearm 6,165 Applicants 20 Permits
Archery 2,412 Applicants 8 Permits
ML 1,014 Applicants 5 Permits
Total 9,591 Applicants 33 Permits

Bull Elk Hunt
White River
Modern 447 Applicants 30 Permits
Archery 0 and 0
ML 204 Applicants 4 Permits
Total 651 Applicants 34 Permits

Loo-wit
Mod 194 Applicants  3 Permits
Archery 216 Applicants 2 Permits
ML 105 Applicants 3 Permits

Margaret  0 Applicants 0 Permits

[chester]

     why people lie on harvest reports.

[Bob33]

Something doesn't look right with those numbers:

Loowit: 17 harvested from 8 permits?
Margaret: 25 harvested from 20 permits?

I thought Loo-wit was closed entirely for elk, anyway.

[jbeaumont21]

Sorry I was lazy before and didn't include the Archery and ML numbers.  I have it updated now.

[ASHQUACK]

Something doesn't look right with those numbers:

Loowit: 17 harvested from 8 permits?
Margaret: 25 harvested from 20 permits?

I thought Loo-wit was closed entirely for elk, anyway.

I just figured the tribes take in the numbers. Nothing suspicious there.

[billythekidrock]

Margaret.

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

I figure i have a better shot at shooting a 6 point in my back yard (battle ground unit) than i do in any of those units due to the fact i will never draw a special permit.

But if i had to choose and just my opinion (i have never been able to hunt any of those units), i would say white river. You can get as far back in as you want to go. From what i have seen if you work for a big bull you will have an opportunity at one.

[Bob33]

The only hunts that I can see that are from the Loo-wit GMU are Mudflow and Pumice Plains permits.   They could be great hunts.

[jbeaumont21]

The only hunts that I can see that are from the Loo-wit GMU are Mudflow and Pumice Plains permits.   They could be great hunts.

There are also the Mount Whittier 5065 and Upper Smith Creek 5064 sections of the Loo-wit unit.  I don't know much about any of the areas in the Loo-wit though.

[Houndhunter]

there is no good big bull archery tag for the west side imo, they may be a guaranteed bull but it wont be much bigger than a good rag horn. i have a better chance at getting a monster in the general season than any of the special permits, again im talking about west side archery

[Bob33]

The only hunts that I can see that are from the Loo-wit GMU are Mudflow and Pumice Plains permits.   They could be great hunts.

There are also the Mount Whittier 5065 and Upper Smith Creek 5064 sections of the Loo-wit unit.  I don't know much about any of the areas in the Loo-wit though.

OK thanks.  As OP you now know there is no "Loo-Wit" permit.  There are multiple permits within Loo-Wit that can be applied for.  You will need to look at each hunt separately to determine whether or not they are worth applying for.  The aggregate numbers for Loo-Wit may be misleading or meaningless.

[trophyhunt]

The white river could be the best if it was controlled better and the 11 tribes that hunt it didn't kill everything they see.

[Skyvalhunter]

Lock them out!!!

[jbeaumont21]

The only hunts that I can see that are from the Loo-wit GMU are Mudflow and Pumice Plains permits.   They could be great hunts.

There are also the Mount Whittier 5065 and Upper Smith Creek 5064 sections of the Loo-wit unit.  I don't know much about any of the areas in the Loo-wit though.

OK thanks.  As OP you now know there is no "Loo-Wit" permit.  There are multiple permits within Loo-Wit that can be applied for.  You will need to look at each hunt separately to determine whether or not they are worth applying for.  The aggregate numbers for Loo-Wit may be misleading or meaningless.

You're right.  It's not really comparing apples to apples when comparing the harvest numbers of Loo-wit to the multiple permits within the Loo-wit.  I guess I am just trying to make sense of a very confusing system.

[jbeaumont21]

there is no good big bull archery tag for the west side imo, they may be a guaranteed bull but it wont be much bigger than a good rag horn. i have a better chance at getting a monster in the general season than any of the special permits, again im talking about west side archery

So would you say it is not worth putting in for a special permit on the west side?