Elk Season - How did everyone do?

[hughjorgan]

Thanks for the replies. Glad to hear the success stories. Other folks I talked to in my area reported similar results as I had. I'm going to write WDFW and assume if other archery guys think the season would be better if moved back they will do the same.

There are only so many hunting seasons I have in me to hunt as hard as I do now pushing 5-10 miles back each day and I hate to waste them hunting less than ideal conditions. Maybe its time to make Washington my backup hunt and try Idaho or Oregon as my primary hunt. It works for salmon fishing! The best salmon and bottom I fishing I experience all year is in Canada even though I still do some fishing locally.

There you go, the season needs to go back to set dates, not floating, and be the 8th-20th or something like that.

If they don't go back to a later start date I will either take my money out of state next season or only hunt the late season. Lots of people and way to warm of temperatures.

[saylean]

Pops filled his cow tag, and Bear tag with a nice chocolate...another in elk camp bagged a true spike...I choked....

[Button Nubbs]

I personally don't mind the earlier season but if something must change open deer and elk the same day! Tired of the deer hunters trompin through the elk woods before the opener.

[dreamingbig]

We did okay.  . I hunted two days and filled my tag on a nice spike.  I also had elk bugling both days I hunted (7th and 8th).

[hardkorrhunter]

This was my first year going out for elk. I bought an eastside tag and have it my best for two days, in which time I saw three elk two cows and one unidintified elk at 40 yards I could not see it head though. I proceeded to go after it but some how that huge animal gave me the slip without making so much as a sound, very impressive. On the day I came into some amazing area and found a nice six point shed. All and all I'd say it was a very successful first hunt though I didn't bring home any meat, I had a great time and learned a lot. That area opens back up for the late archery season in November and I think I might return to give it another two day go.

[billythekidrock]

Finally heard a bull bugle today. I got within 80 yards of the 5x6, but a  cow at 60 yards busted me so I did not get a shot. I watched then run almost a mile with the bull limping the whole way. Not sure if it was hoof rot or if someone clipped him, but I did not see any signs of injury.

[kisfish]

I got my first Washington elk. I got a cow on the west side.

[scotsman]

Went to Colorado tis year. My buddy shot a 4x5 bull with his primitive self bow.... 7 yard shot, 100 yard blood trail. Buddy #2 got another 4x5 with his ultra high tech compound, 25 yard shot and 50 yard blood trail. I had a cow tag so naturally just had a couple of bulls close and personal.

You can whine about the temps being too hot in WA, but the converse is the rain in Colorado.

[SemperFidelis97]

I did shoot a bull this year, but the rut activity was almost non-existant.  I had bulls in my setup almost everyday the year before, and this year I seen maybe six bulls total one of which resides in the freezer.  They seemed lackluster vocally, and I had very few curious bulls come in most of them I ran into while getting from A to B.

[Song Dog]

Called in a cow and Calf opening weekend the Kid I was with shot the calf.  Last Friday I hike up on the Mt. to a sweet mud wallow I located and build a blind.  Sit in the ground blind from before sun up to 6:00 pm  give a call on the bugle and hear one below me in the meadow.  Call again and hear the bugle and then cow calls.  Know right off that it is another hunter so I leave the area not wanting them to find the wallow.  I get on the other side of the Meadow and bugle again and I hear the hunter bugle back.  I locate a bunch of Chanterelle mushrooms and start picking and watch two young guys come running across the meadow.  Both dressed in blue jeans and red and white checkered logger shirts.  I'm watching them run across with arrows knocked and praying that they don't trip and fall.  They come across and then try to walk into the timber.  I'm still picking mushrooms and they walk towards me so I figure I better let them know I'm not an elk. I say hello and the kid lets off of the bow string and blows the air out of his lungs.  He ask me if I had bugled and I tell him that I had.    I ask him if they are going to hunt here tomorrow and this 16-17 year old kid looks at me and say' Sir, I hunt where God tells me to hunt".  I looked at him and I asked him if god had mentioned anything about keeping the wind in your face because he has been hunting with the wind at his back for the last two hours.  I then mention to him that God may not have mentioned it but I'm sure one of the Apostles might have mentioned something about wearing Camo when bow hunting and wished them luck.  The buddy about fell over laughing.   

Saturday I'm back at the mud wallow at first light.  I notice the water is still muddy and go sit in my ground blind.  At 2:30 a rag horn 5x5 with two cows come in.  The little bull is prancing around playing with the cows.  The bull and one cow stay above the wallow and the other cow starts feeding towards me.  She is ten yards up from me feeding on the other side of some vine Maple, no shot.  The bull steps out of the timber and walks towards the wallow.  He is 15 yards in front of me.  He stops broadside and looks back into the timber at the other cow.  I come to full draw pull down behind his shoulder and the cow barks, he wheels and my arrow zips right by him and they all take off I hunted until 6:00 and then start hunting/walking the three miles back to my truck reliving the incident and although I want to cry I'm thankfull for the experience and I pick another 40 pounds of Mushrooms.  Thank God I have a Multi-season tag.

[Bullkllr]

I've got until the 22nd on my Margaret bull tag. Haven't had a ton of time to hunt, but has been slower than I could imagine so far. Most guys I've talked to down there agree- seeing few to no animals at all. Plan on cashing in this week 

[jburkett]

Hot weather made the hunting tough, but I was able to take a big cow here on the east side

[hogslayer]

Sot my first elk this year.  Got it with a bow 10 yards away!  Most exciting thing I have experienced. 

[johnnyaustin44]

Second year archery hunting elk. Got two cows in camp opening day and nothing after. Awesome time and fairly successful.

[Nice Racks]

My honey hole was ready to produce.  I had several bulls coming in all summer long along with a ton of cows.  Set my stands the weekend before opening day and checked my cams. Everything going as planned.  Went to attach my ladder steps to my trees the day before elk came in and checked my cams one last time. Not bad. I had 89 pics in a week. I had noticed that on the last 4 pics that someone else was looking over my mineral site.  My camera was still there so I didn't pay much attention to it at that time.  Later that night I looked at the pics again and noticed that the other hunter had actually turned my camera around in a different direction and then turned it back so it was facing the right direction. The last 2 pics was of that azzhole (literally). One was of him pissing on my mineral site and the last pic was of him *censored*ting. The *censored* had a face mask on too.  I was there at 10:05am. The *censored* was there at 9:59am!. Just minutes before I got there. He was probably standing there laughing his azz off as he watched me check my camera. I still don't know what I would have done if I would have walked up and seen him with his pants down taking a crap.  I mean can you still beat the crap out of someone that just got done taking a crap? What would you have done?  Anyways, that bunghole messed my area up for a week or so, but the joke is on him.  We got one on the 13th (cow), from that exact stand location. I'll be posting those pics here in a day or two.