Which state to hunt elk? ID, MT, or WA

[piledup]

I think the Montana tag is good in the entire state, with the exception of just a few units which are by permit only.

Yea that's kind of what I thought too.

Might want to check that availability again, http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/licenses/availableLicenses.html
AS far as I could tell, MT is done...... March 15th.... 

But remember, they had less applicants than permits, so there are hundreds of leftovers.

Yea. There's 1200 leftover licenses. So from what I read on that headline is that its going to be a first come first serve thing right? So as long as I buy it right when it turns the 18 I'm good?

[bobcat]

Yeah that's what I heard too. But I'm not really staying on top of the issue because Montana elk is too much money for me.

[Bob33]

"So from what I read on that headline is that its going to be a first come first serve thing right? So as long as I buy it right when it turns the 18 I'm good?"

If you plan to buy online, you need to find out when MT's online system will start accepting transactions on the 18th. It's typically around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. Mountain time.

[boneaddict]

Hard to say Piledup.   I drew (or bought) all three year before last.  I was bowhunting for the most part as well.  Lets just say September was a busy time. LOL   I had great experiences in ALL THREE.  I saw more bulls in Washington, had more bugling in Idaho and saw the biggest in Montana.  I saw more people in Idaho, second most in Montana and finally the least amount in Washington. 

[piledup]

"So from what I read on that headline is that its going to be a first come first serve thing right? So as long as I buy it right when it turns the 18 I'm good?"

If you plan to buy online, you need to find out when MT's online system will start accepting transactions on the 18th. It's typically around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. Mountain time.

Yea the sales are only online and if I decide to buy MT, I'll figure out when I can buy it.
But for now, I'm still deciding which state to hunt though. 

Hard to say Piledup.   I drew (or bought) all three year before last.  I was bowhunting for the most part as well.  Lets just say September was a busy time. LOL   I had great experiences in ALL THREE.  I saw more bulls in Washington, had more bugling in Idaho and saw the biggest in Montana.  I saw more people in Idaho, second most in Montana and finally the least amount in Washington. 

For the bulls in WA, were they the ones you could shoot or were they just the ones that you could only admire? If I pick WA, I'm going to be limited to hunting the NE.

I kind of want to hunt where there is bugling once in awhile too to know that the animals are actually there.

[257 Wby Mag]

Montucky for sure. You can hunt bulls, both archery and rifle, in general units, on general tags that most folks don't connect on in our "premier" units.

[RClare1223]

why would you be limited to NE WA?

[piledup]

Well where else is there to hunt in WA that would give me a better chance? If I put in for WA, I'll be choosing eastside archery. Most of the eastside is spike only with a few cow units. Other than that it's special permits only. For the NE, it is any elk which would provide me with a better chance I think.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Well where else is there to hunt in WA that would give me a better chance? If I put in for WA, I'll be choosing eastside archery. Most of the eastside is spike only with a few cow units. Other than that it's special permits only. For the NE, it is any elk which would provide me with a better chance I think.

Unfortunately, most areas that are "any Elk" have very few elk in them.
not saying there are not any, but harvest is mostly from locals that already know where there are some, and/or have access to private property.
Again, the decision should be on who you are hunting with, and where you would be staying/hunting.
You chances of harvesting an Elk are pretty slim if you are coming from out of state, and just planning on hunting... somewhere.
How many Elk have your friends harvested ? are they hunting an area they are familiar with ? do they get opportunities to harvest ?
Check the WDFW website and Harvest Reports, look at hunter numbers and success %,  days to kill, etc. NE Wa has some pretty low numbers, Cheney actually gives up the most but Selkirk and 49 degrees put out more Bulls, if your friends have a good area and access to it, then by all means hunt with them.
As I said before, the decision should be more on who you will be hunting with, than on where.
The right partner can make an unsuccessful trip great, the wrong partner can ruin a trip, no matter what you harvest.

[piledup]

I've hunted WA NE all of my life until this year I just moved out of state and still want to hunt elk. But since I'm paying nonresident tags, I was just wondering what you guys think would be a better suggestion. For WA NE, I know the area well enough to hunt alone and just get help from friends IF I actually get one.

Thanks for all your inputs though.