# Pro's and Con's of Washington St. Big game hunting????



## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Well it looks like I may have the opportunity to move to Washington, or Oregon. My wife will be done with school, and we can pretty much move anywhere on the northern coastal states within 20 miles of a hospital, and make a decent living. For the line of work she'll be in it pays much more to live on coastal states. From what I've been seeing on the web, Washington looks like a better fit for us. I've been kind of looking through their big game rules and regs book, and I can see some advantages and disadvantages. 3 species of deer, very cool. 6 million + residents not so cool. Also shorter archery season.

Has anyone ever hunted there? Anyone heard good bad things about the hunting? It looks as if the fishing is fantastic. Any inside info, on the people rules and regs, gun laws, booze laws :mrgreen: would be greatly appreciated.


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## stablebuck (Nov 22, 2007)

*Re: Pro's and Con's of Washington St. Big game hunting.*

I've researched a little but mainly for around Spokane since I plan on going hunting with my little brother when he gets back from Afghanistan and starts flying KC-135s up there...so I would appreciate any and all sage advice as well...


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

*Re: Pro's and Con's of Washington St. Big game hunting.*

So far I'm hearing from washington people are a lot of the same gripes we have here. They all bitch about miss management. Most of all overcrowding, but with 6 million a holes living there I kind of expected that. They all say the fishing is awesome, and so is the turkey hunting. None of them are bragging up the big game though.


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## stablebuck (Nov 22, 2007)

*Re: Pro's and Con's of Washington St. Big game hunting.*

guess we better stay up to snuff with our bow skills!


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## Doc (Sep 11, 2007)

I lived on the oregon coast (Coos Bay), and my boss hunted Roosevelt elk all the time with great success. (Not the same as the Rocky Mtn elk we have here.) The fishing was great, both Ocean for salmon and various bottom fish, dungeness crabs and empire clams and in the rivers where you could target stripers, salmon or steelhead. I can't say much about the blacktail deer hunts. When I lived in Washington (Olympia) the salmon fishing was better but deer hunting (Western area)was pretty disappointing. Perhaps the Eastern side would be more productive.

I think the bear hunting in Oregon was probably better than in Washington but I could be all wet. The weather on the Oregon coast is not easy to deal with after leaving a desert like Utah. Moving inland a few miles east of the coastal range gives you about 10 degrees more heat and less rain than right on the coast.

I about got arrested for pumping my own gas in Oregon but when they saw my out of state plates they let it go. I guess they figured a kid with less than a high school education was more capable than I was even though I pumped gas for about 1/2 as many years as the kid was old. (Back when "Fill it up and check the oil" were commonly used.)


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I lived and hunted in Washington State for one year. I killed a two point blacktail..

We hunted deer about thirty miles inland from the coast. It was very, very dense and wet and we had to hunt the clear cut/logged areas so that you had some visibility. The clear cut areas had lots of new growth that the deer liked to feed in. Cons: deadfall, wet moss, poor visibilty, spiders :shock: and hillbillies (ever see the movie 'Wrong Turn'?). Pros: Big Roosevelt(Olympic) elk and great fishing for steelhead and salmon. Tumwater Brewery (spent some time in the tap room  ). Apples and great seafood.

Beautiful state. Central and eastern WA has more open terrain and tends to have a little drier climate. The western side was too wet for my liking.

There you have it.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Depending on where you are in Washington, you are within a reasonable driving distance to Alaska. And that isn't a bad thing. I lived up there for two years teaching the Good Word, so I didn't get out fishing or hunting, and it was 20 years ago. Knew lots of guys that fished/hunted. Mostly fished. Salmon in the sound. Salmon in the rivers. Salmon salmon salmon. Everything was about the salmon. I remember talking with them about crowding during the hunting/Fishing. Some were Utah transplants. One thing they pointed out was that while there are 6 million people, hunting is not high on the priority list for about 99% of the population. Especially in the population center of Seattle/Tacoma - people there would rather to hug a tree, or fell a tree, and couldn't give a crap about the deer or elk either way. And, most of the state isn't tied up in salt flats, west deserts, or national parks like Utah is - so there actually is much more suitable big game habitat than in Utah. With about as many hunters, or so I was told. The other thing is that there is so much that is heavily timbered, you can have many more hunters in an area and never see them. The downside is that its harder to see the deer and elk as well. 

