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 Fall 2020 Organized Hunting Opportunties? 
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Location: Renton
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2020
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Real Name: Ron Martinsen
It's been decades since I've been able to enjoy hunting for a variety of life related reasons (e.g., 4 kids). The last time I went hunting was in Mississippi & Louisiana when I was a kid, and the only thing I ever really got were squirrels and rabbits because as a pre-teen I wasn't a good enough hunter to get deer or turkey.

I'm a much better shot these days and go out to the range 2x a week for the last several months to improve my skills. My 11 year old son has been joining me at the range and is able to consistently hit targets at 200 yards at Snoqualmie and completed hunter-ed.com, so I'd like to reward his hard work with a hunt.

I know about redshunting.com, but are there any other organized hunting opportunities in Washington State - especially in this f**ked year with everything shut down?

At this point I care less about what we are hunting and more about the experience of getting out there and having a successful hunt.

I have a variety of rifles for pretty much any quarry, but my son is mostly just shooting .22 LR pistol and rifle - but he's ready for a shotgun if the opportunity presents itself - which I would expect if we went hunting.

Thanks!


Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:37 pm
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I'm entirely I know what you mean by organized hunting. However, try looking into some of the hunting clubs, used to be several in Ellensburg alone. Would get you out in a semi-controlled environment and a chance at some birds. That was my first "real" hunt other than just hiking alongside.

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Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:30 am
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Not sure exactly what you’re after, but there’s places like cooks canyon over by Ellensberg. You pay some small fee to “join their club”, then you can call ahead a couple days and tell them how many birds you want to shoot. Not sure the per bird cost. Never hunted there. If you are looking for other game in a semi controlled (high fence) environment, there’s places like Four Aces (Oregon) and Clover Creek (Washington and Oregon) that you can hunt hogs, bison, sheep, goats, and other exotic game. I’ve never hunted any of them, so no clue on environment, logistics, success rate, or cost.

If you’re looking for a real big game hunt, one of my friends I’ve know since I was 5 is an outfitter/guide in Montana. He guides elk, deer, cougar, bear, and wolf. Not sure what his rates are, but he’s a very successful guide. You can pm me if you want his info.


Wed Sep 23, 2020 6:38 am
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I have been to Cooke Canyon http://www.cookecanyon.com/
'Very safe and easy for hunting pheasant. You will need shotguns with steel shot (no led). For kids a 20 gauge would do wonders. You will need a trained dog. They breed them there. Not sure if you can borrow a dog for a day (I went with a friend's dog).
Give them a call.


Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:22 am
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Location: Renton
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Real Name: Ron Martinsen
jorgeu wrote:
I have been to Cooke Canyon http://www.cookecanyon.com/
'Very safe and easy for hunting pheasant. You will need shotguns with steel shot (no led). For kids a 20 gauge would do wonders. You will need a trained dog. They breed them there. Not sure if you can borrow a dog for a day (I went with a friend's dog).
Give them a call.


Thanks!

Any recommendations for simple rabbit & squirrel hunting? I'm doing some upland bird hunting in a class where they provide everything, but I really would just like to do some simple small game hunting. I have no idea how to find places where I can do that legally.


Wed Sep 30, 2020 10:23 pm
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Location: Seattle, WA
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Squirrels are friggin' everywhere, though they seem to be less common outside urban areas, so... ymmv I guess.

Read up in the hunting prospects guides WDFW publishes (won't cover squirrels, they're not a regulated species). I was looking the other day because I'm also looking to do some rabbit hunting this season - according to WDFW, Pierce County is the place to go in Western Washington for rabbit.

As far as legality, you want to look for public lands and private lands that you can get access to. Try OnX Hunt or one of the competitors and google land owner names. Most of the forest lands on the western slopes of the Cascades are owned by lumber companies or just holding companies that sell access permits, but there are state forests and a little bit of national forest that might make good hunting too.


Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:18 pm
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synthetic-blend wrote:
Squirrels are friggin' everywhere, though they seem to be less common outside urban areas, so... ymmv I guess.

Read up in the hunting prospects guides WDFW publishes (won't cover squirrels, they're not a regulated species). I was looking the other day because I'm also looking to do some rabbit hunting this season - according to WDFW, Pierce County is the place to go in Western Washington for rabbit.

