2012 western archery

[tjgerm]

Anyone know when this years early season starts and ends for sure. Cant find it yet

[D-Rock425]

I'm not sure if the dates are set for the year yet.

[Fullabull]

I'm worried archery is going to have our days pulled back even more. It use to end around the 21st and now it ends on the 18th. If they just continue to take the later days away from us they should at least provide more days on the early side. Prime rut here doesn't get going till late September which archery never gets to hunt.

[BowBender87]

elk will be sept 5th-18th......pretty chitty

[hughjorgan]

elk will be sept 5th-18th......pretty chitty

It is my understanding that the wsb, wsaa, and tbw are trying to get us back our sept. 8-21 season... During the on going 3 year season setting process

[BowBender87]

elk will be sept 5th-18th......pretty chitty

It is my understanding that the wsb, wsaa, and tbw are trying to get us back our sept. 8-21 season... During the on going 3 year season setting process

hope so...i read it on the wdfw website last year that they are planning to push the season ahead one day each year tell it gets to sept 1st. 

[wrongway]

they have not set the seasons yet. but I can say one of the reasons for our seasons getting cut back is due to our equipment getting more effecient, better hope the lighted knocks dont pass, I am guessing we will loose more days. Yes the Wsaa is working hard to get us better days, if we all join this givs us a bigger voice.

[Fullabull]

Actually the reason for the setback is so modern can have some days to hunt in late September during the prime rut. (not bashing the MF guys) it's just what happened. They need to get archery back to where it was, almost during prime rut instead of not at all 

[wrongway]

Again I am guessing but, The rifle hunters have never had the rut to hunt for elk, there is a very good reason for this, it would kill to many bulls. none of the elk sates have a general season durring the elk rut. I could be wrong but as messed up as our game department is, I dont see them giving this to them

[wrongway]

 

[bwhntr350]

Actually the reason for the setback is so modern can have some days to hunt in late September during the prime rut. (not bashing the MF guys) it's just what happened. They need to get archery back to where it was, almost during prime rut instead of not at all 

 Well, not sayin' that this ^ does not have any merit, but I talked, in person, with a Washington Dept. of Wildlife guy, and I flat out asked him why they are rolling the season back to early Sept. the last few years and his answer was that the bowhunters are just killing too many big bulls. He said that they are trying to balance it out a little more.

[Antlershed]

If it follows the same guidelines as last year, start on the tues after labor day and end two sundays later, it would be the 4th-16th 

[Fullabull]

Two things, once they pulled the archery days back, they opened up some special tags for MF during late September. There are not many but they are still the only folks at all that hunt during prime rut.

I went through a couple years of data and MF hunters take way more 5 and 6 point bulls then archery. It's just not true that archery takes more large bulls. Someone played with the numbers to show what they wanted to and got the season changes. I remember a few years back when this change came about, there was some MF guy who brought up all this balogna how unfair it was that archery hunters had such an advantage. Can't understand why they listened to him but now there are special tags for MF hunters to hunt the end of September and archers are losing any chance to hunt during during the rut. Even Muzzy hunters get better prime rut days than archery does, that is why they restrict the units they can hunt in otherwise they would decimate some elk.

Even when archery hunters get to hunt during prime rut (like in other states) they do not decimate anything, archery hunting is difficult as your affective range is only a 10th of MF hunters (or less with some who shoot out past 400yrds) and not even a quarter of Muzzy hunters. Archery is getting hosed here in WA!

Fulla

[D-Rock425]

Fulla you are right.  Hundreds of archery hunters got days taken away and season bumped back so a few MF hunters could hunt the prime rut.   

[BowBender87]

Actually the reason for the setback is so modern can have some days to hunt in late September during the prime rut. (not bashing the MF guys) it's just what happened. They need to get archery back to where it was, almost during prime rut instead of not at all 

 Well, not sayin' that this ^ does not have any merit, but I talked, in person, with a Washington Dept. of Wildlife guy, and I flat out asked him why they are rolling the season back to early Sept. the last few years and his answer was that the bowhunters are just killing too many big bulls. He said that they are trying to balance it out a little more.

read the same thing in the same article on wdfw...modern brings more money to the state so they are trying to increase opportunity for modern firearm.