Help Understanding Legal Hunting Zones In Washington

[jeynon7]

Hey guys, I'm from pennsylvania and I'm having a little bit of a hard time finding legal zones to hunt. I'm hunting for Black tail in Western Washington and going to gmu 621 and 624. Most likely brothers wilderness and buckhorn.  Back home in PA they have game lands and you just park and go and you know if you're on private property because signs will be posted,  otherwise you're in legal hunting land because you're on the game lands.  Here with the national park and protected native land I'm a little uneasy if I'm illegally hunting or if I'm hunting too close to hikers and families camping.  Obviously you don't have to give me the spots but can anyone help define what's legal and what's not legal past the hood Canal bridge.  Thanks so much.

[bobcat]

You'll be hunting either Olympic National Forest or state land managed by the Department of Natural Resources. Stop in at a National Forest office and pick up some maps. A GPS with Onx maps would be extremely useful as well. You'll be fine as long as you stay out of the National Park and stick to just the National Forest and state lands. Tons of public land to hunt in 621. I don't know anything about 624 though so I can't comment on that.

[grade-creek-rd]

I agree with Bobcat on getting a GPS with OnX maps...you can also do some limited research at the WDFW website with the GoHunt tab which will also give you a Unit Overlay, some public/private land boundaries and it uses a terrain view (Google earth/Satelite photos) and it is free...but again, it is kinda rudimentary compared to Onx and Google earth combined on your PC/MacBook.

Grade

[Kc_Kracker]

get onX best $3 youll spend

[npaull]

I used to hunt the Pope Tree Farm in GMU 624. Often did quite well. Lots of roads to walk in and explore. If they're still open to walk-in public access it's worth checking out. Do a google search for Pope Resources timberlands and poke around.

[Ben Roberts]

Another useful tip for out of state folks: State Parks are off limits for hunting. just an FYI

[fishnfur]

OnX is nice, but you can survive pretty easily without it too. Cell phone based GPS will probably not work out there.   If you don't have a few hundred bucks sitting around to purchase a handheld GPS, the WDFW website maps are fine:  http://apps.wdfw.wa.gov/gohunt/app.html?theme=bigGame  Once you OK the disclaimer, just change the Basemap tab (under the Help, in the upper right corner) to public lands. Light green is National Forest.  Orange is DNR.

If you can't find the Pope Resources maps for open areas, the Jefferson Co. Assessor's site has a GIS mapping feature that allows you to identify property owners in the area you're interested in.  Timber Co. parcels are easy to locate 'cause they're so big.

[Russ McDonald]

Thats where onX maps allows you to download the maps of areas you want to hunt before goong out in the woods.  Then you don't need the  cellular network.  Most smart phines have a GPS chip on board so it will track you without the cellular network.  It is very accurate to.

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[yakimanoob]

Thats where onX maps allows you to download the maps of areas you want to hunt before goong out in the woods.  Then you don't need the  cellular network.  Most smart phines have a GPS chip on board so it will track you without the cellular network.  It is very accurate to.

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Does the "Randy" code still get you 30% off? 

I use onX on my phone and consider it worth the money for sure.  That said, if you're tight on cash, fishnfur is certainly right that you can live without it.  The same information is available various places if you're willing to do the research.  Or you can pay onX for the convenience . 

Don't forget you can pick up the phone and call the state bios and land managers in the area.  Folks will always complain about government, but coming from Alabama I've found the state WDFW and land mgmt folks to be super helpful.