Reservation sites

[goldenhtr]

For the life of me I can't figure out how I keep missing a reservation only 5sec in. Do people use a bot or something? I spoke with the young man that sets up the blinds and he had some concerns with the setup as is. He knows of hunters that reserve a blind and don't use it if they can get it later in the week so no one else can hunt it before them. I think this defeats the purpose of the program. My concern is that ANYONE with a wild ID can reserve a blind. This include ANTI's as well. I work in the Skagit area and drove by a site both on Tues. and then  on Thurs. a couple of times to find no one hunting this site. SO do you cancel your reservation if you find you can't hunt it, so someone else has a chance to hunt? I would like to see things changed so that the blind is open to use if no one shows up by 11am. Lets also change it so that you can cancel up to 24hrs before your hunt date instead of 72hrs.

What do you think?

[NW-GSP]

I think that there is some shady stuff going on. Either wdfw is saying its reserved when it is not or something similar.

[JLS]

SO do you cancel your reservation if you find you can't hunt it, so someone else has a chance to hunt? I would like to see things changed so that the blind is open to use if no one shows up by 11am. Lets also change it so that you can cancel up to 24hrs before your hunt date instead of 72hrs.

I would very much like to see the cancellation process improved.  I often don't even bother cancelling mine if I have a last minute change in plans.  There is no point in doing so, because it won't be opened up for another reservation.

I doubt anything shady is going on, some of the primo reservation sites go so fast it makes your head spin.

[goldenhtr]

If nothing else a call to WDFW to cancel within the 72hrs prior, they should be able to open it back up. After all things can change within the 2 weeks before a hunt. 24hrs is a better solution I think. What do you all think about opening it up after say 11am if nobody is there?  The east side does it after 10am.

[Bill W]

you just got to be logged on and ready before 8AM.   As the clock ticks down to 8:00:00 start your reservation (fast).   Works for me.

[goldenhtr]

you just got to be logged on and ready before 8AM.   As the clock ticks down to 8:00:00 start your reservation (fast).   Works for me.

Oh I get it Bill. 7:59:59 refresh, bing, bang,boom, 5sec. sorry gone. I do get a few but the majority of the time not so much. But ya, you hunting the east side reservation or the west side. Just gotta keep trying:)

[johnsc6]

I would very much like to see the cancellation process improved.  I often don't even bother cancelling mine if I have a last minute change in plans.  There is no point in doing so, because it won't be opened up for another reservation.

 

Part of the problem, assumtions......... cancel if your not going,
 My opinion is if nobody is there by opening it should be available first come first serve..... it's a bad system, not much better than the "quality snow goose"  fields that brought the slobs to the valley and ruined the snow goose hunting ..

[Bill W]

you just got to be logged on and ready before 8AM.   As the clock ticks down to 8:00:00 start your reservation (fast).   Works for me.

Oh I get it Bill. 7:59:59 refresh, bing, bang,boom, 5sec. sorry gone. I do get a few but the majority of the time not so much. But ya, you hunting the east side reservation or the west side. Just gotta keep trying:)

I've seen some of the quality spots last as long as 80 seconds and as short as 3 seconds.

It would be nice if the cancellation process was improved for near term cancellations.   I know a number of spots that the hunters change their minds on and don't hunt the reservations.

[CP]

I’d like to cancel my spot for Monday but the system won’t let me.

[JLS]

Part of the problem, assumtions......... cancel if your not going,
 My opinion is if nobody is there by opening it should be available first come first serve..... it's a bad system, not much better than the "quality snow goose"  fields that brought the slobs to the valley and ruined the snow goose hunting ..

Fact, if you cancel within 72 hours they don't get re-opened for others.  I've asked.

Here's the problem with the time deal.  If I have a reservation and can't be out first thing, I still have the reservation.  Granted, I primarily hunt upland and I may not get to my reserved spot until 2PM on some days, depending on what time I started and how many places I'm hunting.

If I'm waterfowl hunting and can't make daybreak, but want to hit the AM return flight, there's now way I should HAVE to be in there by daybreak.

[Stein]

They should allow you to cancel until at least the day before.  A lot of stuff can happen and it is a shame when nobody gets to hunt the site.

There are no bots, just a bunch of people that all want the same few sites.  Even the ugly ones fill every day.

I would even support charging $5 per hunt with 100% of the money going to securing more sites.

[Pnwrider]

I'd also be good with charging people that book it and don't show up.

[VarmintVentilator]

I'm a land owner with reservation property, and I understand peoples frustration.  I hear about it every year.  But what the normal hunter doesn't understand is the number of properties that are in this program across the state.  I've got to see the computer program that has all these places up for reservation and it's impressive.  There are literally thousands of acres with who knows how many land owners in this program.  To charge people who don't show up for a particular hunt on a specific piece of property is impossible.  For them to open up the reservation after a cancellation is is impossible as well.  This program is far from perfect.  We discuss numerous situations each year.  But you have to remember, this program was set up to give hunters a place to hunt that they would not even have a chance at if it were not for the program.  Again I feel your frustrations, but it's better than not having the chance to hunt a specific location at all.   Hope I didn't make anybody mad.

[Stein]

Hey, I really appreciate people who make their land available for us to hunt.  I know they pay you money, but it probably isn't much particularly when you get to hear F350s turbo in at 4 am every day and light up the sky at daylight.

Every time I have gone out, I have found some type of trash in the area that I have picked up.  Shotgun shells, granola wrappers, water bottles, ear plugs, cigarette butts and just about everything else.  I think people either don't care or have this entitlement mentality that the state owes them great hunts whenever they want.

I agree the system isn't perfect, but it does give guys a very good option if you time the sites right.  Sometimes they can be a total bust and impossible to even access, but every once in a blue moon it all lines up right.

Yes, they are hard and sometimes impossible to book, but when I take my 7 year old son out, the 2 am public land trench warfare really isn't what I'm looking for.  I would rather wait for weeks to get one reservation and chance it on a new spot.

[CP]

I'm a land owner with reservation property, and I understand peoples frustration.  I hear about it every year.  But what the normal hunter doesn't understand is the number of properties that are in this program across the state.  I've got to see the computer program that has all these places up for reservation and it's impressive.  There are literally thousands of acres with who knows how many land owners in this program.  To charge people who don't show up for a particular hunt on a specific piece of property is impossible.  For them to open up the reservation after a cancellation is is impossible as well.  This program is far from perfect.  We discuss numerous situations each year.  But you have to remember, this program was set up to give hunters a place to hunt that they would not even have a chance at if it were not for the program.  Again I feel your frustrations, but it's better than not having the chance to hunt a specific location at all.   Hope I didn't make anybody mad.

Thanks for participating in the program.  I for one love it and I wish there were more landowners like you that are willing to work with the WDFW to make this happen.