Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: PNWCOONASS on June 09, 2008, 08:13:33 AM

Title: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: PNWCOONASS on June 09, 2008, 08:13:33 AM: Ok, need some adice. I have never hunted neither 550 or 554. This will be my first year hunting late muzzle loader. I have put in for cow tags in both areas. Which one do you think will be best for general hunting if I don't get picked for tags and which one if I do get picked.

I will be hunting late M/L starting Nov 19th..

thanks Pete

PS, just about half way of our deployment. keep the post coming, I'm learning alot..

Thanks Pete
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Curly on June 09, 2008, 09:20:05 AM: 554
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: PNWCOONASS on June 09, 2008, 09:50:48 AM: Why 554? Is it because it will not be open for regular late M/L? What is the area like? Mountains, snow, deep valleys? What is the best way to get into the area? road access?

Sorry for all of the quesitons Curly, this website is my scouting for the season. I'm on an aircraft carrier near iraq...

Thanks for the help.. Pete
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: DeKuma on June 09, 2008, 10:00:20 AM: Thanks for your service, Pete!
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: popeshawnpaul on June 09, 2008, 11:14:31 AM: It's thick nasty timber country with clear cuts. Usually the roads are closed and you have to hike in. You usually can't see more than 30 feet in any direction. It's not for everyone and can be really frustrating...
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: p-ohana on June 09, 2008, 11:31:16 AM: I've been into elk everytime I've been in 550. The last 2 years I got a 4x4 and 4x2. There are alot of cows. It doesn't matter if I'm hunting deer or elk I always seem to run into elk. I've never hunted 554.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: aspshannon on June 09, 2008, 01:58:49 PM: I would say Coweeman is your better of the two.

550 is a larger unit - spreads the hunters out.
550 has more elk per square mile. (Yale unit 554 was created to control the elk population down and around the Lewis River HWY) However this unit should produce some cows)
550 will be open (GATES) for late ML season (should I say usally is.) They typically dont lock the gates until all seasons are done.

Keep in mind the late ML bull hunt is a tough one. Dont expect to just drive around drinking coffee and bag your bull. Instead prepare to hike down dug up roads and through reprod and timber patches. The majority of your mature bulls will be off on their own by this time. You my get lucky and find some younger bulls still hangin with the girls.

As far as where to go in 550.... Pin a Map on the wall and throw a dart... there will be elk there... Seriously there are elk everywhere you go in the Coweeeeeman.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: MIKEXRAY on June 09, 2008, 02:02:17 PM: I've only hunted 550 and like p-ohana said lots of elk. They are smart though and by late season pretty educated that hunting is on. Watch for locked gates and no access in 550. My buddy got locked in last year late season and had to stay the night. Good luck
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: PNWCOONASS on June 09, 2008, 08:55:12 PM: Thanks guys, I appriecate the help.
Aspshannon- Don't worry I will be out of the truck pounding the brush. No HO-HO's and coffee.
P-ohana, was that early or late season?
Pope, I take it you are talking about 554?
DeKuma, your welcome. This year will be 19 great years of service.
MIkexray, was that the main road 1600 that was locked or a spur road?

Man I cannot wait to get out in the woods. 4 months to go and counting.

Pete
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Ghost Hunter on June 09, 2008, 09:48:40 PM: I'd have to agree with 550, due to area and access. Yale is small but did increase in size with the Green Mt. area being added. But if Yale it is, give me a PM if ya need a place to park and camp. Heck, I'll even help pack it out. Haven't managed to catch one in the yard during season......yet :chuckle:
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Houndhunter on June 09, 2008, 10:28:32 PM: yale can be good if you know some guys that have some private land

we find them in the summer but during fall they seem to go onto private land, they are really spread out

this is from my small amount of expeirence though, dont know a thing bout 550
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Little Fish on June 09, 2008, 10:53:01 PM: Another vote for Coweeman. I'd go in on Headquarters road or through Rose Valley. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways in though.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: LongTatLaw on June 09, 2008, 10:58:10 PM: Ive never hunted either but I did the same thing last year...I was about to move up to WA after getting home from Iraq so I used this site to do some "scouting"

This fall Ill be in Iraq before season starts so Ill be watching the site like u are for one season!

dave
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: spin05 on June 10, 2008, 12:21:34 AM: I used to hunt 550 for muzzleloader .Saw alot of elk never got one thou. I went in headquarters rd. And went almost all the way to the back by the toutle unit.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: PNWCOONASS on June 10, 2008, 02:21:47 AM: Ghost, I"ll keep you in mind depending on the result of the drawing.

