WA. Raffle or Gov Tag

The tag was filled this week after looking at a lot of really good bucks. It was a 6x6 (5x5 with eyeguards) from, where else, the ENTIAT. He was boned out and packed 1.5 miles back up hill. Don't have permission to share anymore info. The archery season is over but a lot of hunters went home with racks and everyone had great hunts.
 
Who ended up with the tag? The guys kid or himself? He bought it at the WAFNAWS fund raiser. He sat at our table and he kept asking his 12 year old if he still wanted it or not as the price got higher and higher.I think he payed 12,500 if I remember correctly. I was thinking screw the kid I'll take it.
Shane
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-22-05 AT 10:48AM (MST)[p]Which Tag? I'm quessing he was Guided? What did he score?
 
Slider, Send your e-mail address and I will e-mail you photos of Drue's buck. 195 is the rough gross. Brett was his guide; you will see him in the photos. I think Drue will post his photos for all to see.
Send your e-mail address to us at [email protected]
 
The auction hunter has not taken a buck yet.

The tag was purchased at the WAFNAWS/SCI banquet but the bidder was not present; he was in Mexico.
 
ah you guys have to give me some infor on this. Your killing me!! was this the Gov Tag buck? 195 gross? thats awesome was that typical or non typical score?? Cant wait for pics and what a great year to have a tag, i felt and still feel really fortunate wabout drawing my Late Swakane tag this year but a Raffle tag or Gov tag that would have been crazy!!!!!!!! Cant wait to hear the story and see the pics. IcicleOutfitters- i sent you and email.

Garrett
 
As far as I know, the 195 buck would belong to the raffle hunter. I think the auction hunter had to head home for a business meeting a couple days ago.
 
I got an email from icicle outfitters of the buck. It's a nice buck but it's nothing that really tripped my trigger like a striaght four point. Awsome buck though and congratulations to the hunter.
 
I hear the guide is one of the best around the area! Does anyone know his number or where he guides out of? Who was the raffle winner and where is he from?
 
I am pretty sure the guy at our table bought the tag. If he didn't it was closed to fast for me to see who ended up with it. He was probably 60ish with either his son or grandson. It was interesting to see him act like 12,500 was like buying a candy bar or something. Seemed like a nice guy though.
Shane
 
I too have seen the pics from Dale and it's a nice buck, definatly a shooter for washington.
 
Just got a picture last night - dandy buck! I looked at 165 bucks last year when I had the tag and I only saw three that would've broke 180 and the one I ended up shooting would've hit 190 without the two busted tips, but there definitely aren't big bucks wandering all around just because you have the raffle tag.

I road it out to the end and almost ended up eating my tag. Until you draw the tag, you can't appreciate how much pressure comes with it. Even with the tag, a guy needs things to come together (i.e. weather, right place at the right time, etc...). I'd rather be lucky than good any day!

We kill a few really big bucks every year in WA, but this ain't Region G or the Arizona Strip or the Paunsagant or the Sheldon. For WA that is a smokin buck! If a mid-190 gross buck don't get your blood pumping, regardless of what state you live in, maybe you should take up needle point!
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-23-05 AT 08:40AM (MST)[p]Well said Sam I couldnt agree with you more, and the buck you got last year was a beaut for washington as well, nice work!
 
I drew the late entiat archery tag this year, while i was on my hunt i met one of the runners for the guide and then the guide stopped and talked to me about some of the bucks we had seen. The gov tag holder was in the pickup with him, they told me had he had paid 15,000 for the washington tag. He also had the utah and i think they said the arizona gov tags. They told me he had shot a 237 NT in arizona and a 214 in utah. While on this hunt I seen a few bucks i feel would have gone 190 net, and two real monsters, one that was a 35" popeye type of buck and one that was about 34", it was a three point main frame and had junk going everywhere, both of these bucks were a throphy of a life time. I wish i had the money to buy a gov tag or the luck to draw the raffle.
 