As far as legality, you want to look for public lands and private lands that you can get access to. Try OnX Hunt or one of the competitors and google land owner names. Most of the forest lands on the western slopes of the Cascades are owned by lumber companies or just holding companies that sell access permits, but there are state forests and a little bit of national forest that might make good hunting too.


OnX Hunt & the google advice is what I was looking for. I've got squirrels in my yard, but I'd go to jail if I got my gun out and shot them. :)


Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:42 pm
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Location: Seattle, WA
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I hear that. Around here we've got tons of cottontails too, but, eh - same problem.


Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:57 pm
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I believe most all squirrels and chipmunks can not be hunted.
But there are California ground squirrels in eastern Washington. They can be hunted.
Rabbits although abundant. They are hard to spot. For snow shoe hair wait until the first snow. Then they turn white and can sometimes be seen where there is no snow. If that makes sense.
Grouse is probably your best bet. But you will still have to hunt hard to find them.
If you don’t already have one. Go pick up the small game regulations.


Thu Oct 01, 2020 2:22 pm
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survivor wrote:
I believe most all squirrels and chipmunks can not be hunted.
But there are California ground squirrels in eastern Washington. They can be hunted.

Squirrel regs aren't in the hunting booklet, they're not regulated as game animals. WDFW has a page about tree squirrels - there's a Legal Status heading at the bottom of the "Preventing conflicts" section. You're right, most species can't be hunted, but for the introduced species it's open season year-round.

Eastern grays and fox squirrels are the most common in Western Washington, seems you mostly need to know how to differentiate eastern grays from western grays. Squirrel Refuge says the difference is eastern grays have a splash of brown. I don't think we have pine squirrels (Douglas or red) on this side of the Cascades and I've never seen flying squirrels.


Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:11 pm
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Unless you like eating a pine tree, don't eat the squirrels. The squirrels in this state all taste like Pine Sol, due to the fact their diet consists of mostly evergreen pine cone seeds and fresh pine sapling nubs. The inner city squirrel has a higher fat content because of the all the bird feeders they raid, but getting them might be problematic. I'd only hit them if all other options for protein are out and desperation takes hold. I think the deer in this state have the same issue but that meat tends to level out. Don't know if the grass and weeds they feed on mellows out the pine, but if you hit the high alpine deer that gamey flavor is due to their evergreen diet. You bag a midwest deer it's mostly grain fed.

Grouse is a good time if you are willing to burn a lot of gas and able to hit old abandoned logging roads. You need to go on days that don't have a lot of rain, they like to hit the roads for the sun and gravel. You need to have a decent 410 or 20 guage, 12 guage is overkill for these birds and you will end up picking more shot that meat out of your teeth. Buddy of mine used to hit greenwater a lot with a .22 pistol and we'd take turns driving or shooting and the end of September. We'd drive 50 to sixty miles trying to get birds. Usually bag one or two between the both of us. Then I picked up a bow and September was deer season for me.


Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:46 pm
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Location: In my Cave near the Cloquallum
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I too grew up in the South and hunted as much as I could, rabbit, squirrel, quail and duck were my quarry till my mid teens.
When I settled from 20+ years of contracting on the road i again renewed my love for the hunt. My kids grew up on the rivers and in the woods with me and let me tell ya I had to relearn hunting being 2700 miles away from here.
About the only advice I can give you is to get out there and get with it with information you have gleaned from friends or neighbors that hunt/fish here. Its all about time in the woods.
As mentioned, there are not a lot of squirrels up here but I’ve been successful with rabbits during deer season as well as grouse...
Good luck.

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Thu Dec 03, 2020 11:08 am
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Location: Renton
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Real Name: Ron Martinsen
Thanks for the replies everyone! I just got back from a glorious trip in Texas where I could shoot daily for 9 days, but only target practice as the land didn't sport any animals that I could legally shoot. I did enjoy doing some 400 yards shooting and a crap ton of pistol practice though - from sunrise to sunset daily.


Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:14 pm
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That sounds like a damned good trip! "Uhhh no honey, it's not a shooting vacation. It's a social distancing vacation!"

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Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:20 pm
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MadPick wrote:
That sounds like a damned good trip! "Uhhh no honey, it's not a shooting vacation. It's a social distancing vacation!"


Yeah, the wife & kids stayed at home so I was all alone except for when my brother visited a couple times. I had to take care of some stuff for my parents estate, so it was a glorious time.


Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:24 pm
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