I just loved that in the summer, many people fed us salmon - and lots of it. Very good. 

With all that extra money your wife will make by working up there, be sure to get a hunting trip to Alaska or Brittish Columbia as a regular part of life and all will be well.


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## sagebrush (Sep 8, 2007)

if you want to know what a city is like "sorta" these are stats look here
http://www.city-data.com/ scoll down and click on the state of your choice

here is a sample city I did
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bainbridg ... ngton.html


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Thanks fellas. No one mention a con about getting mauled by a bigfoot. I'm sure that happens all the time.


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

fixed blade said:


> Thanks fellas. No one mention a con about getting mauled by a bigfoot. I'm sure that happens all the time.


Dude, you seriously better watch out. The Pacific Northwest has more bigfoot encounters than any other region.

When would you be moving?


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## MeanGene (Nov 18, 2008)

fixed blade said:


> Thanks fellas. No one mention a con about getting mauled by a bigfoot. I'm sure that happens all the time.


Thats cuz no one ever lived through it you silly son of a snitch, thats why no one has talked about it. Gosh don't you know? :lol: :lol:


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## elk22hunter (Sep 7, 2007)

I was going to say that we need a good guy who goes by "fixed blade" but would sell mechanicals up there and then it dawned on me that I would not live in either of those two states with their heads burried in the sand when it comes to mechanicals. :mrgreen:


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## stablebuck (Nov 22, 2007)

elk22hunter said:


> I was going to say that we need a good guy who goes by "fixed blade" but would sell mechanicals up there and then it dawned on me that I would not live in either of those two states with their heads burried in the sand when it comes to mechanicals. :mrgreen:


that's right! you can't use mechanicals in WA can you?


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Nope, no Mechanical broad heads. You do get to hunt elk until Sept 20th with a bow, so thats pretty good.


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## elk22hunter (Sep 7, 2007)

fixed blade said:


> Nope, no Mechanical broad heads. You do get to hunt elk until Sept 20th with a bow, so thats pretty good.


In Wyoming, you get to hunt deer and elk for the entire month of September with a bow.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Never big game hunted there, but did a lot of fishing.

Like sawsman said, the western one-third of the country is thick; as thick as it gets.

I work for a company in Washington... Vancouver suburbs. I've worked most of the paper mills, gas plants and refineries up and down the I5 corridor from Portland to Andecortes in Pugent Sound. If you have some towns picked out, PM me and I can tell you some stories, send some pictures. Worked up and down the Columbia River a lot and a couple shutdowns in Spokane.

Best mushroom country in North America!

I could live there if I wanted, but prefer Wyoming.


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

We're also contemplating living in the pan handle of Idaho, and having her compute over the boarder to washington if the pay is worth it. It would only be a 30 min commute. Were used to a 45. min commute here in Stansbury to SLC. We are going to go up and drive around the entire area and see what best fits us.

Goob, Pm sent


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Washington state is a great place for hunters and fisherman...period, exclamation point, end of discussion! Of course no place is perfect, what ever that is, but Washington has everything that Utah has and much, much more. GREAT upland game hunting, more deer hunting, huge populations of huntable elk, and of course the ocean...and one more thing...trout fishing that Utah can't even dream about. Move there, get your residency and you'll never come back to this little poedunk, hick state.
One more item...the population is actually well educated, reasonable and glory be...mostly Democrats!


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## stablebuck (Nov 22, 2007)

Is the "fast lane" the left lane there or is it the right lane like Utah?


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## bucksandducks (Sep 11, 2007)

I grew up hunting in Eastern Washington, we had access to private property, the surrounding public grounds were ridiculously crowded. Hunting for blacktail is crazy those things can burrow through holes in the brush a dog could hardly fit through. The cover that the blacktails like is thick and wet you are basically hunting a rainforest. The ground cover is crazy moss, ferns etc. It is a beautiful place. I believe you can get combination tags up there now, where you can get an elk, deer and bear on one tag, or they have different combos. I enjoyed hunting up there when I did, I think it would be a different story now. Oh and watch out for blackberry bushes they are everywhere and will rip you up. You cant beat the duck hunting and fishing up there.


