Here in Washington I bought my big game license as usual: elk, deer, bear and cougar. I didn't apply for any of the special draws. I'll be heading out in about ten days to hunt the early archery season for elk (3pts or better), deer in the area we are going is any deer breathing. Kind of odd, to me, that you have to choose the method (firearms or archery) on the deer and elk tags.

Should be a fun week, my friend has been badgering me for 8-9 years about getting out for the bow season, I'm finally taking him up on it. He and his friend are traditional archers, I'm showing up with a compound. I'm not sure what to expect, I have not seen our local elk heard for quite a while, you usually see them in town (well, within the city limits) in August but I've not seen them for a couple of months. I wonder if they are still up high due to the late spring and nearly non-existent summer?