By Eric Trent
The Chronicle
WILLAPA HILLS Its a surprisingly warm 40 degrees outside as I arrive at a house Ive never seen before in Raymond at 5:30 a.m. Friday. A Pacific County native, Im back home to embark on my first-ever hunting trip and have no idea what to expect.
Jeff Boggs is loading gear into his red, lifted Chevy pickup as he greets me when I pull into the driveway. He hands me a pair of camouflage pants and a long sleeve shirt as I slip my boots on and climb into the cab.
We merge onto U.S. Highway 101 as Boggs rolls his window down and says, Theres your picture! as a herd of elk graze in the darkness of early morning just off the road; less than 100 yards from his house.
Unfortunately, these elk are on private property and are illegal to shoot. Instead, we head deep into the heart of the forest in search of one of Washingtons most prized big game animals.
Adult bull (male) Roosevelt elk can weigh up to 1,000 pounds, and average around 600 to 800 pounds. Adult cows (females) weigh in around 500 pounds. With thick bodies, short tails and long legs, adult elk stand 4 to 5 feet high just at the shoulder.
The first elk Boggs harvested two years ago gave him over 200 pounds of meat and lasted him the entire year. He processes everything on his own, from dressing and cleaning to cutting every steak and grinding the burger.
This is the best meat Ive ever eaten, Boggs said. My kid will eat elk and deer over anything. Id rather have an animal Ive killed over store-bought meat any day.
Boggs and I are heading to Game Management Unit 506, also known as the Willapa Hills region, which runs from the Columbia River in Wahkiakum County all the way up north of Route 6, east of Menlo.
General season ended in Western Washington on Nov. 18 for modern firearms and Sept. 24 for archery. Right now, the only hunting that is open in the Willapa Hills is late archery elk, a season that runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 15, and Boggs is trying to fill his freezer after striking out during early archery.
Boggs, 33, has been hunting since he was 9 years old, getting one pheasant his first year out. He bagged his first deer at just 10 years old, and has harvested a deer every year since then except once. He didnt start hunting elk until four years ago, after he bought his first bow.
When we arrive at the spur of a gated logging road at 6 a.m., its still dark out and were the first hunters to get here. Typically, during hunting season, every timber company gate has a cluster of cars parked in front of it as thousands of hunters descend upon the woods.
In 2019, there were 54,500 elk hunters statewide. In the Willapa Hills alone, there were 1,916 hunters during the general season, many of which pour in from urban areas and cities. This year, 98,000 elk tags were bought statewide since April 1. In the Green Creek area east of Menlo, there were 30-foot fifth-wheel motorhomes parked on the sides of the logging roads.
Boggs and I, reveling in the early-morning solitude at our empty gate, put our camouflage on and began trekking up a winding logging road. Its 7 a.m., still a bit dark out, as we step as lightly as possible on the crunchy gravel.
Boggs holds his bow by the string as he walks. Its a Bowtech Realm SR6, one he bought used earlier this year and set him back $900. In his Bowtech Octane quiver are Easton 6.5mm carbon arrows. A quality entry-level bow for a first-time hunter, he said, would run about $500.
He got into bow hunting for a multitude of reasons, the main one being that archery season runs from Sept. 12-24, during the height of the rut, when horns clash and males vie for female mating partners. Its the easiest time to bag an elk as archers use an assortment of calls, such as a bull elk challenge and a female in heat, to coax the bulls near for a clean shot. Boggs uses Phelps Game Calls, a company located in Pe Ell.
Another advantage for bow hunters is that modern firearm season doesnt begin until Nov. 25, about a month after the rut has ended, meaning a lot less hunters are out during this time. In 2019, there were over 30,000 modern firearm hunters in the state compared to less than 15,000 archery hunters.
After 20 minutes of slowly trudging uphill, Boggs and I reach the first clearing. Its the spot he shot his first elk two years ago. I stand a few feet back, concealed behind a small cluster of bushes, as he surveys the landscape with his Vortex binoculars. We gingerly move along the side of the road that runs parallel to the clearing, looking for any signs of movement or the telltale tan bodies of the giant elk.
Archery hunting is no easy feat, I begin to realize, as Boggs points to a stump off in the distance and asks how far away I think it is. After years of covering high school football games, I felt I have an accurate judgement of yardage. I guess 50 yards. Boggs takes out his rangefinder and says Nope. 100 yards.
Even that stump looks like a tough distance to land a shot, and in reality, its still a bit further than the optimal shooting range of 40 yards with a bow. His maximum range is 80 yards, but even then its a desperation shot.
