Washington elk draw

[high country]

I know nothing at all about oregon, and I will not even begin to act like I do. montana has always been a destination for elk hunters. montana is similar to wa in that it has elk everywhere with huge concentrations in a few locations. montana also has a rediculously long season with extremely relaxed harvest requirements. if they allowed every out of state hunter to come and kill an elk in their 2 months of elk season I could see trouble.

so I am with you. lets make nonresident hunters draw.....there, we are now modeling after one ofthe most sucessful management states in the nation.

[Buckrub]

Read this article and read between the lines from the biologists.... interesting read.

Why would the state and feds log the rimrock area? wildfire?
Elk can and do live around people with cover... escapement is the key and if it means making it harder for some to hunt then so be it.
Better to make it harder to hunt for escapement than to not hunt at all.




http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunting/news/story?page=h_map_06_WA_Morton_elk

[Buckrub]

From the most hunted area in the state.... lots of clearcuts with cover for escapement... I won't hunt there because of the people but thousands do and have a great time hunting with a chance at a bull.... nuff said?

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,63565.0.html

[AKBowman]

HELL NO!!! If you want to hunt in an all draw state move to Arizona..

Hunterman(Tony)

Or Nevada

[AKBowman]

East side and west side are two totally different worlds when it comes to elk hunting. If a guy wants to put in a little work he should be able to kill a decent bull every year on the west side. There are still MANY places on the west side where big bulls die of old age and live there lives in the deep dark jungles of the western rain forests. Totally different on the east side, no where to hide and roads everywhere!

I think it should stay the same though and they should concentrate on patrolling for poachers, keeping a closer eye on the amount of native killed animals and predator control.

[high country]

you guys on the wet side need to stop confusing the east side with the middle. when I hunted the wet side, I was appalled by the number of roads. here we have a couple roads that you would die before you walked to another one.

[jbeaumont21]

you guys on the wet side need to stop confusing the east side with the middle. when I hunted the wet side, I was appalled by the number of roads. here we have a couple roads that you would die before you walked to another one.

Yeah it really sucks with all the roads especially when they open the gates.  You can take off hiking in an area that looks real elky just to come to another road with a truck driving by.

[bearhunter99]

I agree with Bone, but I also think that a draw system could work.  Have a drawing, but make it so anyone who doesn't draw is guarantees the next year.  Just cutting the numbers in half would do wonders for success rates after a couple of years I think.

Making non-resident draw only would never really help in my opinion.  Have you looked at the non-resident tag prices?  Who in their right mind would pay that kind of money to hunt in this state?  I'll bet the number of non-residents in WA is very very low compared to other states.

 

[elksnout]

Yes. In a heartbeat. I'd rather hunt Washington elk every 2-3 years with perhaps having a better chance at a ADULT bull with less hunting pressure than what we have now. Where we currently hunt it isn't that bad but some years there are a lot of hunters. First game plan of each day is to outwit the other hunters. And, although I've never hunted it, the Winston unit sounds like a real nice place to stay out of comes to mind as an example. For me, the times I didn't draw I would spend more time deer hunting, hiking and such. Hell, still would go to elk camp anyway with the guys who drew just to be there. With some planning I might save up and hunt out of state maybe. To me anyways a quality hunt needs to limit hunter numbers. Less animals, land access issues, pr editors, tribal hunting and now wolves it's more than just about us. What about sustaining elk for our kids? I really think it's just a matter of time before this will be answered for us.  

[Bob33]

I think you need to be careful when comparing Washington to other states.

I drew a bull elk tag in Oregon this year for the Snake River unit.  It took seven years to draw.  However, I could hunt that unit every year for a spike bull.  It's a draw, but there were 330 permits and only 64 first choice applicants.  Essentially it becomes an "over the counter" tag if you're willing to apply as a first choice.

Washington has a lot of people, and fewer elk than some of the other western states.  I just read where Wyoming has three big game animals for every resident, while Washington has 16 residents for every big game animal: that's a animal/human ratio of about 50 times greater in Wyoming.

I grew up hunting elk every year with my dad.  I never saw a legal elk until I'd hunted about 12 years.  I have great memories.  It would be unfortunate to see that experience taken away from today's hunters but I could understand why it might be necessary.

[bobcat]

Yes Oregon does have units that a guy could draw an elk permit in every year. And that's what I think we need here. At least they have some sort of control on the number of hunters in each GMU. Some units could be managed more for trophy potential, and others for high harvest each year. But the way our state does it is no management at all. Sure it's nice to be able to hunt anywhere you choose each year, and sure it's convenient, and makes planning easier, knowing that you can hunt every year with all the same hunting partners out of the same camp. But with the number of animals we have and the number of people in this state, that kind of "non-management" elk management just isn't cutting it anymore. It's pretty obvious when things are out of whack, when they have to resort to the most ridiculous scheme in some GMU's recently- the "true spike" general season fiasco. What a joke that is. 

[Tman]

I think the biggest issue with this is the current "WDFW VS. HUNTERS"..  If WDFW had shown that they could responsibly and fairly manage our wildlife resources, I think there would be alot more support from hunters around the state.  Currently, I don't trust the department, or the state for that matter as far as could throw em.  So for now, NO changes.

[rosscrazyelk]

There are alot of good reasonings being talked about on here but I vote no and for one reason only. Besides the hunting part I love the people that I hunt with. It is more then the hunt for me , it is spending time with my friends in the woods. If it goes to draw only and I get drawn and they don't it just would not be the same.

[bobcat]

There are alot of good reasonings being talked about on here but I vote no and for one reason only. Besides the hunting part I love the people that I hunt with. It is more then the hunt for me , it is spending time with my friends in the woods. If it goes to draw only and I get drawn and they don't it just would not be the same.

That's why they would have the option of applying as a group, so you all get drawn, or none of you get drawn.

[6x6in6]

Voted yes but should have voted no.
If it stays as is, my out of state draw odds would go down because some of you would look more frequently to going out of state.