PEAX Equipment

New To Washington

Wanderer4life

New member
Joined
Jul 8, 2018
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Hey everyone, we just moved to Washington. My wifes occupation brought us to the suburbs of Seattle. I grew up in Missouri were whitetail hunting was king. I have been watching on your own adventures for a long time. I have been dreaming of antelope hunting for a few years now. Ever since I watched The Lobster of the Prairie by Meateater. The backpack camping and hunting style intriques me so bad. Listening to Newbergs Podcast along with The meateater podcast for what seems to be 2 years now. I am excited to hunt in this far western state. It was in July that my wife got this interview, and since then I have been imagining this dream of western hunting. I never thought there would be opportunity to hunt Elk, beer, deer like there is here. I have a lot to learn and need to exercise to prepare! I am trying to get unpacked so I can start exploring and studying the fish and game regs.
 
Thank you guys I am hoping to get out this weekend and get out to Mt. Ranier. I need to get onx for WA, I have it for Florida. Man did it pay off to have it there! I am wanting to get out and wander around. There is so much wild country here.
 
Thank you guys I am hoping to get out this weekend and get out to Mt. Ranier. I need to get onx for WA, I have it for Florida. Man did it pay off to have it there! I am wanting to get out and wander around. There is so much wild country here.

There is an awful lot of public land in Washington, east and west of the Cascades. Much to explore, and a decent 4wd vehicle can be a huge help on some of the more rugged Forest Service & BLM roads.

I'm over the mountains from you in Chelan County. Feel free to contact me for info. Have been hunting in Washington about 25 years, but mostly near my home. I do wander much of the state though, camping, hiking, etc..

Regards, Guy
 
Washington has a few pronghorn but no season. Reintroduction has not been successful though a few migrate in from Oregon apparently and there was talk of placing a few dozen onto a military facility in Washington where could be protected from poachers.

I was a cornfield hunter for whitetails back in the Midwest as well. Love the West and barely ever go back to the farm to chase whitetails. I like big country and the West has lots of that where could walk for hours and not encounter a road or fence or private property line.

Wyoming is your best bet for hunting pronghorn this year and really any year you want depending on your goals. You can also drive there in a long day of driving.

There is point creep in WY for Pronghorn but there are so many pronghorn buck tags offered each year which are decent tags that point creep is not going to keep you from having some fine WY pronghorn buck hunts. You just are not likely to pull one of the Blue Chip tags anytime soon. Though, in WY, a few First Choice tags are awarded in a random pass so is possible as long as there are enough tags in the pool which there usually are for pronghorn units. Not the case for most of the better WY deer units, for example.

Your WY strategy depends on what you are looking to do. If want a really good hunt then only put in for a First Choice for a really good unit and roll the dice. You can get a point for any year you do not draw your First Choice even if draw a Second Choice or Third Choice or later on get a tag in the Leftover Draw.

If just want to hunt a decent unit then have a couple of strategies. One, you can put a First Choice that is likely to be drawn with 0 points. Not many units to pick from but they exist and might have a few a warts but you should encounter pronghorn on public if do some research.

Second strategy would be to pick a really good First Choice that requires more than 0 points then hope you pull a 1 in 100 odds random tag in that unit. If miss, and you probably will, then have a Second Choice that had some tags go Second Choice last year. That Second Choice tag will likely have more warts than the 0 points tag so that is the issue with this strategy if you miss on the First Choice.

No guarantee your Second Choice unit will have Second Choice tags this year but might. If tag allotment is cut or that unit gets publicized as a Sleeper unit or other applicants are looking for a new Second Choice unit then odds can dramatically worsen. There is always the Leftover Draw to get a buck tag or a second buck tag though even more warts on those units. You can still have a fun hunt with a pronghorn tag in your pocket for any unit but may spend significant time driving between small parcels of public land and encountering other hunters.