You have to get so close, and if the wind blows they smell you and youre not going to get your animal, Boggs said. Youve got to hunt the wind. If I have an 80-yard shot and I feel like I can get closer, Im getting closer.
As we continue along the road, the only sound is the crackling gravel under our boots. Every word we exchange is a hushed whisper. We need every advantage we can get to spot these elk before they see, smell and/or hear us.
With a modern firearm, a well-aimed hunter can drop an elk from hundreds of yards away. Still, modern firearm hunters had a lower success rate than archery hunters in the state last year; 9 percent for firearms and 10 percent for archery. Thats mostly due to double the amount of firearm hunters, however. In the Willapa Hills, archery hunters had a bit more luck. Of the 785 archery hunters, 133 successfully harvested an elk, for a 17 percent success rate.
Still, the odds are against us today.
We make our way through multiple spurs, guided by an app that shows the owner for every parcel of land in the area to make sure we dont stumble upon private property. It isnt until about 4 miles in that we find our first spot where elk bedded down the night before. Boggs points to a big circle and a smaller circle in the grass. Thats where a mom and its baby laid down, he said.
Yards away, we find our first fresh elk poop. Boggs guesses its hours old. We follow the poop trail down a branching road a couple hundred yards before it disappears completely. At some point they left the road and went off into the thick blanket of trees and brush, he said. We wont venture into the trees. Not only would our steps be too loud, but the branches are too thick to get off a clean shot even if we did find them.
We continue on, stopping every so often to rest, as Boggs tells hunting stories in a whisper. He tells why he wont elk hunt with a firearm, because of the thousands of people and craziness it brings. He shares a story of his friends dads friend who shot an elk and after locating it was approached by a father and son who claimed it was them who had shot it. There was an argument, and the man was shot and killed by the father and son.
Its just one example of the hyper-competitiveness of elk hunting, and how difficult it can be to get one of your own. Even Boggs had someone try to steal the elk he killed. After landing a shot he was sure would be fatal, Boggs sat on a stump and waited for the elk to die. Chasing after a shot elk is a huge mistake, he said, as they will run for miles and miles if pursued.
When he finally located the elk, a hunter was standing next to it, claiming he had shot it. Boggs showed him his arrows, which matched the arrow in the elk and, luckily, the hunter continued on his way.
Still, the positive encounters far outweigh the negative ones for Boggs. He shoots at least 10 arrows a day, 365 days a year in anticipation for the season. He has targets set up at his house so he can even shoot out of the window of his trophy room.
I dont want to have to think about it, I want to draw it and have it just like a gun, Boggs said. Youve got to build the muscle memory. Its all technique. Once you learn how, its all easy.
We survey a handful of clearings as we make a giant loop on the logging roads back toward Boggs truck. We walk a total of 7 miles and dont see a single elk, though the bedded-down grass and fresh poop let us know we must have just missed them.
As we near the truck, he takes me down a wooded trail that he saw mushrooms growing in earlier this year. We collect a handful of chanterelles and a large, pink coral mushroom before arriving at the gate. Looks like we wont go home empty-handed after all.
For now, its back home for some lunch, then hell head back out for a few more hours until dark. Hell return on Saturday and Sunday, too, chasing the thrill of the hunt.
Jeff Boggs draws back his $900 Bowtech Realm SR6 bow. Boggs harvested his first elk, a cow, two years ago.