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## bucksandducks (Sep 11, 2007)

Washington drivers know how to drive. The left lane is actually the fast lane and when you are in the fast lane wanting to go faster than the person in front of you they actually move over to let you pass. They also get over when you are trying to merge onto the freeway and dont honk at you like you did something wrong by getting onto the freeway.


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## jungle (May 10, 2008)

Here is what I would do:

Live near the border and hunt both.


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## Buckblaster (Jan 28, 2010)

I grew up in the Puget Sound area and 20 years ago moved to NE Washington where I still live. The fishing for trout, steelhead and salmon is real good here. The hunting is not what I would call excellent but good. A big muley here is 150-160 yet some people get 180-190 bucks with permits along the east side of the Cascade Mts. Elk hunting is real good if you draw a permit. Last fall, I drew a rut rifle elk permit and shot a 350" 6x6 yet I saw pics of bulls clear up to 390" with that permit in other areas. Even though I hunt this state, I put in for other states for the bigger bucks and bulls. Personally, if I had the choice of picking Washington or Idaho, I'd pick Idaho. The critters are bigger there and more of them with less people. If you moved there, be sure to get a lifetime hunting license that you'll have long after you leave there so you can keep coming back. You might consider Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, 1/2 hour drive east of Spokane, Washington. A very nice place to live, check out their chamber of commerce website. Anyway, if Washington is where you end up, the fishing is awesome but blacktail hunting on the west side sucks. The east side of the state is where the better hunting is.
If you want to see what our hunters are taking, check out the Hunt-Washington forum.
http://www.hunting-washington.com/smf/i ... tion=forum


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## redleg (Dec 5, 2007)

Every state in the west is more hunter friendly.
any place you go outside of Utah will be a good move.


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

EPEKblade, I would live in Oregon over Washington if hunting is the issue. They have more elk, and the eastern side of the state is as pretty of hunting country as I have ever ran across. The panhandle of Idaho is another good option, Washington would be my last choice of the three for hunting.


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## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

i've never hunted either, but my grandpa lives in warshington (thats how they pronouce it) and my uncle lives in oregon. my uncles catches huge sturgen! that'd be fun! but when ever i go to my grandpas, i bet i spend more time looking for deer and elk than i do with him :lol: i've seen a lot of turkeys! and a few whitetails! check out the price for tags, they're CHEAP compared to utah, and hunting 3 different deer would be nice! my grandpa fishes a lot and loves it up there!


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

BPturkeys said:


> Washington state is a great place for hunters and fisherman.
> 
> One more item...the population is actually well educated, reasonable and glory be...mostly Democrats!


My friend that recently retired, moved up there and took a job with boeing, he said the same about the hunting & fishing, 8) he also said the tree hugging/eco-activists/liberal democratic types that dominated that place :evil: plain sucked!

So I'm not intersted in living there period.

Fixed, do what's best for your family, however i would seriously look into Idaho.


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

My uncle lives in Walla Walla County. I've actually been tossing around the notion of moving to the area myself. I intended to go hunting there last season but things didn't work out. I am fully committed to the trip this year. I'll be skipping the Utah hunts to do it. We have access to quite a bit of private land that holds turkey, whitetails, muleys, and elk. They even have a bird up there called pheasant, which I understand is extinct in Utah. :wink: 

This will be my first hunting trip up there, but I have been fishing with him before. A lot of great rivers to fish from there, plus the ocean. One nice thing about Washington, is it puts you that much closer to some spectacular hunting in Alaska or BC. 

From the look of it, the general deer season is longer than what Utah has going on, but for the most part the big game seasons look pretty close in length. One pretty cool thing is that $73 for a resident gets you a deer+elk+bear+cougar license. License required for coyote, no biggy since I buy one here every year anyways, and no limit on bobcats! Pheasant season is almost 3 months long in eastern WA, and partridge and quail is almost 4 months. Not too shabby.


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## castnblast (Jan 15, 2009)

I just recently moved from Washington State (15 years there) and lived on both the East and West sides. If I were to move back I would go somewhere near Spokane or just across the Idaho line. 

The Cascades create what some people think should be two seperate states.... Large population, city life, and Democrats on the West, small towns, rural lifestyle, and Republicans on the East.  

The elk hunting can be fantastic if you know where to look and are willing to put some miles in. I found deer hunting to be okay but blacktails certainly require a different style. Fishing is great, especially if you have a boat. 

In fact, if I had been a bird hunter before I moved I never would have left.


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