Post by: PsoasHunter on May 18, 2022, 09:24:42 PM
I have 3 days to choose my area, and only 2 areas are now remaining to choose from (I was low on the list of 19). I need help from the Hunt Wa braintrust to narrow it down.
"Willipa Hills" which includes GMU's 501, 504, 506, 530, 658, 660, 663, 672, 673, 681, 684
"Olympic", which includes all of GMU's 601, 602, 603, 607, 612, 615, 618, 624, 633, 638, 642, 648, 651 (excludes Elk Area 6064)
These are huge areas and I'm going through a lot of data right now on harvest rates and points of elk harvested, but the areas are huge! I'm a little overwhelmed right now, help me out!
My main concern is public access and ease of access. I have not hunted any of these areas and have no idea what access is. I am not afraid to put miles on, I do the high buck hunt every year and am attempting my 4th summit of Rainier this year, so I will be in shape for this hunt. I'm not afraid to do some hiking behind gates. However, I also have a 2 year old at home and can't be gone for weeks at a time. I envision one week off work and a lot of 2-3-day weekends to devote to this. It's easier to cover a lot of ground if I can drive out from camp each day and hike from there, so that would be the preference, but a hike-in camp hunt would work too. Also, my wife and daughter love the outdoors so if we can camp somewhere drive-able, that's a big plus.
What do you guys think?
Post by: Bob33 on May 18, 2022, 09:48:12 PM
Post by: Clearcut on May 18, 2022, 10:04:39 PM
Post by: Sundance on May 19, 2022, 02:18:40 AM
Post by: nwwanderer on May 19, 2022, 04:33:00 AM
Post by: salmosalar on May 19, 2022, 08:44:29 AM
I have hunted 530 as well. I bought walk in access to timber land. I saw more elk. I was not necessarily around more elk though. There are more cuts to see into from what I have seen. I hunted behind locked gates, closer to the park in the olympic area.
I would hunt with a bow in the Olympics and maybe muzzleloader. Late season in 530. That's how I see it.
Post by: bowhntr on May 19, 2022, 08:50:20 AM
Post by: ASHQUACK on May 19, 2022, 09:47:19 AM
Post by: fowl smacker on May 19, 2022, 11:26:14 AM
Post by: Flaming Antler Outdoors on May 19, 2022, 02:00:02 PM
Post by: pianoman9701 on May 19, 2022, 04:26:55 PM
I have hunted both. There is a lot of access on state ground in the Olympic area. I did a hike in and car camp there.
I have hunted 530 as well. I bought walk in access to timber land. I saw more elk. I was not necessarily around more elk though. There are more cuts to see into from what I have seen. I hunted behind locked gates, closer to the park in the olympic area.
I would hunt with a bow in the Olympics and maybe muzzleloader. Late season in 530. That's how I see it.
There's some public access into 530 from the south side and east side. There are plenty of elk in there, especially before and after anyone's in the woods.
Post by: PsoasHunter on May 19, 2022, 06:04:27 PM
I'd be happy w/ any bull at the end of the day, but I'm hopeful to do the tag justice and go after a mature bull. It's a pretty amazing opportunity that I feel very fortunate to have, so I want to put some effort into it to do it right. I typically hunt private very dense forest land that I know like the back of my hand, w/ some open fields for westside muzzleloader. I have had good success w/ cows but have never seen many bulls. The bulls in my area unfortunately don't grow old or mature, too many small farms w/ hunters keeping an eye on them all year to let them grow mature. Elk in my area also are not big talkers so I've never spent the time learning to call, that's something I'll need to start learning now for this particular tag.
For you guys who have hunted in the olympics, are you finding open enough areas to glass and spot and stalk, are you in thick brush calling, are you still-hunting dark tall timber, or still hunting thick brush following sign?
Thanks again for all your suggestions, it's very helpful!
Post by: PsoasHunter on May 19, 2022, 06:07:05 PM
I’m a little envious of that one. I turned in my hooves last year too but didn’t get selected. I’ll send you a direct message of a potential option of what I would do if I were you since it does not sound like you have a weyco permit.
I got your PM, thanks for the info!
There are still 3 more winners WDFW has to call after I make my choice, so you may still be getting a call!
Post by: HntnFsh on May 19, 2022, 07:07:51 PM
I turned in 2 sets!
Post by: bowhntr on May 19, 2022, 07:13:09 PM
I’m a little envious of that one. I turned in my hooves last year too but didn’t get selected. I’ll send you a direct message of a potential option of what I would do if I were you since it does not sound like you have a weyco permit.
I got your PM, thanks for the info!
There are still 3 more winners WDFW has to call after I make my choice, so you may still be getting a call!
Wow, Fingers crossed
Post by: ASHQUACK on May 20, 2022, 02:26:00 AM
Post by: Sundance on May 20, 2022, 02:55:16 AM
With an Olympic tag you can literally do all that and pretty much any combination of them. You can hunt swamps, clear cuts or second growth timber. It has it all.
100% on this. One of my best glassing spots is in the Olympic zone less than 200 yards from the truck. I can drive 30 minutes to a different GMU where I don’t bring glass because the terrain is so thick I only call to locate. So many options and terrain types.
Post by: Bucks2Ducks on May 20, 2022, 04:29:41 AM
Post by: STIKNSTRINGBOW on May 21, 2022, 07:01:03 PM
If I just wanted meat, Williams Creek.
Post by: PsoasHunter on May 22, 2022, 07:46:47 AM
If I wanted a wall hanger, Olympic.
If I just wanted meat, Williams Creek.
This was my thought going into this and seems to be the consensus here. Thanks for all the input everyone, I'm going to give olympic a shot! The area I hunt doesn't produce big bulls and you don't get many opportunities like this in washington, so I'm going to go after one in a beautiful part of our state.
I'll get a thread going for the journey, I'm going to get some family camping trips out there this summer to start scouting.
Post by: ASHQUACK on May 22, 2022, 10:12:41 AM
Post by: Big6bull on May 23, 2022, 09:27:57 AM
Post by: trophyhunt on May 24, 2022, 04:02:01 PM
Post by: PsoasHunter on May 24, 2022, 08:20:10 PM
Just a heads up, that hoof rot permit is a one and done permit! You have to use your regular elk tag w your permit, but you only get to kill one elk for the season. Just a heads up.
I am aware of this, but I appreciate the heads up, thank you.
Post by: jbeaumont21 on May 25, 2022, 07:58:16 AM
I have hunted both. There is a lot of access on state ground in the Olympic area. I did a hike in and car camp there.
I have hunted 530 as well. I bought walk in access to timber land. I saw more elk. I was not necessarily around more elk though. There are more cuts to see into from what I have seen. I hunted behind locked gates, closer to the park in the olympic area.
I would hunt with a bow in the Olympics and maybe muzzleloader. Late season in 530. That's how I see it.
FYI, there is no late ML season in 530, only archery.
Post by: scoutdog346 on May 27, 2022, 08:40:22 AM