Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Bow Hunting => Topic started by: fishmanbp on January 04, 2009, 03:10:28 PM

Title: help with regulation clarification
Post by: fishmanbp on January 04, 2009, 03:10:28 PM: this year will be the first time i hunt in my life. i want to make sure i dont break any laws so your help would be appreciated.
1.the "big game" reg book says when hunting big game with a bow, arrow weight for my bow should be 420 grain minimum. so my question here is when i hunt for turkey does this rule apply or can i shoot a lightter arrow?
2.i just bought a new tru glo tru sight with a sight light, can i use the light, my interpretation is no.
3. are mechanical broadheds legal in this state? and what about guilotines?

thank you, fish
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: jackelope on January 04, 2009, 03:12:36 PM: no lights , no mechanicals, guilottines are legal and double check on the arrow weight but i think you're ok with turkeys.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Timberstalker on January 04, 2009, 03:13:53 PM: Guillotines are legal. Mechanicals are illegal on big game but i am not sure on small. I would look intto the weight issue a little more. Not sure
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 04, 2009, 03:16:32 PM: Mechanicals are legal for turkey.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: jackelope on January 04, 2009, 03:49:28 PM: agreed. i wasn't sure if he was talking specifically turkeys or in general.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 04, 2009, 04:25:22 PM: If you read the reg.'s it says, "It is illegal to hunt big game animals". It's fine for turkeys/small game. Then the reg.'s say, "It is illegal to", those are the ones you can't do at all. Why do you want a light arrow for turkey.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Hoytstaffshooter83 on January 04, 2009, 07:42:40 PM: that is correct no light on the sight, 420 grain min, which should be easy with any bow.. except a super low poundage and mechanicals are a go for turkey/small game.....
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: fc2038 on January 04, 2009, 09:18:45 PM: Quote from: Hoytstaffshooter83 on January 04, 2009, 07:42:40 PM
that is correct no light on the sight, 420 grain min, which should be easy with any bow.. except a super low poundage and mechanicals are a go for turkey/small game.....

hey Hoyt were do you get the 420gr min? I beleive it is 300 grain min
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 04, 2009, 09:29:33 PM: it's 5 grains per pound of draw weight, 300 grain minimum, which translates to anything under 60 lbs needs to be 300 grains.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Bunkster on January 04, 2009, 09:41:22 PM: Yeah, 300grns is the minimum....No sight light. No mechs for big game.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Hoytstaffshooter83 on January 04, 2009, 09:41:47 PM: I was mistaken, 5 grains/lb is correct... my hunting arrows are always around 415-430
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: tonymoe on January 05, 2009, 06:24:24 PM: this might be beating a dead horse ,but it is 6grains per lb you are pulling back
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Jason on January 07, 2009, 04:21:41 PM: Fishmanbp this should clarify your questions for you
1-I see no where in the regs that say you can hunt Turkeys with Retractable broadheads.

2-you can shoot an arrow as light as 300gr W/broadhead but you will need to shoot a lighter poundage bow because your min arrow weight is 420gr for you bow.

3-you can not have any electrical devices on your bow

3. Archery Regulations
(a) It is illegal to hunt big game animals with
a bow that has less than 40 pounds of pull
measured at 28 inches or less draw length.
It is illegal to hunt big game animals with
any arrow, including broadhead, measuring
less than 20 inches in length, weighing less
than 6 grains per pound of draw weight with
a minimum arrow weight of 300 grains, and
having sharp broadhead blade or blades
less than seven-eighths inches wide. It is
unlawful to hunt with a broadhead blade
unless the broadhead is unbarbed and
completely closed to the back end of the
blade or blades by a smooth, unbroken
surface starting at maximum blade width
forming a smooth line toward the feather
end of the shaft and such line does not
angle toward the point. Retractable styled
broadheads are illegal.
(e) It is illegal to have any electrical
equipment or device(s) attached to the bow
or arrow while hunting.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: BULLBLASTER on January 07, 2009, 04:57:10 PM: looks to me like its illegal to hunt with expandables... but im no expert.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 07, 2009, 05:47:27 PM: Read this what does it say?
3. Archery Regulations
(a) It is illegal to hunt big game animals

A turkey is not a big game animal. I've e-mailed the WDFW with this question and they told me a turkey is not a big game animal.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Jason on January 07, 2009, 06:15:19 PM: Quote from: PA BEN on January 07, 2009, 05:47:27 PM
Read this what does it say?
3. Archery Regulations
(a) It is illegal to hunt big game animals

A turkey is not a big game animal. I've e-mailed the WDFW with this question and they told me a turkey is not a big game animal.

