Getting frustrated with Elk hunting in WA

[cem3434]

If you are seeing a sea of hunters then you are simply to close to the road.  95% of guys that hunt, hunt within a 1/2 mile of the road. The simple solution is put a few miles on your boots and get away from everyone.

[BOWHUNTER45]

If you are seeing a sea of hunters then you are simply to close to the road.  95% of guys that hunt, hunt within a 1/2 mile of the road. The simple solution is put a few miles on your boots and get away from everyone.

[shorthair15]

i aggree with the above post. most people dont leave the road. you have to get away from the roads. as far as people it is just as crowded here on the westside. i got a bull last year and you would not believe how many people i saw sit on the side of the road just glassing a clearcut and waiting for some thing to pop out. or you have the winston area were idiots park there cars all the way accross the road so you cant get by. i live close to this unit and i wont hunt it at all for elk to many morons.

[bench beast]

Yes, West side is just as bad during modern season. I myself switched over to archery a few years back. It seams to me archery hunters take it more serious but are more courteous. No matter where you hunt or what method you choose. there will always be the few A-holes that give us a bad rap. as for going out of state its not a bad Idea if you could stand not hunting every year. I figure what I spend on hunting every year if I saved that money and didn't hunt I could probably go on a guided hunt every 4th year. but not hunting for 3 yrs. would send me to the Nut Ward, cause I would go crazy not hunting.

[Sliverslinger]

I agree with what everyone has said here. You could switch to archery. I hunted rifle growing up, switched to muzzleloader, and for the last few years I've been a a bowhunter. I'm hooked on archery and could never go back, its much more intense and in your face. Don't even think about that switch unless you have at least a couple months, preferably at least 4-5 months to prepare and practice. Also, plan on practicing for a half hour or so at least 2-3 times a week.
In regards to your problem with people, its not going away so my advice is to consider changing your perspective. I spend dozens of hours pouring over maps and exploring for the ugly places that the elk have escape routes through and where most people won't go. When I hunt I actually prefer it when there are tons of people. They push the animals down to me. My spot this year I found last year by accident in a drainage In the Winston unit. Tons of people. It's the nastiest thickest swamp alder patch  surrounded on all side by 12 yr old reprod so thick you can hardly walk. Outside that is picture perfect clearcuts  with the roads that people drive all day long. My alder patch has a small grass clearing in it and the elk moving back and forth through there constantly when theres pressure. The more the better. It's definitely frustrating having people everywhere and it used to drive me nuts until I changed me thinking a bit. I say make the most of what you got and use the people to your advantage.

[Camp David]

My spot this year I found last year by accident in a drainage In the Winston unit. Tons of people. It's the nastiest thickest swamp alder patch  surrounded on all side by 12 yr old reprod so thick you can hardly walk. Outside that is picture perfect clearcuts  with the roads that people drive all day long. My alder patch has a small grass clearing in it and the elk moving back and forth through there constantly when theres pressure.

You forgot to post the Lat Long for the alder patch. 

[ghosthunter]

I think many of the posts are right on. After you do it one way for a while things get stale. I hunted modern since the 70s. Five years ago i switched to muzzle loader. Bought a hub blind. Packed it in set it up and left it. Hiked in every day to a nice lawn chair and a little patch in the woods. Best most relaxed time I have ever had. Couple hunters hiked by. I had fun with that when they stood in front of my blind and talked for 10 minutes than I offered them a seat. Scared the hell out of them. Started seeing way more elk though. Last year I killed a spike standing 6 inches in front of my blind. This year I have a cow tag.

[BOWHUNTER45]

and besides if you think we have it bad here try going back east where I grew up in Pennsylvania ... you want to see orange ...you have no clue what the word orange means  but there are so many deer it is like shooting rabbits with your beagle .. Well I should say used to be ... alittle different now that they have devasted the doe populations .... I can remember seeing 100 deer a day running by me opening day and never see one buck ...seriously ..We had damage permits anyway so we had to do some thinning anyway ... we would shoot a few , load them a backhoe and call the game dept . to pick them up . then they would process them and give them to the needy...

[PAElkhunter]

Hey I feel your pain.  I began my elk hunting life in Washington in 1996 and have taken 3 elk in washington.  I quit hunting Washington the 6 years ago when I went to Idaho for the first time.  In those 6 years I have gotten 3 bulls in three different states.  Here's how I see it.  It depends on how you hunt and what you want to get from it.  Washington manages game for quantity of opportunity not for quality of the hunting.  I look for areas with good elk populations, lower tag numbers, and TRUE possibility of a mature bull.  Washington has those opportunites, but they are few and far between.  Read the post lots of guys waiting 10+ years to draw a good tag.  I started applying for tags in most states from Arizona to Washington and have drawn a decent tag the last 3 years (two this year).  To me the hunting is the thrill, whether I harverst something or not.  I love being out there up at 4 am back at 8 pm on most days.  I can't stand hunting around people who don't want to hunt hard and few people want to hunt like that. So I hunt mostly with one other person who is willing to do that.  However I will go back and say it depends on what YOU WANT out of the experience.  I found what I like and for me that doesn't include hunting Elk with lots of people so I avoid Washington.  (Until this year I drew a Wenaha tag, finally.) Good luck, happy hunting!

[True Sportsman]

Pick better areas, with fewer people and tougher hunting. Quit grinding it out in the sea of orange.

[huntnnw]

there is plenty of areas here that dont have much pressure...u just gotta find them.

[bobcat]

there is plenty of areas here that dont have much pressure...u just gotta find them.

In my experience, the areas that don't have much hunting pressure also do not have any elk. I know there are exceptions, but over the years I have changed my thinking and my new rule is to hunt elk where the people are. If there's nobody there, I figure I'm wasting my time.

[deerslyr]

  I have had terrible luck elk hunting in the past, deer was always easy but I rarely even saw elk during the hunting season. Then I started really looking at it and listening to the people on here say "get away from the people. So I went to an area with a bunch of people and then found the deepest thickest nastiest canyon I could find and jumped in. I finally started seeing elk and thats all I do now. I have yet to get one but ive drawn back on a few but there always seems to be a branch in the way haha

[huntnnw]

I have 5 spots scattered from south of Spokane to Canadien line that I rarely see a hunter and I get into elk always.. getting shots is another story with a bow

[sebek556]

huntnnw sounds like you need a hunting partner