Any hunters in washington , I have a question

[datruth]

Im active duty army, and just got stationed in Ft. lewis and curious about getting back into hunting pretty much, white-tail and mule deer and maybe elk and bear , I just bought a savage 30-06 110 , but being military what is the procedure to get a hunting permit

 

[BlindJustice]

You have a great opportunity being stationed in Wash. State. Washinton State has the widest diversity of Big Game in the Lower 48.

West COast - Blacktail Deer
Olympic Penn. Roosevelt Elk a sub species that is considered a sepa
separate branch of the ELk Family
Black Bear - West COast Oly. PEnn Cascades and north across the mtns below B.C>
mountain Goats - Cascades
and of course Cougars hey I live in PUllman home of WSU GO COUGS !!!

WHat else oh, COyuotes Jackrabbits, cottontails Whitetails all over the dang place... Muleys kinda fill the niche tween higher elev. Elk and the more snoop around humans in lower elev. of the whitetails.

A couple of years back I was traveling in SE WA on hwy 24 and in broad
dayllight I saw something about the size of a coyote ctorssing the road in front of me but it didn't have the snout of a coyote - I sped up and passed it as it dissappeared into a wheat field - I can only say it must have the longer legged cousin of a bobcat, the Lynx.


Oh in NE Wash. as well as along the e. WAsh. bornder there are some Moose

and in NE OR they have been trying to repopulate the Horned sheep but i don't know if they hunt them yet....

and if you get near the Coloumbia river gorge on the east side of the state and anywhere near open sagebrush country where good thick boots and watch for rattlesnakes. growing up in the middle of the state - we always kept the rattles and put them on a piece of bailing wire for a colletion
to keep on the dash of the farm PU truck to show to neighbor farmers.
SHot shells.? pffft, A good shovel or if yah don't have that and it's a bad
day you use a rock and afterwards go back to the truck get the shovel you
should have had changing water and bury the head with fangs

I don't hunt anymore - since 'Nam but am a good camp cook...
e

 

[eliphalet]

what is the procedure to get a hunting permit

get in touch with Washington's fish and game Dept. Find out what is required from there then you will be sure your legal.

Blind Justice is correct in there are plenty of good hunting opportunities near you, Wa has great fishing too.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Don't get your hopes up of actually killing something. Although there are plenty of opportunities here, drawing permits and success rates are very poor in WA. Moose, sheep and goat are once-in-a-lifetime draws and can take 10-20 years to draw. Eastern branch antlered elk bull (rifle) are also near impossible to draw. Drawings are finished for 2007. Mule deer are very scarce (they are only in Eastern WA) and there's 3-point restrictions. For elk and deer, you must choose your weapon first (either archery, muzzleloader or modern firearm). And for elk then choose which side of the state you want to hunt, either Eastern (East of the Cascades) or Western (opposite). If you hunt blacktail or elk on the west side, be prepared to hunt and camp in 24/7 rain. If hunting Eastern Elk or deer, be prepared to hunt in 85-90 degree weather or 20 degrees and ass-deep snow. No baiting or dogs (for the most part) for cougar or bear. Best bets are the NE part of the state for whitetail or the Mt St. Helens area for elk. I believe you can purchase in-state licenses if stationed here, so that helps.

Now fishing on the other hand, that's a whole different story. I can't imagine living in any other state that has so many great fishing opportunities. The humpies and silvers are coming in a few weeks to the central Sound and I'll be using my vacation time to fill the freezer with salmon and crab, versus wasting my time hunting. All my venison comes from Montana and Missouri.

 

[priv8ter]

Well....

As NRA4Life said, you have already missed the boat for this year as far as special permit applications go.

As a military person stationed here, you will be able to buy resident price tags, which is nice. Non-resident stuff costs 10 times what a resident pays, and I am not sure that hunting in Washington is good enough to justify paying $700+ for a deer/elk/beer/cougar combo.

First thing, swing into a sporting goods store and pick up the Washington State Big Game Rules. Then, go find a layer...

Just kidding...the regs here this year are about 103 pages long, but about half of that is the written description for the GMU's(Game Managment Area's).

Next, if you were born after 1971, you must attened a Hunters Education Class.

This is a link to the Official Washington State Website for places where the training is conducted.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/enf/huntered/basic_class.htm

I don't believe it is a 100% complete list, but it is a good place to start. It also wouldn't hurt to ask the folks at a local sporting goods store. If you are at Ft. Lewis, I recommend either Sportco in Fife, or the new Sportsman's Warehouse in Lacey.

Let's see...from there, it's a matter of finding some land. I'm afraid I can't help much with that...I have hunted public lands between Ellensburg and Yakima...Manastash, Umtanum, and Bethel GMU's. Opening day of Modern deer and elk are enough to make you want to dig a fox hole on public land anymore.

As for your gun..there should be nothing in Washington you can't hunt(other than birds) with a savage .30-06.

If you have any other questions, just ask...

greg

 

[BlindJustice]

Sorry I didn't RTFQ your entire post.

Just go to a Sporting Goods store or call first
and ask to buy a combined hunting and fishing license
and if you have a specific game animal in mind ask
if a tag or say Duck Stamp is needed.

HEck I should buy one myself it supports Fish and
Game stuff they do.;

FIshing - I had a guy stop by when he was on a trip
around the country from a sports list. He was looking at the
sports section of the paper. He remarked he had never seen
the fish count at the local dams listed in the Sports section
before. SO I told him the locals I knew that fish
for Steelhead on the Snake River, and there's Trout in
the lakes in Idaho east of heare

SInce you're Active Duty you'll probably get Resident
rates for the H/F License at least I would hope so.

pssst, I know a green valley off the beaten path that has
several WHitetails... I had a couple of close calls with
those hooved rats on my motorcycle - hey thousands of acres
of wheat it's an all you can eat buffet for the deer.