Washington Archery Elk hunters …

shootnrun

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
208
Location
United States
For those that ask "was it public land" when it comes to Washington don't really know how this state works. Private timber makes up a mess of the west side elk habitat. Public has road hunters and piles of people. Private timber hunts at least allow some ability to put in boot miles. Getting away is still tough. But you earn it all the same. I hunt both. But public-land-do-it-yourself-over-the-counter boastfuls really limit the places they can take their flatbrims if they don't look at private timber...
Anyhow, I'll be in WA for the first 4-5 days then heading to WY.
 
OP
Jason277

Jason277

WKR
Joined
Aug 28, 2019
Messages
490
Location
issaquah wa
For those that ask "was it public land" when it comes to Washington don't really know how this state works. Private timber makes up a mess of the west side elk habitat. Public has road hunters and piles of people. Private timber hunts at least allow some ability to put in boot miles. Getting away is still tough. But you earn it all the same. I hunt both. But public-land-do-it-yourself-over-the-counter boastfuls really limit the places they can take their flatbrims if they don't look at private timber...
Anyhow, I'll be in WA for the first 4-5 days then heading to WY.
I ask if its public because there are a lot of people that kill elk in their backyard and then go on Facebook or Instagram and say how hard their hunt was giving people a false impression of how hard Elk hunting is . This can make new hunters feel like they are not good enough or not realizing that its very challenging Timber land included.
 
Joined
Dec 15, 2020
Messages
39
Location
Washington
I ask if its public because there are a lot of people that kill elk in their backyard and then go on Facebook or Instagram and say how hard their hunt was giving people a false impression of how hard Elk hunting is . This can make new hunters feel like they are not good enough or not realizing that its very challenging Timber land included.
If a guy were the type to misrepresent his hunt, do you really think he'd be honest when you ask if it was public?

I shot a bull in my backyard last year, I can't imagine pretending it was something different. I have killed a few elk on public land, It's not like they're any easier to kill on private, other than no other hunters to blow your stalk and you aren't hiking your ass off.
 
OP
Jason277

Jason277

WKR
Joined
Aug 28, 2019
Messages
490
Location
issaquah wa
I’ve seen it first hand . People straight up lie about bulls they have taken over alfalfa bails . Kinda crappy.
 

Tahoma

FNG
Joined
Jul 1, 2023
Messages
10
Well- Stayed in state for my first Rosie hunt this year and wrapped up 6 hard days of hunting a non-motorized Weyehauser permit.

Overall I was impressed by the opportunity since this state has such a bad reputation- we were on elk every day. And we found that generally the quality of the bulls was good. They were quiet but we found some effective strategies and got them in close twice, but never did get to let an arrow fly.

What I was not impressed with was the other hunters we encountered. One group was almost surely trespassing past the walk in gate.

Another guy (who said he lived nearby) and his son told me they heard some yahoo blowing his bugle way too aggressively across the valley, and so they got in their car and started honking their horn (5 long honks) to shut him up. Well, that bugling yahoo was me- and I was in an exchange with a bull who was busy raking a tree to the ground 100 yards away and calling right back to me getting fired up. When captain numbnuts honked his horn, the cows he was with got uneasy and rounded up and they all ran off together.

That was my best chance of the week and that dude ruined it for me before I really got to see it through- who does that? Where I'm used to hunting you might get your ass kicked honking your horn like that in the elk woods in September. Was this a one-off experience or are all the locals in SW Washington that spiteful?
 

musty

FNG
Joined
Apr 15, 2023
Messages
15
That really sucks man. Just gotta let it go and keep on keeping on.

Western WA has a lot of ignorant, entitled, and selfish hunters. I would say most hunters have no problem trespassing or ruining other people's hunt. No morals at all around these parts.

You just have to shrug it off and keep going. Thankfully the knuckleheads usually don't go very deep or venture too far from the road.
 

Tahoma

FNG
Joined
Jul 1, 2023
Messages
10
Yeah you're right about that- we only bumped into those two parties plus a few others all week, and all of them were road hunting. Plenty of room to spread out down in the nasties
 

just.mark

FNG
Joined
Jun 17, 2022
Messages
51
Location
Washington state
Anyone having any luck?
I'm still at it, took last week off for archery. Got my trailer parked on wayco land but all the elk I patterned out disappeared 3 days into archery season. I keep finding fresh rubs and beds with rubs nearby buy no elk, haven't even heard one this year.
 

HoytHunter24

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
270
Location
Buckley, Washington
We got into multiple bugling bulls but this one was the hottest. I had to chase and work him hard for a while screaming at eachother. He raked one tree too many. I snuck in to 35 yards while he was raking and sent a deadly frontal shot when he raised his head. He died within 100 yards.

Hunting a highly pressured public land area.
IMG_9952.jpeg
IMG_9955.jpeg
 

duckhuntr

FNG
Joined
Mar 3, 2023
Messages
62
We got into multiple bugling bulls but this one was the hottest. I had to chase and work him hard for a while screaming at eachother. He raked one tree too many. I snuck in to 35 yards while he was raking and sent a deadly frontal shot when he raised his head. He died within 100 yards.

Hunting a highly pressured public land area.
Nice bull man and nice work. Very chocolate is this a true rosy or hybrid/cascade elk?
 
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