2019 Multi-Season draw results are out!

2019 Multi-Season draw results are out!

I got selected for both Deer and Elk. Sweeeet!

Time to plan for my first WA Elk hunt. I haven't Elk hunted since my Colorado days many moons ago and I'm stoked to finally draw something worthwhile. Let the work begin....

Good for you Nick! The elk tag is really fun to have!

Nothing for me or the kid! Normally the deer tag is a slam dunk to draw?

The elk tag is awesome. My family and I have had it 3 times and ended up with 3 bulls. The ability to keep hunting the elk once you find them is a really good deal. Congrats!

Deer only for me. My plan is to stick the first buck that walks under my stand with my kid in tow. He's obsessed and isn't old enough to hunt yet, so I figure that will be the best use.

The elk tag is awesome. My family and I have had it 3 times and ended up with 3 bulls. The ability to keep hunting the elk once you find them is a really good deal. Congrats!

Deer only for me. My plan is to stick the first buck that walks under my stand with my kid in tow. He's obsessed and isn't old enough to hunt yet, so I figure that will be the best use.

I got pretty damn lucky considering this was only my 2nd year applying. Kinda taken aback and caught with my pants down. I wasn't expecting anything for a few more years and now I'm going to have to scramble to make it worth while.

I taken many Rockies, so I'm pretty keen on my first Roosevelt, so I'll probably be mostly on the wet side.

Branch bull hunting in the rut is where it’s at. Any idea what kind of hunt you are after? Wilderness, tree farm?

I'm most inclined to hunt the high country, but I'm not sure how much or consistent assistance I'll have (if any) - so I may need to go with lower, flatter country. I'm in pretty good shape now and will be in much better shape by fall.

Broodbuster and I spent a few days in some Roosevelt backcountry scouting it up and trying to formulate an early game plan. Amazing and tough, tough country. It was a very successful scout in my mind and we got some great intel from workers in the area. Lots of questions answered, but now I think my question list is even larger! Lots of Elk and lots of animals of all types. Bear and cats are THICK in up there. Found a mature herd bull hidey hole. Fresh tracks tell me he's EXTREMELY large on the hoof. Logistics are going to be a total nightmare. Gonna have to spend as much of the summer as possible in there to get it figured out. This is going to be a tough hunt all around and I just may be totally crazy and out of my mind.

I will say that Roosevelts are just huge animals. I know my Rockies inside and out and Roosies are way bigger on the hoof. Saw a lead cow that went 650 no problem. That herd bull's tracks were among the largest I've ever seen. Just huge, huge animals.

Most definitely. It the kind of country where you gotta bring them to you, instead of going after them. Archery shots are going to be tough, but at least you might bring them to you. Post rut rifle and muzzie shots are slightly better, but it's gonna be hard to get in close with out busting them out. 100+ yard shots are very few and far between. Spot and stalk is right out. Still hunting is going to be tough, but doable in the right spots. Stand hunting over timbered benches, wallows and grassy spots is probably the best bet. There won't be a lot of hunters in there (if any), so animals are not going to be pushed around much, but they won't be call shy either.

Special draws are out. Tood and I both drew our 2nd deer per normal. I've calculated that there are exactly 8 days between Sept. 1st and Dec. 31st that I can't hunt this year. Work ain't gonna be too happy with me.

Multi season. Idaho archery elk, peaches quality muzzleloader took 21points to draw, desert rifle deer 21 points also, montana mule deer. Hows that for a multi season tag.

Oh for gods sake will you please keep your bragging to one forum site.

Good luck this year.

I'm jealous.

thanks

Holy cow Deerlick! Congrats!!!

You need a BIG freezer Deerlick, congrats!!! Mission Quality Deer here (finally), 22 points.

Thanks guy's and good luck. Ive got 2 freezers, Wife and i killed an elk and 4 deer last year and still had room so heres to running out of space. Going to be an awesome season.have hunted peaches mybwhole life an helped on many others tags but never pulled a quality for myself, also have alot of time spent in the desert unit as my dad is a lucky sob and has pulled a few of the tags out there.

Outside of work, it's been 24/7 Elk since April. All Elk - all the time.

