Hi all,

Never hunted in Washington before and am making a trip from Wisconsin to Newport (NE WA) for a few days this spring to hunt turkeys. I’ve looked up as much as I can for lumber companies that offer access and was hoping to have some things cleared up if possible!

Stimson - free access

Inland Empire Paper - paid access (day or season permits)

Riley Creek Lumber - owned by Weyerhaeuser. No hunting???

Hancock - paid access?

Boston Timber - owned by Hancock. Paid access?

A couple others that are probably owned by Hancock or Weyerhaeuser also.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/eluz8gojsu9e1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=6afa3bc7a1474f449b8c080b0772db29f1323526

We hope this post finds you well as 2024 rolls to an end. Check out our prior post for a rollup of 2024. 2025 will be here in a matter of days, and we expect it to be a year full of challenges and opportunity. Not only for CCW, but for sportsmen of the state as a whole. Involvement and engagement is going to be essential. Here are some New Year’s goals for our community that can help with our efforts, and keep momentum going in our community:

*Strive to show up to at least one to two commission meetings a year. We understand not everyone can show up to every meeting, and we dont expect everyone to, but they are great way to understand firsthand what is happening and a vital way to get involved. We need hunters at these meetings for both their presence and their voices, outlining the truths about hunting and what is actually occurring on the ground. Considering we have 200k hunting license holders in this state, if a good chunk of us showed up to just one meeting a year, we would have a huge presence and the commission would be hard pressed to paint us as the minority.

* Participate in action items. Your Howls, and your emails to the commission and state representatives make a major difference. It is a simple and easy way to get involved and make your voice heard. We need as many people as possible engaged in these legislative and commission actions to make sure we are adequately represented.

* Talk about hunting with the people in your lives… family, friends or coworkers. Most people are disconnected from the hunting lifestyle and nature, but finding ways to make hunting relatable creates important allies in the non-hunting community. Educate them on hunting’s role in conservation, how it provides healthy food for your family, connection to the natural world, and how it’s part of who you are. When we help people who care for us understand, we create more supporters to back us when anti-hunters attempt to bring lies and the removal of opportunities to the ballot box.

* Work to get more of our community involved. There are many people who are unaware of the issues, or don’t know how to participate. Share the facts, provide the resources, and point them in the direction of engagement.

* Continue to be a positive reflection of our community. Much of our fight is to gain public acceptance for what we do in a time where less people are connected to it. Our greater image to the non-hunting majority matters, whether we like it or not. Know your audience when sharing about hunting on social media, certain things lift our community up and others become front page headlines, used and twisted by anti-hunters to further their narratives. Make sure the public knows we are respectful stewards of the land. Be participant in conservation science; submit your hunting reports, send your bear teeth, etc. Volunteer on a department survey project or on a cleanup event put on by one the many local orgs who regularly do so. We hope 2025 will bring more wins to our corner and that it is a year of record involvement and engagement within our community. Forces continue to wage war on this passion and now more than ever our community needs to be united, because it’s going to take all of us doing our part to ensure the greatest future for hunting. Continue to follow our page for all the latest news and action items.

where can i go coyote hunting jn wa (public land)

Hello I am currently doing the online course through hunter-ed to get my hunting license and I saw that being over 18 I don’t have to do the in person class after completing the online course is this true? Thank you

I’m completely new to all this. I’m looking to buy my own land as well. I saw on the hunting app that some land is listed as Game Management Unit but when I zoomed in closer it looks like it’s private land.

Can anyone clarify - is this state land? Private land? How does a GMU work?

Thanks for any help!

Folks using muzzleloaders for hunting, what are y’all using? Hoping to pull a multi-season tag next year and I don’t have a muzzleloader.

Tagged out in the last half hour of the final day after six days in a row hunting this spot. Tiny 4x4 rack but a surprisingly large body. He came in 140 yards from my sit.

Doe’s this look like hood or bad spot? Trying to find him but nothing so far

I thought he seemed a little big for a spike. I had him aged by a wildlife biologist and she said he was 2.5 years old.

Hey Reddit,

I wanted to share my hunting journey and see if there are others here who might be in a similar situation or looking to collaborate.

For the past four years, my brother and I have been learning how to hunt on our own—I'm 37, and he's 41, with some mobility challenges due to his disability. It's been a steep learning curve, and honestly, we’ve had our fair share of struggles, but this year I finally got my first deer! I also found an area that seems to hold a lot of Blacktail, which is exciting.

I reached out to a fellow hunter here (who prefers to remain anonymous) and we’ve had some great conversations about the area I’m scouting. He helped confirm that I was on the right track by sharing insights, signs to look for, and comparing the terrain. While I know a lot of hunters keep their areas to themselves, this guy was generous with his knowledge and it really made a difference. The goal wasn’t to take his spot but to learn from it and apply it to finding success on my own.

