Tradition only unit

[krout81]

  NO SEPERATION.  If the unit is not open at all for any other weapon, maybe open it up for some special permits or something.

[Buckrub]

 
There is to much division currently...no more wood on the fire needed.

[Snapshot]

Has anybody thought about asking the WDFW about having a Traditional late archery unit. Long bows or Recurves only. And wooden arrows.

The question of whether an area or a unit could be designated as 'primitive only' has been and will probably continue to be discussed. It could not be just for archery; it would have to be for all user groups (but at different times, of course). Iron sight rifles, flintlock muzzleloaders, barebows that bend. Anyone could pick one of those up and hunt the area/unit so how it could be said to be exclusive/divisive is beyond me. But I am old fashioned in that I have never owned an arrow-flinging device that didn't bend and I've not shot my deer rifle since about 1975-6. So I think differently than many, if not most, about hunting and the challenges it represents. I also have more ways to fix 'tag' than most people. There's tag-gumbo, there's tag...

[sakoshooter]

i am a stickbow guy and have shot them all my life. i have actually been building them for about 10-12 years. having said that, i think dividing the bow season further will only further reduce the amount of total archery season available. i think a "Trad" only season is a bad idea. the only thing we do as SINGLE STRING bowhunters is challenge ourselves to get a little closer. having said that, i have busted my arse in the last few years to get consistently accurate on game out to 40 yards and regularly practice out to 80 yards for "form" work. so really, what is the difference between me and a guy that shoots a compound? we stickbow guys are not superior in any way shape or form and do not deserve anything extra...... doing so only creates less time for archery season and animosity between bowhunters.

look at what we have now..... we have lost a total of 13-14 days between early and late season because of youth seasons and extended muzzle loader seasons. personally, i think the youth seasons are a joke. a child and their parents can bond just as well in an open season as they can in a youth season. infact, i think that it makes the kids feel like they are being given even more responsibility and more of a "right of passage" when they are sharing camp and standing shoulder to shoulder with with other adult hunters with loaded weapons...... not adults that are just there to take the "kids" out.... and how many parents take the kids on hunts that are actually camps anyway during the youth season. it typically means finding a place they can quickly take a kid out and get a kill under their belt.

the muzzleloader season is another one i don't agree with...... today's guns are scary accurate out to 300+ with some out to 500. what is different about one of those with a speed loader and any single shot rifle such as the encores, new england arms, ruger #1s ect? i'd probably have a different opinion if round balls or solid lead bullets without sabots were mandatory and the in-lines were not allowed.  all the muzzle loader season did was infringe on both the total rifle season and archery season days allowed when infact the modern inlines, powders and projectiles that are currently allowed really are not much of a "handicap" next to a typical deer rifle. the bridge between the max effective distance of a compound hunter and a single string hunter is MUCH closer.....

who says you can't mount a sight on a traditional bow? before traditional bows became "traditional bows", many many bowhunters used sights on them. FITA and OLYMPIC archers still do and are scary accurate out to 90 meters. take the sight off a compound and how much further do you think a guy could shoot than the same guy shooting a longbow barebow?

the point i am trying to make about muzzleloaders is that they are a firearm... just a different type with just a slight disadvantage to the modern cartridge guns..... but..... they did get a separate season. so since muzzleloaders have a different season (that is a fraction of the length) than the modern gun hunters, should the "trad only" season be separate from the general archery as well as being a fraction of the length?.... it would be only fair considering the current state of affairs. i'd happily pick up the compound if it meant i could only hunt 10 days a year in a "traditional only" season.

today's muzzle loaders are singe shot rifles and bowhunters are bowhunters....... if we could go back to the two general seasons, EVERYONE would have more time in the field....... period.

Very well put Sir. I wholeheartedly agree.

