anyone hunt Washington? How is it?

[futuredoc]

Looking at moving to Spokane are in a couple of years. Anybody hunted out there? Whitetails, mulies, elk, bear whatever. Appears to be a lot of public land for roaming on the DNR website. How's the hunting?

thanks,

fd

[jhg]

Be ready to fall in love...

Idaho is right there. Montana,  N. Wyoming, Oregon and then Eastern Washington itself. Wow! Could it get any better?


Joshua

[Ragnarok Forge]

Lots of whitetails and huge ones at that.  Mulies, Elk, Bear, Cougars and huge Shiras Moose if you can draw a tag.  Hunting heaven is where your headed.  You may decide to never leave.

[L. E. Carroll]

TERRRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE..... I WOULD NOT MOVE HERE!!!!!
 
 
However, un-like back East, We only get one deer tag as a rule [there are draws for a second in some places but very RARE]  If your used to a
"A Deer A Day"  You could be a bit dissapointed.      

Gene

[Shinken]

Spokane is nice!

And one of the *nice* things about Spokane is that you can LIVE IN IDAHO as an Idaho resident and commute to Spokane!

:~)

Shoot straight, Shinken

[Rooselk]

Shinken has it exactly right. I was born and raised in Spokane. I'd take a close look at Idaho as well and then make a decision as to which side of the border to live on. There are advantages to both.

[kung fu kid]

Washington has no state income tax.  Oregon has no sales tax.  Don't know about Idaho.  I know some retirees that moved to WA for just that reason.  Beautiful places, all three.

[Rooselk]

As I recall, Idaho does have an income tax. Not sure as to the rate, though.

[Hud]

Spokane County and adjacent counties are a top spot for Whitetail, but there is a lot of private property in Spokane. The whole NE corner of State has Marriam Turkey, some Rio's, Mule Deer, Whitetail, Elk, and Black Bear. Also, Grizzly, Caribou, Wolf, and Moose. No open season on first three; Moose is a difficult draw. Not sure about Mountain Goats in the Selkirks. The SE corner has Whitetail, Mulies, Elk, Bear, and Turkey.

[BlacktailBowhunter]

The nice thing about living in Spokane is that Idaho and Montana are a short drive.

[wollelybugger]

I would like to hunt in Washington but I don't know how many senators and congressmen your allowed. Should be open season.

[futuredoc]

Thanks so much for the replies. My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to check out the area and see the hospital in Spokane and, I'm going to spell this wrong, in Couer de' Allene. We are very excited as I'm currently in Indianapolis and am from GA. My wife spent a month in Alaska, that's where my in-laws are, and loved it. I'm not ready for the light/dark changes of Alaska, and I need some whitetails to hunt - I'm in love with them. Doesn't hurt that some of the Lord's prettiest country is out there.

thanks again,

Kendall

[slivrslingr]

Lots of hunting in Washington, from the rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula to the alpine peaks of the Cascades.  Eastern Washington has plenty of opportunities, you might have to wear off a little boot leather to find spots of your own, but they're out there.  For deer, the tag is good statewide, you just need to look at the regs and figure out the open dates and specific regs (species, sex and point restriction) for the unit you're in.  For elk, you have to decide if you want to hunt Western or Eastern Washington when you buy your tag. Eastern Washington is cow or spike only if you have an OTC tag, branch antler bull is draw only.  For Western Washington it depends on the unit you are hunting, some are any elk, some are cow or spike only, some are 3 pt. or better bull only, some are any bull, check the regs.  Moose, sheep, goat, and some (if not all) spring bear are draw only.  Fall bear and cougar are OTC, though check the unit you're in for cougar as some units are closed.  Wolf, grizzly bear, and caribou are strictly off limits.  There are tons of coyotes in Eastern Washington so knock on a few doors, someone will give you permission to shoot them.  There's also some good field hunting of geese if you can find property that's not leased.  My best advice is to read the regs and ask lots of questions if you don't understand something.  There is some really good hunting in Washington, you just have to wade through the regulations and deal with a fair bit of competition, do your homework, the animals and space to hunt them are there!

BTW, the archery state record Whitetail used to be held (and may still be) by a guy shooting a self-bow, somewhere out near Spokane!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

You might love whitetail now....wait until you meet Cervus canadensis, (ELK) you will never be the same......

[wingnut]

You'll love the area near Spokane.  Beautiful country.  I do believe you'll want to live on the Idaho side though.  The hunting is better there generally and housing prices a bit less.

Lots of great whitetail, elk, bear, cougar and turkey hunting within a short drive.

Mike

[Jesse Minish]

If you come to Coeur D' Alene and want some one to show you around give me a shout. I live just a little ways north of there.