When it comes to Elk hunting, however, it’s been a different story. I've tried reaching out to other hunters about areas I’m looking at—specifically around Packwood—but every conversation seems to get shut down quickly. I spent a whole week this year trying to catch the Elk moving from the hills into Packwood, but they were already gone before I could even get started. I then moved around to different public lands, from Packwood to Randle, Mossy Rock, the Olympic Peninsula, and Capital State Forest. I set up a blind for my brother and even ventured out on foot to try and get behind areas where the “road hunters” weren’t, but still no luck.

I know there must be others out there in the same boat—maybe you're learning the ropes like we are, or you’ve been hunting for years but are struggling to find consistent success. Either way, I thought I’d reach out and see if we could start a group of hunters who want to share knowledge, compare experiences, and maybe even learn about hunting different animals.

For me, getting my first deer this year was a huge step, and while Elk has been elusive, I’m determined to figure it out. I know there are other hunters out there with similar stories, whether you're still working on your first harvest or have more experience and tips to share.

If enough of us are interested, I’d like to propose creating two groups—one for the West side of Washington (where I’m based) and one for the East side. This could be a place for us to swap stories, tips, locations, and maybe even plan scouting trips or hunting seasons together.

Let me know if you're interested or if you've had similar experiences—let's learn together and support each other as we hunt our way to success.

I've been driving out to hunting locations on public land and sleeping there overnight to get an early start and to catch deer early. However, I've had a bunch of resentment build up due to truck hunters that prowl around early in the morning and all day scaring everything off, blowing my spots in valleys and otherwise (Western WA).

I haven't had much luck and it seems everyone and their grandma does drive-by hunting, so maybe I am the problem? Should I learn from this and do the same? I'm arriving after dark and not starting a campfire, just going to sleep basically, but maybe this scares off all game in a mile radius the night before?

What do y'all think?

Last pic is the bull galloping across my yard after I went outside and turned the light on headed for work. First pics are from my bedroom window.

Evening folks!

Getting into bow-hunting here, and am looking around for lands to hunt on. I've only hunted private lands as a falconer previously, so this is a pretty new experience to me. I'm hoping to try hunting some public land now. Based on all my research, it seems that most government owned land here is alright for hunting unless otherwise posted. I noticed one spot along an abandoned train track up here in Whatcom county that is owned by WDFW according to OnX. Just this random chunk of woodland that I can't find any info about online. Do you guys think I am good to try hunting this area for small game? I assume this is public land but am new to this whole thing so I figured I'd ask you guys. Thanks a ton.

Here is the land in question. Is there a way that I can tell if its public or not?

When I was younger I went deer hunting with my uncle a handful of times. I never went as much as I’d hoped, but as an adult I moved to Tacoma and want to get into it as an adult hobby. Any suggestions? Should I go a guided hunt? How do I get started beyond licenses and permits.

Couple more quail today! Also got a cottontail, but was a bit too messy to post (headshot with a full choke).

Anyone seeing signs of whitetail rut starting in eastern WA?

My first year hunting and first deer. Bear legit compound at 70lbs.

I’ve hunted on the pheasant release sites on the west side as well as some Turkey and Duck. But got invited to deer camp this year! It’s really discouraging as a hunter in WA sometimes but not for me this year (low exceptions going forward but I’ll still be out there putting the miles in every year)

Been trying to stalk white tail but somehow keep running into fresh piles of forbidden chocolate eggs. I've heard deer and moose don't mix well, but I can't confirm that. Am I just looking in the wrong areas? I've been out in colville national forests and now tried around mount Spokane but again less signs of deer and more moose signs. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong or just getting skunked.

Does anyone know if WA has a tower shoot for pheasant?

I googled but could not find anything.

Hey guys, I just recently moved from MI to western WA last year. I’ve put a few hundred miles on my car, and probably walked 30+miles over the last week or so throughout Elbe hills, capitol forest, and some surrounding federal land, and I’ve only flushed 4 grouse, all in capitol, and way too far to get a shot off. My elevation has varied from 800ft up to 3,500ft, walked creek beds, old logging roads, and just flat out bushwhacking. I’ve thought about heading north to US-2, or west to the Olympics, but I haven’t had enough time off to get myself up there. I don’t expect to get anyone’s hidden gem spots, as I know I keep my best trout runs to myself. But any tips on how I can get myself on some birds (or bunnies) within a few hours of the Tacoma area would be greatly appreciated!

Got a couple California quail solo hunting today. No dog.

How is the season going for everyone? Has anyone had any success? I spent 3 days out in GMU 654 and the only elk I saw was 1 herd on private property on the way to go hunting.