Sam i still relive your hunt. It is around that time now that you were hunting and getting ready for the last push of your hunt after the holidays. You definitly saw every deer that was around. Cause the days i went with you, we were covering the ground for sure. I still love that buck you got and hey i mean its better than that two point :) Best wishes happy holidays!!

Garrett

oh and did the Gov tag guy get one yet? Who is his guide?
 
The guide was out of Walla Walla, He gave me his number in case I found a big buck for the tag holder, I did see some dandies this year. Go to late entiat posting, the center picture is the buck i got three weeks ago with my bow. At my age the only thing left is my kids, wife and hunting big bucks with good friends.
 
wehunt, if i remember right you had a late archery tag last year. I was just curious if you stuck anything last year or not. Congratulations on your buck this year.
 
Well hopefully we'll soon see how the gov tag holder did. The raffle tag was a great WA buck, I don't think the pics did the buck justice as they weren't the best or the best angles, he is a really nice buck though.
 
Last year I had the first season draw tag, I seen big bucks every day and was trying to get something big so passed on lots of 24" class bucks. I ended up about 10 yards from a 190" buck that was looking away from me and in the excitment of it all I shot high and just cut the hairs on his back, this was my fisrt screw up and the second one was, I spined a 28" heavy 6X4 and with him laying on the ground I ran up to him about 10' away and was drawing my bow to put the final arrow into him when the broadhead blade caught the edge of my riser and it pulled the knock out of my arrow. by this time the buck was getting really wound up and started rolling down a small hill and it pulled the arrow out of his side, got up and ran away as if nothing had happened. I must have hit a nerve, I hope this buck made it, we only found two small spots of blood and watched this buck run away for a long way before it got into the trees. We looked for it for the rest of the day and found no sign of it. I ended up shooting a smaller 6x3, my group got 4 bucks in last years hunt and only one of them was really big.
 
Lets see some pictures of the raffle buck, sounds pretty nice to me. Cant believe these guys that get these tags though, are sending out scouts for them, that sure does take the hunt out of hunting in my opinion, just a opinion. Garrett hopefully if I draw out next year, youll have to tag along on a few hunts.
 
Fellas,

I had the 2005 Raffle Tag - "The Low Dough Show"....there were no paid scouts, guides, outfitters or any other means of harvesting a buck that may have taken "the hunt out of hunting" on this tag. Just good old fashion research and getting out in the field with your hunting buddies and gettting it done.

Sam...you have a PM. Please check your inbox. If Sam isn't available to post the pictures and anyone would like to post them, please feel free to do so.

I'll post a quick recount of the story and hopefully some better pictures early next week. Santa brought a bunch of toys for my three boys and I'm still putting them together...Me and Mrs. Clause gotta have a talk!

Thanks,

Drue
 
Bearhunter- Its a deal, you draw and i am with ya the whole way!! Drue from what i have seen and heard sounds like you had a great time, and a even better hunt. So lets get those pics and that story up!!!

Garrett
 
Drue's message said to post the pictures if you have them. Here you go, heavy mass, nice forks. Sweet buck! great job!

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I was the lucky recipient of the 2005 WA Raffle Tag. I live in Tri-Cities, WA and have been visiting this web-site for a couple years. As a result I've gotten some good information from the site, helped some others out on their hunts and met some great people. I wanted to thank Sam Kolb for sharing his insight from last years raffle tag experience. His advice to not "chase rainbows" all over the state was right on the money! It seems that many people have seen or know where there is a potential 200" class buck and you can spend the entire four months chasing those rainbows. Although I do have to admit that I couldn't help chasing down a few of those leads (38" buck behind Wenatchee Wall-Mart, 32" non-typical in the Desert Unit, 31 point Cactus buck in the Desert Unit...just to name a few) only to be disappointed. The end result was spending considerable time on the phone and in the field and concentrating my efforts in the later part of December in the Entiat Unit.

