New to Washington

hillrunner · Jan 22, 2008

Hello,
I am new to Washington, having moved here from Montana. I am looking to do some bow hunting for deer and elk. I know how it is telling people where to hunt. I am just looking for some general advice on where to start for places to go. I live in Liberty Lake and won't be able to travel all the way across the state. However, I would be able to travel 3-3.5 hours. I had a number of good spots across Montana to go, but that does me little good here. Any advice you all could give would be greatly appreciated.

SilenceBreaker · Jan 22, 2008

Well I have hunted Washington for about 15 years now and have had some really good years. Since I started hunting out of state I found Washington to be a joke. There is still good hunting here but more hunters than I have ever seen. Really its like everywhere else, you have to put your time in scouting and get as far away from traffic as possible. I would start by looking into special permits. There are some awesome Elk and Deer hunts you can put in for. The odds are pretty good if you put in for the bow tags. I'm not sure where Liberty Lake is but if you can put me in the general area I could help a little more.

coonhound40 · Jan 22, 2008

If your into some tough hunting, meaning 5+ miles from the road Washington has hunting that rates right up there with the best of them. Get yourself some good maps and start spending some time in any of the many wilderness areas the state has to offer and you will be pleasantly suprized.

I shot a nice 6 point bull and a nice 5 point buck with my bow this year and I din't run into 1 person. It all depends on how much effort your willing to put in.

Coon

SilenceBreaker · Jan 22, 2008

I agree a 100% with that. Its all about getting as far off the main roads as possible. The past couple of years I have really put the miles on to find the animals, but it has paid off. Coon makes a good point on the wilderness areas. I shot a nice 4 point this year about 4 miles in a wilderness area. I have really focused on walk in only areas and it is where I have had success as of late. I grew up hunting deer and elk in the capital forest unit and took alot of animals. But in recent years it has gone down hill and is over populated with hunters.

SHANEWA300 · Jan 22, 2008

The BEST whitetail bowhunting in the state is right where you live.I have hunted around liberty lake since I was 10, grew up there.3 pt min and no rifle rut hunting makes for alot of nice whities running around.All private so access is difficuly, just ask. Around DeerPark,clayton,springdale,mt spokane are excellent for whitetails.

Elk hunting for you is also close, Mica peak is good need to scout and findem first.Just about everything north of the spokane river has elk to Cananda, need to scout.Open to any bull and some any elk. The draw tags are your best bet,but that can take awhile.

hillrunner · Jan 23, 2008

Liberty Lake is just east of Spokane on the Idaho border.

wehunt · Jan 27, 2008

Welcome to our fine state. I have lived here my hole life and started hunting big game at 14 years old. Have hunted very hard and gotten lucky a few times with great endings. Archery or front loaders are the best way that I have found to hunt our state, I think it gives you more chances at larger animals. I am one of the lucky ones that have hunted all but two of the western states, with great success in all except Oregon and I feel Washington is highly under rated on its potential for large animals. You do live in a great whitetail area and north of you some huge muleys and some of the largest elk in the state. Again welcome and good luck. PM me if you want me to point out some of the best whitetail areas around you as I did hunt it for a lot of years.

coonhound40 · Jan 27, 2008

>>
>I shot a nice 6 point
>bull and a nice 5
>point buck with my bow
>this year and I din't
>run into 1 person.
>It all depends on how
>much effort your willing to
>put in.
>
>Coon

I need to make a correction, I noticed I fat fingered my earlier post, I didn't shoot a 5 point buck it was a 4 point. Not that it makes any difference in my point about hunting the wildernss areas but I like to tell it accurately.

Coon

andrew_12gauge · Jan 27, 2008

Silencebreaker you need to get signed up at hunting-washington.com, almost all of the washington guys have moved over to that site.washington does have some great opportunities, i just moved to idaho and im starting to wishi wouldve stayed in washington with what everybody tells me about the hunting here.