Free: Contests & Raffles.
Very simple, there are no Elk or very few on the East side!!! Unless you have a special permit??? So your best chance is West side, yes, hunt the rain forest they have tons of elk!!!!
thanks Recurve-Elk. never thought about the smell thing, but it does make sense.
Alright, ill spill some of my secrets. I hunt east side early archery season every year. I also see animals every year. I call, a lot. Most people don't recommend extensive calling, but I personally rely on it almost completely. I get up well before light so I can be into position say a half hour before sun up. I then start calling maybe 10 minutes before shooting light. I call pretty strong while its still dark then progressively reduce the frequency as the morning goes on. I never call call with aggressive bugles. That usually only brings in the big old bulls that I can't shoot. I tend to favor spike and cow bugles. These are softer, and more inviting for smaller bulls cows and calfs. I also do a lot of cow and calf talk. (all of this calling I do with a mouth reed) I have yet to have much success with a plastic call. I try to sound like a small group of animals, or a single lost animal. Sometimes I will walk and do a lost calf call. (I used this tactic last year to stalk a small group of animals that were in the area, it did the job and I harvested a cow) Another thing I do is try to sound like an animal. If I am attempting to sound like a young raghorn bull I will often break sticks, pull grass, and rub trees to sound like a bull walking eating and racking trees/ground. Its all about sounding like an animal. Elk aren't silent creatures, they are often clumsy and make a fair amount of noise. Scout your area and try to find water sources, pinch points, areas of high activity. wallows, food sources etc. Focus most of your time around these areas (preferably the ones that are at least a half mile from any service road). What else... Pay attention to the wind, always have it blowing directly in your face, or at least across you. Never have the wind at your back. Other than all of this, just be dedicated, be out well before light, plan on a good 3 hour minimum morning hunt, then I usually take most of the afternoon off and sit at camp till about 4 then i hunt till last shooting light. Sit at a particular spot for around 45 minutes, no activity, relocate. As far as picking a unit to hunt. Look at the harvest reports from previous years, pick those units that produce. Harvest reports are available on the wdfw website. Any other questions feel free to PM me, ill try to get back to ya. Good luck! Elk hunting is my favorite thing to do! PS: use your nose, elk stink. If you can smell them, they have been there recently. I rely on my nose a lot. Also, elknut is a guy that produces a lot of good elk hunting tutorials. Check out his videos, hes just your average hunter (very successful) and shares his tips on his self made dvd's. I owe him a shout out, his stuff has helped me a good amount.
Being from Wisconsin i have never hunted elk before. I've deer hunted all my life and consider myself to be a fairly good hunter/outdoorsman. I would like to ask for a few pointers on hunting NE Wa, but it seems nobody is willing to give any solid info other than "go look for yourself." I know how to walk around the woods and scout, and i think i've found a spot that will hold some elk for the fall. I'm not looking to shoot a huge elk. I will shoot anything other than a calf. Just having the opportunity to hunt elk is a dream come true for me. What i want to know is some general elk hunting tactics/calling? I'm going to go early season archery hunting and i am wondering how well the animals actually respond to calls, or will i be better off stalking silently? Plz don't give me any dumb answers. I already think this forum is almost useless for learning due to the fact that most people on here don't give up their "secrets"
Recurve reminded me of me, until he said how long he hunts...I leave camp in the dark, and return after dark, eat, sleep, repeat.but his tactics work, I just see a lot of animals between 10:00 AM, and 4:00 PM, but you gotta be in the trees, or ridgelines, as bedded animal will get up and move once they are no longer in the shade, do a little stretch, maybe feed a little...If the lead cow decides she is thirsty, she decides they are ALL thirsty, and they will ALL go get a drink, anytime elk are on the move is a good time to hunt, as that is when they are most willing to "go over there" as long as it is close to the direction they are traveling, or on the way, and elk talk to each other constantly, whether you can hear them , or not.They have huge satellite antenna for ears, and can hear a mouse fart from 100 yards, but ignore all sounds that are natural (like mouse farts), any sound they hear that they cannot identify, gets their eyeballs on it, until they identify it, that is why calls are effective in this situation, if they cannot see you, or smell you, and you can convince them you are not a threat, they will ignore you, until you get their attention again, then it is what can change your whole day, are you flagging your spot, or are you looking for the next one ?
Are you financially blessed? Hiring a guide that comes with good referrals is the best bet. If they're worth their weight in salt, they'll let you pick their brain the whole week. Nothing like standing alongside a pro. Look at a current map and find ridgelines and saddles that are far from roads. That is your honey hole.What weapon will you be hunting with? If archery or muzzy, you could hunt a cow OTC unit, if just killing one for the experience is more important than trying to hold out for a trophy. If you're going to hunt in September you'd better have at least one hunting partner that is in shape and a couple of good pack frames or came carts. Temps are a little hot to be leaving meat out for days. Skip the Hoochie Mama and go with a diaphram call.