[Gobble Gobble]

Muzzleloaders are quite advanced these days but with the restriction of "iron sights only" drastically reduses the distance one can shoot them accurately compared to a scoped rifle. I'd bet only a handful of muzzy hunters will shoot at 300 yards because sighting just 1/8 inch off center mass and you will miss the animal by 5 feet. 300 yards with a scoped rifle should be target practice. I'm sure most muzzy hunters will shoot only out to 150 yards 200 yards at most.

I'm a bow hunter and I say one archery season no need to complicate thing anymore than they already are with equipment restrictions. I you as me I'd like to see equality with weapons in every unit meaning all 3 weapons have a season. Take Bethel Unit 360 this year for Elk there was a muzzle & modern seasons but ARCHERY was DRAW ONLY. Whats that about?

[bobcat]

I'd like to see equality with weapons in every unit meaning all 3 weapons have a season. Take Bethel Unit 360 this year for Elk there was a muzzle & modern seasons but ARCHERY was DRAW ONLY. Whats that about?

The modern and muzzleloader seasons were spike only general season, correct? The archery draw permit was probably for any bull? That's the difference. Modern and muzzleloader had to draw a permit also for "any bull." It just so happened that they didn't have it open for general archery season. But I'm sure there were plenty of other units open for archery.

[JimmyHoffa]

the point i am trying to make about muzzleloaders is that they are a firearm... just a different type with just a slight disadvantage to the modern cartridge guns..... but..... they did get a separate season. so since muzzleloaders have a different season (that is a fraction of the length) than the modern gun hunters, should the "trad only" season be separate from the general archery as well as being a fraction of the length?.... it would be only fair considering the current state of affairs. i'd happily pick up the compound if it meant i could only hunt 10 days a year in a "traditional only" season.

Very well put Sir. I wholeheartedly agree.

Not necessarily the case.  The modern elk season for the westside was 11 days long--entire westside (unless you had a special tag).  The muzzleloaders had an early season of 7 days on the westside, and up to 22 days in the late season.  So 29 days total for muzzy.  Yes, the available units can be apples to oranges.  Seems like the muzzy guys are getting a good deal.  So if you split archery into trad/mod, who knows....you may actually get more days than the season you split from.  I'm not advocating the split, just pointing out how the muzzy guys fared.  My wish is that all the seasons would be combined and no weapon selection required, but that is a Jerry Garcia pipe dream.

[Snapshot]

Seems like the muzzy guys are getting a good deal...  ...just pointing out how the muzzy guys fared.

The muzzy guys will continue to 'fare well' because the top dogs at the WDFW (Big Game Manager, for example) hunt with muzzleloaders! Smoke that!

[Lowedog]

Sounds like the west side has much more opportunity for almost all weapon choices.

[Ray]

I'm all for it. People want lumenocks and electronics. Gimme opportunity please. Oregon already has a small area devoted to this. It works. The impact is miniscule, I am sure.

[Tony 270]

Like others have already said, is a bad idea and will only divide hunters further. You start asking for traditional only units, then others will ask for modern only units, muzzy only units (both modern and trad muzzy), modern archery only units and there goes more opportunity for everyone. Need to start working together rather than against one another.

[Ray]

The working example hasn't divided Oregon's hunters one bit.

[Lowedog]

I know New Mexico also has primitive equipment hunts for muzzy not sure about archery. 

If WA was to do this I wonder if one would be required to declare traditional or primitive like we do now for modern, archery and muzzy?  Or would these primitive equipment hunts be open to anyone carrying an archery or muzzy tag and that they would just have to use the correct equipment? 

[Ray]

Getting more people into traditional hunting seems like a good idea to me. I think that there could be a way to do it with a tag or with a special permit or even with just a unit or two being open under a "carry the approved weaponry" regulation. None of them will be without some sort of compromise I suppose.

[Lowedog]

I would have to change my stance if the WDFW were to open some areas even if by permit only that are not currently open to traditional/primitive equipment hunts and not require that the hunters declare "primitive" for a tag choice.  I would totally support something like this because I wouldn't see that as further dividing user groups.