If miss on your First Choice for three or four years then can almost certainly change your strategy for the next year to draw a First Choice tag in a decent though not great unit. Or, keep chasing point creep hoping for a Blue Chip unit. Might be 15 or more years of building points to get to that point.

Your strategy in WY for pronghorn buck tags depends on how often want to hunt and what you feel is a good hunt.

The above is based on you wanting to hunt on public land without an outfitter. If are looking to hunt on private land using an outfitter then your 0 points opens up a lot more units though have higher costs and the sense of accomplishment when tag a buck with an outfitter may not be the same as intense as if tag one on your own.

If are looking to use outfitters then you can also hunt in NM each year by applying in the Guided Pool and if are not drawn then pick up a Landowner tag. Could fly and rent a vehicle and then either freeze meat (boned out, trimmed pronghorn buck would fit in checked suitcase) to take back on plane or have made into jerky there in NM and have shipped to you. If drive, is a loooooong drive from Seattle though might be nice to do once for the scenery.

You can also apply in ID for either one of the Big 3 (sheep moose or goat) or for elk, deer and pronghorn. There are also OTC pronghorn archery tags, if I recall correctly. I have not applied in ID for elk, deer and pronghorn for many years as put in for one of the Big 3.
 
Welcome. Washington is an amazing state for outdoor activities of every kind. Take advantage of it.
 
Lots of public land here and lots of guidance available on this forum. Also, something that even the most experienced hunters in this state neglect to make use of is the Department of Wildlife. My best kept secret is to call a game department biologist in the area that you want to hunt. Those guys are not only a wealth of information, but for the most part they are a neglected source of information and they are almost flattered that someone is actually interested in what they have to say.
 
Lots of public land here and lots of guidance available on this forum. Also, something that even the most experienced hunters in this state neglect to make use of is the Department of Wildlife. My best kept secret is to call a game department biologist in the area that you want to hunt. Those guys are not only a wealth of information, but for the most part they are a neglected source of information and they are almost flattered that someone is actually interested in what they have to say.
Welcome to HT. Not trying to be a D here but you keep reviving old threads, most of which the OP hasn't been seen in over a year, there's a lot of more recent threads about WA that your posts would be more relevant on.
 
Welcome to HT. Not trying to be a D here but you keep reviving old threads, most of which the OP hasn't been seen in over a year, there's a lot of more recent threads about WA that your posts would be more relevant on.
You are a moderator?
 
Nope, just a suggestion, if you look at some of the other threads you or others have revived, I'm not the only one with this suggestion.
 
Not trying to cause trouble, just trying to fulfill the requirements necessary to get to where I can start using this forum. I'm sure there are valid reasons for the 10 uses requirement, and you are certainly under no obligation to explain it to me, but I am ancient, and when you get to be my age you'll understand the feeling of not having a lot of time to waste. By my count I'm up to 9 now so it should need to be addressed in the future.
I'd put a smiley face at the end of this if I knew how to find one.
 
Not trying to cause trouble, just trying to fulfill the requirements necessary to get to where I can start using this forum. I'm sure there are valid reasons for the 10 uses requirement, and you are certainly under no obligation to explain it to me, but I am ancient, and when you get to be my age you'll understand the feeling of not having a lot of time to waste. By my count I'm up to 9 now so it should need to be addressed in the future.
I'd put a smiley face at the end of this if I knew how to find one.
No problem, I think Hunting Wife sums it up well in post 9 here: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/wyoming-elk-47-48-49.258736/#post-3217570

I've often thought it would be good to have a list of unwritten rules to go with the formal rules, tends to be a lot of people do the same things.
 
So how do I know when I have graduated from the peanut galley to wearing big boy pants?
 
I'd say you're there, you didn't have a meltdown and call me names. I think the 10 posts before starting a thread rule makes it hard for new members to introduce themselves, be nice if there was an exception for the "who am I" category so you could get some posts in that way. Sounds like you have a lot of experience in Washington, you should start a thread to introduce yourself.
 
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