New / 1st Bow + all trinkets - check
Build custom 50 yard range in backyard - check
Learn to shoot new bow - in process (I'm getting there. 40 and in won't be a problem).
Learn to shoot new bow from tree stand - still open
New Muzzie + all trinkets - check
New Muzzie loads worked up & sighted in - still open
Rifle rebuild + Cerakote - in process
Rifle loads worked up & sighted in - still open
Shotty rebuild + Cerakote - check
Shotty loads worked up - check
Complete gear review & overhaul - still open (soooo much gear!)
4 mode calling dialed in - in process (I call in my car and everyone at red lights thinks I'm a weirdo)
Deer Island - stand maintenance, trail clearing, cameras installed - still open (TODD!)
Scouting: 3 pack trips spread over 12 days already in the books. Many leather miles - check. Honey holes found - check. Cameras installed - check. Animals on camera - check. Bulls on camera - check. 2 to 3 more trips must occur within the next 60 days for scouting and cache runs.

When I'm really busting tail, I need between 5000 - 7500k calories per day just to maintain equilibrium. 6 - 7K is the sweet spot. 5K is cutting it close. Anything less and I can go hypo. That's 2 - 3x the average person per day. Over 14 days, that's 100K+ cals. Do you know how much 100K cals of food weighs in the back country? Putting together a food plan for me is neither easy or cheap. Nothing goes into my pack without a highly detailed and ranked assessment for achieving maximum calorie-to-weight ratio. For context, we are talking about drinking olive oil straight out of the bottle here. 3 good pulls is 600 cals. Great - now there's 6,400 more cals to go. Yeah - it do be like that.

Way to get after it. Been doing alot of shooting myself with a new bow as a new bow hunter and bought another rifke for the sake of it.

Just got done sighting my .308 Weatherby rebuild. It's a pretty pimped ride now. Weighs less than 6 pounds with scope & fully loaded, but it kicks like a .243 little baby. 1/2" groups at 100 with 3 different brands of 180 grain. It really liked Federal Premium Nosler Partitions - which is what I was hoping for.

Muzzleloader is next. It's getting close to go time.

Good luck this year.

I'm taking all of bow season off and 3 of us will be packing in. For modern and ML seasons, I'll pretty much be on my own - or at least I need to plan it that way. So I decided to help myself out and took the plunge on a Pack Wheel. Hope it works. If it does, it'll be worth its weight in gold. When solo, it should cut pack out trips in half. With 3 of us, we should be able to get a whole bull out in one trip. Plus I can bring in a ton of good food and be more refreshed! Planning one last scouting trip for late August and will test it out then.

http://www.packwheel.com/

Or I'll just call WDFWx1 for some horses! One can never have Too Many horses.

Whiskey!!

Amazing the things Sara could do with mules.

I don't drink any longer, but if you rustle up a string of ponies, the whiskey will flow like you've never seen!

Probably not the summer sausage Nick enjoys.

Yeah. No.

Been spending some time at the range dialing in the muzzy and some workable loads. It's grouping at about 1 MOA give or take, so I'm very pleased with that. It's funny to see everyone's head turn and look after a boomer. I showed some random Eastern Block guy the ropes and let him take it for a spin. First words outta his mouth were "you Americans are so lucky". No dude, luck doesn't have anything to do with it. We've beat ass across the globe time again for the right to play with our cool toys. 'Merica! Fvck Yeah!

Sweet.
One of these days I need to get a smoke pole and dump a few loads.

There's an ever-so-slight touch of fall in the mornings now. It's getting real close to GO TIME now. 17 days and counting. Much to do. Much to do.

16 straight days hidden away in the woods will be soup for the soul.

Well - it's almost go time. Just a couple of days now. I probably won't post much until after archery season is over, so GOOD LUCK to everyone out there!!!

The bulls are going good in a few places I've been. I've seen rubs and heard bugling. Good luck and shoot straight!

Well...Broodbuster and I are back from our world-wind tour of WA Elk hunting. Spent the first week of the season on the wet side until we had to vacate the backcountry due to weather and rapidly rising creeks. Then another week over on the dry side - which wasn't dry at all. The wet side was the hardest hunt I've ever been on and was just brutal across the board.

