West Side Special Permit

[throttlejocky20]

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? 

i would say put in, but once you get some decent points built up i would not apply for the west anymore. but thats if you go archery, modern still has some really good permits

I do agree the east side has alot of big bulls. This year I had a cow tag in a permit unit and by the time I tagged out I had 9 bulls in bow range 4 of which were 6x6 and 2 of them were every bit of 300. Would this have happened if I had a bull tag who knows. I do know after this year thats the only tag I will be putting in for, I will wait as long as it takes.

[Practical Approach]

jbeau, i hunt the same general area you do for late ML.

Genetics... It all boils down to genetics.

And quality of feed and the amount and types of minerals in the soil that promote antler growth.

[jbeaumont21]

Results so far... The "Other Unit" seems to be running away with it.  The Nooksack is making a late charge (since I added it late after several votes were in).  Margaret in a distant second and White River and Loo-wit barely staying alive.  If any of you think that there should be other units added to the list feel free to chime in.  Thank you to those of you who voted.  The rest of you suck  kidding!

White River  10 (15.9%)
Loo-wit  9 (14.3%)
Margaret  13 (20.6%)
Other  23 (36.5%)
Nooksack  8 (12.7%)
 
Total Voters: 63

[Mike450r]

I know it may not be the special permit you are referring to but buying a Hancock Kapowsin permit gets you a small chance to be eligible to hunt some of the some of the best bulls on the west side.  Crappy odds but then again what isn't?  I voted other for that reason, not the greatest chance to get drawn but has to be one of the best chances if drawn to get a 6x6 bull.

[throttlejocky20]

I know it may not be the special permit you are referring to but buying a Hancock Kapowsin permit gets you a small chance to be eligible to hunt some of the some of the best bulls on the west side.  Crappy odds but then again what isn't?  I voted other for that reason, not the greatest chance to get drawn but has to be one of the best chances if drawn to get a 6x6 bull.

I completly agree. If you happen to draw this tag you are in for the best elk hunting on the west side. Some of the biggest bulls I have ever seen have been in there. I call nice bulls in every year with my 2 year old son, he loves it. The odds are not very good they sell 1200 family permits and only 6 people a year get to chase these monsters. There is no way I would shoot a bull less than 300 unless it was the last day.

[jbeaumont21]

Thanks for the tip guys.  Can you tell me more about the details of this program either on this thread or in a PM? Do you know how much it costs to purchase a Hancock Kapowsin permit?  Do you have to buy one every year or is it a one time fee?  From my understanding this has nothing to do with the WDFW so it doesn't matter how many points you have, is that true? If so then do you have the same chance as the next guy or do they have some sort of point system of their own?
Thanks in advance for any info!

[chester]

I believe the permit is 350 annually, no points to build up, your name goes in the hat.

[jbeaumont21]

Any idea on numbers of people who put in and how many permits they have?  Can you spend more and buy more tickets to put in the hat so to speak?

[Alan K]

I think you get entered once when you buy the permit and you can buy extra names in the hat for like $50 I want to say?  It's been a few years since I bought the permit so I'm not 100% sure.