You could be right Pa, but the way I read it is the first paragraph they are mentioning big game, in the second paragraph they say it is unlawful to hunt with, it does not mention big game in the second paragraph. they need to define the regs a little better.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 07, 2009, 08:59:01 PM: I agree, I looked back through my e-mails and couldn't find the one I got back from the WDFW. Maybe I'll send another one.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: washelkhntr on January 07, 2009, 09:05:39 PM: Not meaning to jack your thread, but as I read it I have a question. Im not a bowhunter so this might be a dumb question..... but why can you not use mech broadheads?
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: bobcat on January 07, 2009, 09:34:26 PM: From what I've read, they are not reliable.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 08, 2009, 09:14:58 AM: Just got off the phone with WDFW and asked specifically about turkey's. Mechanicals are ILLEGAL for all species.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Jason on January 08, 2009, 04:04:24 PM: Oh boy!! I called WDFW and I asked about the subject at hand. when I called I explained to him that I intended on hunting turkeys and small game with a bow in 2009 and also asked about expanables,so he put me on hold for ten minutes looking for the info i needed, when the guy got back on the phone he said he could find no written archery regs for small game or turkeys, so he did tell me the way he interprets it is as follows-
1-Archery regs in the big game pamphlet only apply to big game and do not apply to small game or turkeys.
2-expandables are illegal for big game and legal for turkeys and small game.

I don't know what to think about this, WDFW needs to put something in writing so they have the info on record, and what if a wildlife officer checks your equipment and interprets the regs his own way?
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 08, 2009, 04:11:48 PM: WTF?!?!?! Which office did you call? I talked to Mike in Olympia. This isn't the first time I've gotten conflicting anwsers on the same question. :bash:

Update: I just got off the phone with a region 1 wildlife officer, and he stated that you read the regs sentance by sentance, not by paragraph. Expandable broadheads are illegal. I'll take his word for it since he'd be the one writing my citation.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 08, 2009, 05:21:59 PM: I told the officer that's what I was going to do and he said that was fine. Adding an Adder Point isn't an expandable head. It just slows the arrow. I wonder if just dulling the srew on tip on say a Muzzy would work? It would basically be the same as a Gobler Getter after it expanded, just not the same cutting diameter. :dunno:
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Jason on January 08, 2009, 05:28:06 PM: Quote from: SpokaneSlayer on January 08, 2009, 04:11:48 PM
WTF?!?!?! Which office did you call? I talked to Mike in Olympia. This isn't the first time I've gotten conflicting anwsers on the same question. :bash:

I called the Vancouver Office
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: rooselk on January 08, 2009, 07:52:13 PM: I am not particularly a fan of expandable broadheads. But if the expandable rule applies to turkeys, then it is reasonable to assume that the 40# minimum rule must apply to small game as well. If true, that would certainly eliminate many kids from getting started in bowhunting by hunting small game like cottontails and squirrels. :(
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 08, 2009, 08:11:48 PM: The 40 lb rule only applies to big game according to the officer. That was his point when he says the regs are sentance by sentance.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Hoytstaffshooter83 on January 08, 2009, 11:34:47 PM: not a surprise, I also have been told they are ok for small game, no where does it say they are illgeal for all game, just BIG game.. as it ready anything other then big game is good to go......
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 09, 2009, 06:08:05 AM: I guess you can't use a bird blunt or bird point of any kind for Grouse too.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 09, 2009, 06:30:21 AM: 2008 Turkey
Hunting Pamphlet

Special Regulations • Spring turkey season is open for shotgun (10 gauge or under capable of holding 3 or fewer shells or muzzleloader with shot) and bow-and-arrow hunting only.
• A valid hunting license and an unaltered, unnotched turkey transport tag are required for hunting turkey.
• Immediately after killing a turkey, hunters must validate their own tag by completely removing notches for month and day of kill and securely attach tag to carcass.
• It is unlawful to use dogs, electronic calls or electronic decoys to hunt turkeys.
• Baiting game birds is illegal.
• Turkey hunters must report hunting activity (see page 5).
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: BULLBLASTER on January 09, 2009, 10:16:46 AM: The only place they define "bow and arrow" or archery equipmwet is in the big game pamphlet, and in there it says that retractible bheads are illegal.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: dbllunger on January 11, 2009, 02:13:46 PM: 6gr per lb and expandables are illegal to hunt anything with.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 13, 2009, 07:36:13 PM: Quote from: dbllunger on January 11, 2009, 02:13:46 PM
6gr per lb and expandables are illegal to hunt anything with.
So how can you say that, when the game dept. can't give a straite answer.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: PA BEN on January 23, 2009, 05:43:00 AM: Read through the new Regulations for Archery and didn't see the broadhead Restriction.
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: Pathfinder101 on January 23, 2009, 09:56:43 AM: If I really wanted to hunt with expandables, I would call the local FIsh and Game Officers and ask. Like stated in an earlier post, they are the ones writing the ticket. That said, the way I read it, they are illegal for any game.
Regarding arrow grain weight, the minimum weights are established for safety reasons, BUT I have been checked in the field a couple of times, and I have yet to see the officer pull out a tiny arrow scale.. :chuckle:
Title: Re: help with regulation clarification
Post by: dbllunger on January 23, 2009, 06:39:10 PM: PaBen....because when getting conflicting information from any governmental agency I opt for the safer information.