I had my shot on a GIGANTIC 7x7 bull at 20 yards broadside and I completely whiffed (it was an easy layup and I just air-balled it). Book bull for certain. Largest animal I've ever hunted and I totally chit down my leg. Anyone else with any decent bow experience is on the cover of a magazine. The encounter was surreal and it definitely changed me forever.

Onto muzzy season - where I hope my aim is a little better!

For first close encounters with babes and bulls, fixating on their impressive rack will oft leave you standing all alone to contemplate your damaged self-esteem....

No Naps. I had just billy goat scrambled up 800 vertical feet in less than a couple of hundred yards to get into position...in about 10 minutes.

It wasn't the size of his rack. It was his booty. He pushed 1,100 pounds (guestimate). Like a damned elephant coming in to wreck me. It was awesome.

Cheers,

No - please bust away. I wouldn't have posted it, if'n I didn't expect some flack.

That being said, it was the first day I've ever had a bow in my hand and I called in a true monster. I'm pretty lucky just for that to happen. If I had taken that beast on my first day, it would have been bad outdoorsman juju & karma. Probably wouldn't catch another fish in my lifetime and it would only be downhill after that.

I'm just happy I got to experience it...because it was very, very cool. I made some mistakes which I've deeply contemplated and will learn from. My calling is on point and I can still speed climb like a mofo when I need to. These are all good things which will pay off in the future.

I wouldn't say bad juju.. But these are the types of experiences that keep us hungry and keep coming back for more.

You'll get em and it will be very rewarding.

Bow hunting elk is hard. It doesn't always work out like TV. Shots are hard to come by and easy to miss. My first attempt I put my 40 yard pin on an elk that was maybe 20 yards. My shot obviously went way high and I can still remember knowing exactly what I had done the second the arrow left the bow.

Yes it is and it's a steep and painful learning curve. Bummer on that shot WSU. I figure I got a while before it really comes together.

Really looking forward to muzzy season and Oct. 5th. I'm a "little bit" handier with a rifle or muzzy in my hands.

You'll get one. They bulls may still be with the cows opening of muzzy, so that's probably your best shot at a masher. There will be some lingering rut activity, although they may not come in screaming.

Sounds like quite the experience Nick, major bummer on the luck though. Total hunch, but I'd guess you'll see some rut activity the first of muzzleloader season (as mentioned before).I finally heard the first bugles at the house last night. 2 different bulls around 7pm, for about 30 minutes. Craziest September weather I've ever seen here in The Valley! Cloudy, cool, rainy...you'd think it was the end of October. Mission Ridge has had snow twice in the last week. Was good shroomin last Sunday.

Going to assist with a muzzleloader mule deer hunt on Saturday for a couple of wheat farmin' cousins. When 2 wheat farmers go and buy a smoke pole and tags, that means there's a NICE buck they don't want anyone else killin' (they haven't bought tags since '14)! I'll be the gopher, glass man, etc. The boy and I literally hunt across the 2-track from their land, so it'll be a good day for scouting the local deer in NCW. I was up a month ago and saw alot of VELVET there. Should be fun. Sunday the boy and I will go shoot some turkeys at another buddies place.

Yep - early fall and winter. I think we are in for it this winter, if the past few weeks is any indication.

2nd estrus should (will) still be in full swing next weekend. They might be a bit quiet after archery season, but they'll still be chasing tail. Gonna have to keep my head on swivel for the silent ones slipping in from the side. We are hunting some new, sight unseen land for muzzy, so it'll be fun to get it figured out. Supposed to be lots of bulls in there and very few hunters. I'll have 4 days with the smoke pole to get it done.

Snit - let me know how that wheat hunt goes. Sounds like a real bruiser is laid up in there. I stalked and shadowed a flock of turkeys during archery which was great fun. Got within 10 yards of some hens and they had zero clue I was around.

Had a really fun day, got snowed on twice in Douglas County, 1 buck was killed and it was the wrong one! Short version...between the final sneak peek and the setup/shot, the bucks pulled a "switch-er-oo" in positioning and the smaller one took it like a man. They'll probably get the larger buck still..

Saw alot of deer today, and alot of bucks. That's why I love the open country! Couple inches of snow East of Town tonight on the road on the drive home, and it's still DOVE SEASON!!!