O.K. - here is the story, I'll try to keep it short. On my third trip to the Entiat Unit I arrived on December 15th and ran into the Governors tag holder and another gentleman who was helping him out. Not sure of their arrangement, but both seemed to be great guys. They said that they had been there for 11 days, doubled up on a snowmobile in the low temps! They hadn't seen a buck that would go in the 180's and were looking for something in the 190's. Their experience in the unit seemed to hold true to what I had been seeing during my previous trips to the unit and what several friends had experienced during bow season. I also spoke with a WF&G Biologist and he stated that they had just flown the unit on Dec. 9th in a helicopter for 6 hours, assessed approximately 2000 deer and thought that there might be one buck that would go in the 190's. And no, he didn't tell me where that buck was.

During the 5 days of hunting prior to shooting my buck I had three different friends with me, Brett Gorrel being the one with me when we spotted the buck. I was not guided by any outfitter and it was a total DIY hunt.

Late in the evening of the 19th, the weather was changing and there was freezing rain. The truck had chains on and the roads we getting pretty dangerous with ice. I had hunted for 5 full (sun up to sun down) days and only seen two other bucks that would go in the 170's. We spotted this buck on a ridgeline with several does and 2 other small bucks. We glassed him, did a quick field judge, ranged him, remembered the comment from Sam (I was never able to find the big bucks twice), and took the shot. After the shot, I heard it connect with the buck and he started slowly walking towards the top of the ridge. I took another shot that hit just under his chest and he went to running up and over the ridge.

We hiked up the ridge and found a great blood trail blowing out both sides of the buck onto the snow, down into what is said to be the nastiest canyon in the unit. We tracked the buck down the hill in thigh deep snow for about 100 yards and decided to return in the morning when we had some packs, daylight and necessities necessary for survival if we had to spend the night. We came off the hill, talked to a couple of locals that we had met earlier on the trip and they advised us not to try to walk out of the canyon trough the bottom since it was pretty much sheer cliffs in some areas. The buck had to be packed back out the top of the canyon. One of the locals (Frank) volunteered to come to the ridgeline the next morning to see where we were going in and to advise us where we should come out. After a sleepless night, Brett and I picked Frank up at daybreak and all three of us decided to track the buck down the mountain. We lost the blood trail about 3/4 of the way down the canyon, but were able to pick it up again after we split up and walked down another 200 yards. We spent about an hour and a half locating the buck and after pictures, capeing and boneing out the meat; we spent the next four plus hours climbing back to the top of the ridge.

As Sam eluded to in a previous post on this thread, there is a considerable amount of pressure that comes with the tag....weather conditions (fog, white outs, etc), dangerous roads, vacation time, expense, family obligations, stress of the "once in a lifetime opportunity" and the belief by many that because your hunting the Winter Range there will be several 190-200" class bucks to sort through in every canyon. It's just not the case. PLEASE, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining by any means!! What a tag!!!

I know it is hard to tell from the pictures, but the buck is a 5x5 (not counting eyeguards) and will make an exceptional mount with its winter hide. It was great experience and one that I will always have great memories to share with old acquaintances and newly acquired friends. I wanted to thank all of you who contributed to the success of this experience....you know who you are.


Drue
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-27-05 AT 06:25PM (MST)[p]I live 18 Miles from Entiat and go there ALL the Time!!! I Went there the day after Christmas with camera and spotting scope in my back pack and was planning to spend the day hiking in. The Fog was in and the roads were REALLY SLICK (I had to chain up!!! The Ice on the roads got so BAD I couldn't get within 2 miles of the end of the road were I was going to start hiking from!!!This country is VERY STEEP!!!People have NO idea!!! Yes you can Drive the roads and take a Very Nice Deer!!! A Deer over 190 is an EXCELLENT Deer ANY Where!!! Let alone in the Entiat!!! If you see a BIG BUCK one day and come back the next day he is GONE!!!They have alot of room to move around in. A 200 inch Buck in the Entiat is possible but it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to take one!!! NICE BUCK DREW!!!Good Luck
 
Drue,
Glad you made it home in one piece. By the looks of your pictures and your post sounds like you had a hunt you will not forget soon. That buck is awsome!! It looks like he has a double throat patch. Anyway he will make a awsome mount. I know what you mean by the pressure of a tag like that. I was almost sick about my goat tag and wanting not to blow it by a bad shot or miss judging an animal. Congrats again and thanks again on the help with the goat, wish you could have been there!