Dave,
Good luck, keep you ass down and your head on a swivel.

Thanks for all of the help and keep it coming.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: MIKEXRAY on June 10, 2008, 05:04:18 AM: Main road in from headquarters. The gate was open and manned but my buddy looked to the side and drove right by the guy. So they locked his ass in, tried to drive around but couldn't get out. The next morning (after sleeping with no gear) he asked the guy at the gate and he told him it was locked up during active logging activities due to vandalism.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: PNWCOONASS on June 10, 2008, 07:36:44 AM: A couple of more questions,

Are you saying that they lock down the Head quarters road? So is planning to camp in the area not such a good idea? Any pointers on where to park a camper?

Should I look at areas North of the Coweenman river or south?

I took out my atlas and just looking at the map I would initially plan to go to the area between Wolf Pt and Baird Mtn, any thoughts? South Areas around 19th Mtn and Baldy Mtn?

thanks again guys, you have definately suppling me with good info.. Pete
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Curly on June 10, 2008, 08:41:34 AM: You are not allowed to stay on the Weyerhauser property over night. They do lock the gates and they do patrol the area. It is kind of a pain in the ass because of the lockdown, but it maybe helps the hunting because of the lack of camps in there.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: p-ohana on June 10, 2008, 01:44:44 PM: As to your question early or late season. I hunt modern firearms, so middle of Oct thru the middle of Nov. Last year on opening day deer season driving in I came across :) 3 cows bedded down in the middle of the road. I don't know who was more surprised me or them. Just get back as far in there as you can find some tall timber that looks good and walk thru it, if theres a clearcut near by even better. It's a mad house in there for the modern firearms season, so I can't say about the M/L season. I hope this helps you out.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Little Fish on June 10, 2008, 04:26:06 PM: I haven't hunted late muzzle loader in there, but I've heard it's crowded. Not compared to moder firearm season, but crowded none-the-less.

I short ways before the Headquarters gate (few hundred yards) there is a gravel parking area. During modern season there are one or two groups that make camp in the parking area so that tells me its probably not timber company land. My guess is you could park a camper/trailer here.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: popeshawnpaul on June 10, 2008, 04:32:55 PM: There is a guy on every ridge during rifle and muzzle seasons and they all have radios and it sounds like a war zone. I wouldn't suggest hunting it unless you can sit on some escape route. There are better units out towards the coast...
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: Opportunist on June 10, 2008, 07:08:34 PM: There is no late general season in 554, Yale is open in the early season. So the Coweeman is your only general late season opportunity that's any good.

The coweeman cow tag is a gimme kill if you get drawn. It's pretty tough to find a legal bull in the late hunt, they've had the *censored* chased out of them by archers and rifle hunters. Watch out for active logging, roads that access logging setups/landings are locked at night and usually these areas are shutdown weekend only. There's elk throughout the whole unit.

The yale tag is weather dependant. The lower part of the unit is private and public access on the Pacific Power property. Upper part is timber company and is mostly logged off now. They've really been dumping the timber that is left in the unit. The reprod is always good. You need good snow on Lakeview peak to push toutle bulls down into the Yale so later is better. The elk will jump back and forth on the boundary road between the toutle and yale.

Good luck on the draws and like I said in my pm give me a call if you want to go out, my dad is muzzleloading and my son has a multi-elk tag so we'll be definetly hitting the coweeman late season.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: shag on June 21, 2008, 07:16:54 AM: I also applied for the Yale :) Haven't spent much time in there in the past. But it looks good to me.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: WDFW Hates ME!!! on June 21, 2008, 07:55:48 AM: If you havn't been into yale you will have a hard time finding animals. If there is no snow the animals are far and few between.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: popeshawnpaul on June 21, 2008, 09:15:28 AM: I disagree with the above...
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: WDFW Hates ME!!! on June 21, 2008, 09:29:04 AM: Oh yeah shawn you caught me, You just can't get away from the extra people. Tons of elk in there, easy to find...
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: WDFW Hates ME!!! on June 21, 2008, 09:38:58 AM: We live 30 minutes from the unit and do not hunt it... We do alot of scouting in it though.
Title: Re: 550 Coweeman or 554 Yale?
Post by: popeshawnpaul on June 21, 2008, 10:05:16 AM: Us archers do well in there. High success rates...