Shoot me a PM Nick.
I would love to hear more about your elk encounter when you have the time.

PM sent!

Dayyyyumm! Good for that guy!

Gulp!

Some guy in AZ got a 435 (8x7) on a OTC tag the other day - with a guide on public land.

Muzzy = dialed. These modern in-lines shooting modern powders and magnum primers are amazingly accurate out to 200 yards (as far as I can see with open sights).

Bang flop my dudes.

Did you down size the front sight pin diameter so it doesn't cover the whole target?

Yup - one of the first things I did was swap out the original Williams Fire Sights to better Williams sights - including an adjustable rear peep. The original rear ramp has increments for dialing in, but they were a pain and created some guesswork at the range. 290 grain Barnes TEZ sabots over 110 grains Blackhorn 209 by volume with a CCI magnum 209 primer to make it go boom. Big medicine.

WDFW - pm sent

All packed up and ready to start Muzzy season at o'dark thirty tomorrow am. We'll have 1 full day of scouting and 4 days of hunting to fill 2 Bull tags. We can both also take any Buck through Sunday and of course bears anytime. It would be nice to get some fresh groceries. Looking forward to the memories.

Cheers,

I hate Elk.

Modern is on deck.

I ate elk, two.

Nice! Congrats on filling your tags, freezer and belly. Glad someone is chewing on some!

Hmmmm. Two thoughts on this:

1) Not too sure I buy all of that. Pretty sure I'm proof of that....at least for the fish. Animals are not scared of me.

2) You should brought me along. I've never shot a compound bow and I'm left handed. Buck of a lifetime. Wrong handed bow. Million yard shot. High winds. Dull point. Sounds about right for this this godless person.



At least you are having some fun out there!

I still have my multi season tag burning a hole in my pocket. I skipped modern season to avoid the zoo and to decompress from hunting for a bit. Looking to shoot a late muzzy or bow Cow at this point. I need to fill the freezer.

I'm thinking of taking several days off during Thanksgiving week and hitting the woods hard. I just don't have a solid place to go yet - but I'm working on it.

If anyone out there knows where there are some cows, I'd be MORE THAN happy to make to make it worth your while! Public, Private, East, West, easy or deep - it doesn't matter and I'd be more than grateful...

Well, the last hurray of 2019 starts at 0'dark thirty tomorrow morning. Hope to finish off the year in a great way. 3 days to fill an archery cow tag. Ike and team were gracious enough to let me tag along on an adventure into their usual haunt. I'm shooting pretty good and gear is all packed. It's gonna be a cold one in the snow, but once I cut some fresh tracks, I expect I'll warm up nicely.

On this Thanksgiving day, I'm thankful to have amazing friends & great hunting partners, who honestly put up with way more of my bullchit than I do of theirs. I'm thankful I still have the legs, stamina and attitude to hit a mountain hard. I'm thankful I live in a time and place in history where I am free to do what I love. Any meat on the ground is a cherry on top.

Crush it, brother!

Fish on...

Todd

Tag = soup

Came within a second of sealing the deal, but it was not meant to be.

So...as a first time bow hunter at 44, I've been doing some serious reflection on the season (specifically archery), and I think I have a problem. I'm super competitive and I HATE to lose. I pulled back on 3 Elk, let 1 loose (whiff!) on a book bull and was within a second or less on the other two cows. All of them should have been dead and would have been dead with a seasoned experienced bow hunter. I made some serious mistakes in each encounter. Tactical mistakes that I kick myself for, but which are easily corrected. I'm not worried about those.

My problem is bigger. I get the crazy shakes when I have a bow in my hand and an Elk comes in. Like really, really bad shakes where I can't even operate my hands and lower arms. Can't get an arrow out; nocked or release on. Can't get drawn back correctly and eye through the sight. It's nothing but ugly fumbles on the goal line. This has cost me the milliseconds of optimized time needed in every encounter and when added up would have made up that single second difference. I never gotten the shakes in 30+ years of gun hunting and damn near 100 animals taken. Never. Not once. Even at extremely close range with some huge animals. I'm calm, cool and collected with a gun in my hand, no matter the size of the animal or the situation. Bang. Flop. Every time. I bow hunt in the exact same ways; am not nervous or overly amped when walking, stalking or getting into position. It's only when an Elk comes in do I lose my chit straight down my leg. Only with a bow.

