2013 Washington MRS-Coming up!

[Breshears]

Hey guys and gals, I am gearing up to write the Washington MRS, it has been a long time coming, I am hopeful we can put something together that is helpful for each of us! I grew up just outside of Spokane, I have hunted a lot of bear, whitetail and turkeys, along with a good amount of elk hunting in the Yakima/White Pass areas. This year's MRS will be short only a few pages, but it is a good start! If any of you are interested in sharing info, feel free to send me pics, state updates, area updates, elk updates, whitetail, muley and blacktail updates, wolf updates, etc. I moved away 6 years ago to the Big Skies of MT, so I am due for a freshener! I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.


Jordan Breshears

Eastmans' Field Editor

 

[Ridgerunner]

Our OIL tags are excellent with very good trophy quality but very low draw odds. The draw system is good it is based off of nevada's. Deer and elk have some good draws but they are long odds. Overall the best hunting by far is for those who draw the tags, the OTC hunts leave much to be desired.

 

[Shooter]

I have lived in WA my whole life and pretty much hate hunting in my home state. General season mule deer huting is very poor or poor at best. The best mule deer draw units barely compare to a general season unit in E MT. The NE corner of the state has some pretty good WT hunting. But every year there seems to be more and more people and deer numbers seem down. And with the wolves I don't see it getting any better. The SE corner of the state also has some WT's but you have to deal with the private land in that area. In the last 15-20 years the lack of logging on the west side of the state seems to have hurt Blacktail numbers. And now most large timber compaines keep there gates locked even during hunting season.
The eastside of the state is almost all spike only for hunting elk during the general season. The NE corner has a few elk without the spike only restrictions. But you better plan on doing a lot of scouting and it's going to take a lot of years of hunting to pull a bull out of that jungle. The westside of the state is 3pt min for general season elk. Numbers are down with hoof rot in the SW corner of the state. The amount of orange that you will season during the westside general rifle season is amazing. The amount of people you will season during rifle season, is like what you will see hunting a 2nd or 3rd season otc unit in CO times 10. The westside archery season is fair at best. It still has to many people. The draw odds of getting a bull tag on the east or westside is horrible.
The only bright spot is the OIL tags. But you have a better chance of drawing the Henery's rifle tag 2 or 3 times in your life than drawing a OIL tag in WA.
Why eastmans would waste money or worse yet time to do a MRS section for WA is beyond me.
A good MRS section for WA would say "don't waste your time hunting in WA".

 

[Timberstalker]

Sounds like Oregon and Washington have alot in common. If I were to look at Washington as an non-resdent it would be for Bighorn Sheep, any other species I wouldn't even consider Washington.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Moose and goat are excellent as well. Deer and elk leave a lot to be desired though

 

[Fish]

Wa big game hunting is fair at best, unless you draw a special tag. The bright spots are the NE corner WT's and the bird hunting. I had to go hunt cow elk in WY on a leftover tag because I could not draw a cow tag here. I don't even hunt elk unless I draw a special bull tag, too many people and real low success on spike bulls. The mule deer hunting has gone down hill on the east side in the last 5 years.
We have some real good sheep, moose and goat hunts if you can draw a tag, but you have a better chance at hitting lotto.
The only way the hunting will get better here is to go to a limited draw hunts for deer and elk in all areas, but that will never happen.
Good luck to all that apply here.

 

[Musket Man]

I live on the palouse. IMO does a very very poor job at best of managing wildlife. Any state that gets cleared to manage wolves in part of the state and chooses to declare them endangered within the state themselves and protect them has some serious problems! There are a decent amount of white tails here but with OCT general tags and pickups and 4 wheelers chasing them all over the farm fields bucks dont get very old. I call it deer chasing instead of hunting. All the LE tags are just rut tags following heavily hunted general seasons with very long lines and are not worth it to me. I have hunted the NE corner and saw very few deer or elk in the mountains. Numbers are better down lower but then it gets into more private land. Most people I have talked to in the NW believe that deer and elk numbers have been declining since they restricted mountain lion hunting. I really cant see why any nonresident would want to come here. I live here and I hardly hunt here. I do put in for trophy species because its cheap as a resident but thats about it unless I dont draw anything else.

 

[Brocka]

I really cant see why any nonresident would want to come here. I live here and I hardly hunt here.

Agree, I feel like Washington has alot of potential to become a great state to hunt in, but unfortunately its not ever going to happen. The only reason I hunt here is because I have a handful of points built up and I am a resident. Once I draw I am done putting in here. I haven't drawn a tag since I was 12 and I got a "Any buck" youth tag. I am 23 now...Granted I put in for units that are a little better and require a few points to draw but still, there are guys that have max points and haven't drawn for years with them. If your lucky enough to draw a Trophy tag, you probably should buy a lotto ticket that same day. I don't think a non resident should waste their time in our draw. Just my opinion.

 

[bigeasygator]

I've seen quite a few GIANT bucks shot in Washington this year on various websites this year!

 

[Ridgerunner]

There have been quite a few 200" plus bucks killed this year,it's been unusual.

 

[Brocka]

I've seen quite a few GIANT bucks shot in Washington this year on various websites this year!

There has been for sure. Like Ridgerunner says though, pretty unusual.

 

[Bruce]

I agree that Washington has great potential but WDFW fails to manage wildlife and instead creates opportunity for the public.
Something has to change, Big Game should be put first instead of hunters requests: with hunter numbers increasing, road densities, types/ and lengths of hunting seasons, technological advancements in hunting equipment, predator numbers, wdfw budget shortfalls, age of animals doing the breeding effecting herd dynamics, (younger animals breeding creates late calfs or fawns), habitat loss, hoof rot or other diseases, lack of education in our younger generation, it would be truly a wonder if our younger generation ever harvested a mature Buck or Bull in General Season or even a controlled hunt if they were lucky enough to get drawn.

 

[Noiro]

I know the moose are FULL of parasites. I quit hunting WA 20 years ago. Way to much effort for minimal returns.

 

[Breshears]

Hey guys, thanks for the info. I realize WA is not a heavy hitter in the grand scheme of things, however, there are several good options as you all mentioned OIL tags, and decent Whitetail. We are shaping this MRS section with care, and hopefully with your continued help! This year's MRS will be short and hit the highlights and over the next few years we can dig in we can potentially expose a few more pros and help educate people about the cons. Thanks again for all of your helpful info. Let me know what you think of the right up, it will be in next months issue! (April/May) EHJ.

Sincerely

Jordan Breshears

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can't wait to see it

 

[Shooter]

I can't wait to see it. I think it could be interesting. Did you do your write up for the MRS just by going off of your own experience with hunting WA. If not how did you go about writing it?

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Friends don't let friends hunt in Washington (or Oregon for that matter)

 

[Shooter]

I agree 100%.

 

[MacDonald]

Friends don't let friends hunt in Washington (or Oregon for that matter)

Beats California! We hunted there one year in the Mendocino unit and all we saw were guys roaring around on their ATV's , all camoed up, hoping to see a deer. We're trad guys, and were on foot. No deer at all opening weekend. I moved to WA, and there are animals here, you just need to avoid the KOA-type deer camp areas. This usually means a 10-12 mile hike into the high country.

 

[Aught6Fan]

I've been perusing the WA MRS lately and well done Eastmans! Good to know all the stats even if it's not a known "trophy" destination.