Washington Deer/Elk Permit requirements

[dutchman2858]

I haven't done any hunting in WA to date, but am considering a deer and/or elk hunt in 2015. My question is whether or not any deer/elk licenses are available OTC, or if all of them are allocated by drawing permit? I've searched the WDFW site for quite some time tonight and only find reference to the drawing for the multi-season permits.

Thanks for any info.

[MarkFromSea]

General hunts utilize OTC tags plus your hunting license. The permits are drawn, tags are OTC. Permits are for your cow or doe drawings, special areas or special dates, ect. Try to get last year's regs to look through from cover to cover. Should be on line. You want the hunting regs pamphlet, should be available in PDF.

[MarkFromSea]

Here ya go: • Download Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules Pamphlet [PDF] LOL that didn't work... here's the link to the page, click on the download Big Game Hunting Seasons ect. http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; read it from cover to cover this weekend... and maybe next... .

[BentRod]

Like Mark indicated, you can get both a big game hunting license and deer and/or elk tags over the counter. You can also order them online. There are special permit drawings, but you do not have to apply for them if you're hunting under the general season rules. Deer is a statewide permit, but elk has been divided into Eastern and Western Washington, so you'll need to know which side of the state you'll be hunting in before purchasing (the general elk season for eastern vs. western are a week apart)
Additionally, depending on your age, if you've never hunted in WA state before, you may be required to take a hunter's safety course prior to purchasing a hunting license. I believe those requirements are also outlined in the regs.
FWIW.

[dutchman2858]

Thanks for the quick responses, guys!

[MarkFromSea]

You're welcome. As I drifted off to sleep last night a thought popped in, grab a gazeteer map book. The area descriptions are not too bad when you have a gazeteer on hand. On sale, they are about the same price they were 20ish years ago. Freddies, Walmart, Outdoor Emporium, maybe Big 5, Dicks. You're in Marysville, hit up Cabelas??

If you have some spare time, you might call a couple places, see if they have a left over hard copy of last years regs...highlight areas you're more interested in.????? I only recommend reading cover to cover so you can get a bigger view of what WA has to offer the hunter. It's pretty good actually! That reg book is the quickest way to see everything that's offered, better than reading it second hand else where.