Take care,
Tony
 
Hey thanks Tony, appreciate the post.

Unfortunately, the pictures don't do the buck justice. His right side if pretty symetrical to his left, but the picture makes it look like he has shallow forks on the one side. I'll try to get some better pics posted.

He does have a double throat patch and an excellent winter hide. I took the head to Todd Peyser to get it mounted and saw your goat in Todd's freezer, great goat!!! Todd does exceptional work, can't wait to see the finished product. Wish I could have been there for your hunt, but it sounds like a little info and some quality time with your dad did the trick.

Thanks again,

Drue
 
Thanks for the pics of the buck. Nice buck! Although...even if he was still alive, I think the WA State Patrolman that is living in the new neighborhood built in the wintering area (Broadview) would have had some issues with me shooting between the houses while the kids were getting on the school bus. No kidding!

We were parked (a little on the sidewalk)in the neighborhood with a spotting scope on the window mount, a video camera next to it and also glassing with binos. I will have to say that it was a little uncomfortable when one of the residents wife came out into their driveway next to us to kiss her husband goodbye in her PJ's!
 
Great story and great buck. How many total bucks did you see during your hunting trips. You must have gone into shock when you found out you won the raffle tag. How many tickets did you buy.
 
I saw well over 200 bucks between the Blue Mountains, Desert unit and the Entiat unit.

I found out that I won the raffle when I called my wife from the Vancouver B.C. airport on my way back from a salmon fishing trip. A great way to end a fishing trip! I bought raffle tickets for just about everything, but I only bought three Eastern Washington Deer tickets. The strange thing was that when I checked my tickets, I was drawn #1, #2 and #1460 or something like that. Guess I should have bought a lotto ticket also.
 
Congratulations on your hunt! That's hilarious, I only bought three tickets too. If you do the math, three chances in 15,000 isn't much different than ten chances though (statistically).

Good job, it will be fun to follow next years raffle tag winner. Hope it's one of you MM fanatics so we can enjoy it with you!
 
Drue- awesome story and a great deer. Love that country, and i know that canyon and i am not suprised he was in there. That must have been crazy in there with all that snow. Glad you guys stayed safe on those icy roads and i cant wait to see some more pictures!!!! I am definitly buying some raffle tickets next year!!!

Garrett
 
Welcome to the MM posting section....can't believe you've been lurckin' in the shadows for all that time with that tag! :) That's a sweet buck, and definately one to be proud of. Sounds like a great experience all around....thanks for sharing to story.
 
Drue,

That is an awsome buck. Are you the same person who went to Colorado last year and shot a monster muley? I heard there was a couple of hogs taken on that trip. If so, post some pictures and let me know where you went?

Snowgoose
 
Awesome BUCK Drue!!
Thanks for the Business and great comment! And yes he killed a monster buck in Colorado last year.

Oh; by the way Drue I think next year is my turn to draw the raffle deer tag!!
3337deer (Todd)
 
You already won the WA Goat Raffle in 03' and double up with your wife on sheep tags!!! I could see it happening though. I'm just glad that some of your luck has worn off on me.

That Whitetail shoulder mount that you did for me looks awesome! I got it up right next to the full body goat that you did for me. Looking forward to getting the other 7 heads back from you.

I've tried to post some of the pictures of last years CO buck, but have been unsuccessful. I'll try again, otherwise I'll have to have someone else post them for me.
 

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