WTF? How do I solve this? Anyone else ever had a similar problem? Do I need to kill something small with my bow first just to get the stink off? I'm at a total loss here and it's going to burn me up all winter.

PS: for the dickheads that want to pull this over to the DS...EAD.

He probably would.....if I could get him to commit to Elk hunting with me. I think he's skeeered of hard work and pain. It ain't deer camp and he knows that. But that doesn't change that notion, that yes...yes he probably would. That bastard.

Like I said...the last elk I shot took three people two days to move the pieces one mile. I do not recommend shooting an elk in the bottom of a canyon in the hills above Pe Ell

That was the day it stopped being fun and I haven't bought an elk tag since.

I think that once you kill something with that bow you will be fine.

Find a way to practice that simulates game time.

For rifle hunting, going to the range and shooting a target way the fukk out there is pretty close to rifle hunting.

For jump shooting deer with a shotgun on an island, you'd be better off going grouse hunting in heavy cover a lot...the range won't help you with anything.

I have no idea what "game time practice" looks like with a bow, but I bet standing in the yard and shooting at a target is not it...maybe an experience archer will have some ideas for you.

Fish on...

Todd

That's good thinking and I don't know what 'game time' practice looks like either. I know there are walking courses in the woods and they might help. Mentally I know it's still a just a target and not the real deal. There is such a huge difference between the two that I'm not sure on how to close the gap.

The last nice bull I took with a gun was at 30 paces. No shakes. It's gotta be mental. Maybe it's because I know bullets are going to do their job easily and I'm worried of wounding an animal with an arrow? Maybe it's because guns are fast and with a bow I need to rapidly go through a mental checklist of steps. I don't know.

What I do know is that archery hunting for big critters is a blast. I feel like a kid again and wish I had picked up a bow sooner.

My experience, which is limited with a bow, tells me that you just have to go do it. Like I PM'd you, my first shot with a bow at elk was a cow at 20 yards. I got all excited, put my 40 yard pin on her, and missed by feet. Nothing but operator error from being too excited. I killed a cow out of the same herd the next day and was able to keep it together.

I think it is just bow hunting. You have a more primitive weapon, it's harder to use and use well, and even with all the practice in the yard, you probably haven't shot dozens or hundreds of critters with it. You'll learn to anticipate drawing (often well before the animal appears) and all things you have to do before you get ready to actually shoot.

And don't elk hunt unless you embrace the two day pack outs. I've had three of those between this year and last. It's just part of the deal.

Thanks WSU. I do think a healthy portion of it is..."that's just bow hunting". Ike put it good the other day that bow hunting is a constant cumulation of mistakes and learning from your mistakes until that moment where it all goes right. Because I love critters, I do get a bit worried that one of those mistakes will result in a wounded animal. Again that's just bow hunting, but I want to do everything I can in my power to prevent that at all costs. I know it's going to happen at one point and I can live with that - but it'll be hard.

I probably just need to keep making mistakes, learning from them and eventually it'll all come together. The tactical mistakes are easy to learn from - it's this mental shakes thing that is hard. Honestly, maybe once I learn from these tactical mistakes, the mental aspect will go away completely. I hope that's the case.

I haven't bow hunted in a few years, but it took me about 3 years of close encounters to actually let one fly. I had the same concern as you and lacked confidence that I would have with a gun. The end result was indecision, missed opportunities, zigging when I should zag, etc.

Ike sounds spot on to me. I bet I have had more than ten close encounters for each shot taken. I'm far from accomplished with a bow and am sure I will continue screwing up and getting better.

That sounds reasonable and encouraging. With exposure comes confidence and with confidence comes success. The sports psychology of this is rather interesting. I plan to really dig into this in the offseason and see how I can tackle the problem, get better and help position myself for future success. The journey will be fun.

I have some advice.

#1
This is exactly why you should bow hunt. It's the purest chit you will ever have.

#2
I would do everything in your power to recreate your ED like issues and then persevere. For instance, work out until you are huffing for air uncontrollably. Immediately pick up your bow, remove an arrow from the quiver, nock, perform your mental checklist, and make the shot.

#3
Up the pressure by having some real life consequences for a miss and reward for a good shot. Miss...........No alcohol for that night. Hit..........Put $10 in a jar towards your next hunt.

#4
Once this becomes easy add more difficulty. Hold your breath from the time you grab your bow, shoot through tight shot windows, surround a bulls-eye with steel, moving targets, etc.

#5
Really shooting at an animal????? Focus on the exact piece of hair you want to cut. There is zero reason to look at the bone on it's head as it comes in unless you wanna shake like Hank in a baloney factory. By ignoring the animal's assets you have already taken control.

IMHO you need to apply stress to your practice and then defeat it time and time again. Once you learn how your mental and muscle memory will do the rest.

Like golf.................Bow hunting is a mental game.
The jar of cash will come in handy in September.

^^^^^^^

That sounds like really good advice!

Fish on...

Todd

That IS great advice! Thank you.

I've done some of those things but only in a very minor way. I can see that I need to take things up a notch. I can see the breath thing being paramount as that's how I whiffed on that bull.

The good news is that I may get one more day this weekend out in the woods. I already have a plan to defeat a couple of my previous mistakes.

All of this is so much fun and I'm really enjoying the entire process. Sure, I get frustrated, but that's part of the learning journey!

Thanks guys - I appreciate the advice and support. Once I do get something down, whenever that may be, it's steaks at my place.

arrows kill elk just as fast as bullets so I wouldn't worry about that just don't take a shot your not comfortable with. also remember you are trying to kill these animals sometimes they get hurt in the process.

as for my multi season.
Idaho archery elk tag, check
Washington quality muzzy elk tag, check
Washington bear that came into bugle and almost ran me over, check
Washington quality buck tag, check
Montana deer, check
also wife got her wa and mt bucks.

it was one hell of a season. keep at it nick

Start small. Hone your archery skills on slugs and snails. Move on to frogs and toads. Advance to woodland voles and harmless snakes if the shakes don't appear. Spend some time on Washington hares and tree roosting grouse. By slowly increasing your exposure to larger and larger prey, you can overcome the shakes in a manner similar to the way a sickly child overcomes allergies with shots, and a deep sea diver avoids the bends by ascending in stages. When you've reached deer and elk sized encounters, you should have overcome the shakes; shatting the pants may still be a problem.

If the shakes are still present, consider hanging up the bow and taking up golf. You will be ahead of the curve, as most golfers take years to develop the "yips" while standing over a "money" putt.

So what grain broadheads for woodland voles? Fixed or mechanical? Is there a peak ruttin' season and will they respond to calls?

I'm going to get one last day tomorrow to see if I can punch this damned tag. I just smoked a tree frog in the backyard at 50 yards, so I'm totally confident I can do the same on a Wapati tomorrow.

Good luck! Post pictures of your trophy kill; use the macro setting if it's smaller than a mountain beaver...

It's official. The season is over. Tag soup.

At least dice up your elk tag and sprinkle it on some venison...that sound better than soup

Fish on...

Todd

Thanks Gordon Ramsey.

It was both good and bad that I had a multi-season tag for my first year Elk huntin' in WA. Good in that it forced me to finally get into bow hunting and that I was able to cover a lot country over the season. Bad because I probably won't have a MS tag next year and I'll have to make some tough decisions.

I'm a CO boy and this east / west, pick your weapon business is a buncha horsechit. You hear me WDFW? Horsechit.

That being said, I'm probably going to stay true to my original goal and go after a wet side bull. Damn it.

You wont have a multi season elk tag for 4 plus years so forget about it.

Do they put a draw cap on it? If so, that really stinks.

Unless I'm mistaken, there is nothing that prevents someone from drawing two years in a row or snapping up one of the leftovers. Besides luck that it is. The draw or leftover odds aren't there, but there isn't a rule that says if you draw one year, you can't receive another for [x] amount of years is there?

In the end, it won't matter. Going to do wet side archery for bulls again regardless.

You can draw each year. The odds just suck.

Westside bull hunting sucks. Everyone should stick to true spikes.

If you draw again in the next 3 years I'll be shocked.
Odds suck.

I hope you do.
Good luck.