See the article here:
Hunters have one final chance to bag an elk - The Daily World
- Why was that large land parcel cleared along southbound I-5 near Olympia? Heres the answer - The Olympian - September 29th, 2024 [September 29th, 2024]
- 13 Outdoor Upgrades That Will Instantly Increase Home Value - AOL - September 7th, 2024 [September 7th, 2024]
- Thousands of hectares of koala habitat are cleared every year, including for renewable energy projects - ABC News - September 7th, 2024 [September 7th, 2024]
- Opinion: Lets get the real story on vegetation management - Beef Central - September 7th, 2024 [September 7th, 2024]
- An average 100 million native animals killed or injured each year from land clearing, mostly for beef farms - RenewEconomy - August 4th, 2024 [August 4th, 2024]
- Resident faces colossal fine after clearing national park land for illegal building construction: 'This sends a strong and ... - The Cool Down - May 27th, 2024 [May 27th, 2024]
- EPA and NOAA identify problems with Port of Albany wind energy site - Riverkeeper - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Police look into alleged land-clearing smoke in crash - The Star Online - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Jacksonville to Benefit from ARPA Funds Sent to Two Rivers Land Bank - WLDS-WEAI News - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Wu announces forestry division to preserve and expand tree canopy in Boston - The Boston Globe - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Rising homelessness is tearing California cities apart - POLITICO - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- In bid to win trust of project proponents, Maharashtra govt to lift stay on 183 industrial plots allotted - Free Press Journal - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- 'Dreadful' tip being cleared after business complains of rats and flytipping - Liverpool Echo - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Genshin Impact A Prayer for Rain on the Fecund Land quest guide - Gamepur - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Clearing sale to stop temptation to work - Otago Daily Times - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Environmental Assessment Bulletin - News Releases - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Preserve the island | Letters to the Editor | stateportpilot.com - State Port Pilot - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Tree That Outlasted the Dinosaurs 145 Million Years Now Endangered - Nature World News - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Reps panel probes Ministry of Agriculture over N18.6bn allegedly spent on bush clearing, land preparation, others - Premium Times - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- City of Vicksburg places liens on 17 properties - The Vicksburg Post - Vicksburg Post - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Land Grab: Why Baltimore kept desperately cutting deals with a developer who didn't deliver - The Real News Network - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Protesters have close call with heavy machinery at Dartmouth work site - CBC.ca - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- 'There are going to be a lot of unhappy people:' Louisville subdivision pushes against concrete plant - WHAS11.com - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Elgin chapter of the Izaak Walton League 'adopts' city's Central Park for national group's 100th anniversary - Chicago Tribune - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- What the Historic U.S. Climate Bill Gets Right and Gets Wrong - Council on Foreign Relations - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Selangor govt looking to acquire land at Bukit Tabur foothills to protect world's largest pure quartz dyke - The Star Online - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- SCRD issuing bylaw infraction tickets daily - Coast Reporter - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Don't let your diversification ambitions be thwarted by an agricultural land restriction - Gazette & Herald - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Dangerous 'fake' land on Doncaster river won't be cleared due to cost issues - Doncaster Free Press - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- From fire to floods to fire: London Fire Brigade warning as more dry weather due - Evening Standard - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Wetland area coming to FDR Park - South Philly Review - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Big banks CBA, NAB, Westpac, ANZ and Macquarie in push to disclose the impact of lending on nature - The Australian Financial Review - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Coast Guard helping to clean up oil spill in Tabbs Bay near Baytown - KTRK-TV - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Tahoe Summit explores highs, lows of progress on the lake - Tahoe Daily Tribune - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Alaska wildland fire crews ready for action, with state funding to reduce hazardous fuels - Alaska Public Media News - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Clearing landmines from Ukraine may take decades; Work to find, map, and remove them has already begun - Ukraine - ReliefWeb - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area - Mongabay.com - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Sunday sees rain with the return of drier conditions to start the work week. - FOX 13 Seattle - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Minister backs Western Port woodland clearance to expand sand mine - Sydney Morning Herald - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- The Alarmist Vireo - Bay Weekly - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Save Nambucca River Groups Meets For May News Of The Area - News Of The Area - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Swapping 20% of Beef with Meat Substitute Could Halve Deforestation: Study - EARTH.ORG - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- 'Incredibly historic': Winners of 2022 Archibald Prizes announced - Honi Soit - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Disconnect: Climate change and the Australian election - Pursuit - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Gallup's Quarry was so polluted the EPA took over. Here's how much it pays Plainfield now. - Norwich Bulletin - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Buffer ordinance in hands of Sussex council - CapeGazette.com - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Sundance Doc The Territory Shines Light On Alarming Deforestation Of Protected Land In Brazils Rainforest: Its A Nightmare - Deadline - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- The FAA says some 777s are cleared to fly to airports with 5G C-band - The Verge - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- The Tallest Known Tree in New York Falls in the Forest - The New Yorker - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Dredgers spotted off Cambodian base where China is funding work -U.S. think tank - Reuters - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Mystery person who cleared Munlochy Clootie Well didn't have permission from land owners - Press and Journal - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Ashtabula County Land Bank Executive Director leaving organization tomorrow - The Star Beacon - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- New businesses making their way to Chattahoochee County - WRBL - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Fog and stagnant air quality continue to drive the forecast through mid-week. - Q13 FOX (Seattle) - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Proposed TBM bylaw to impose restrictions on urban tree removal from private properties - CollingwoodToday.ca - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Calls for clean-up to remove plastic waste piling up on the Wessel Islands, off Arnhem Land - ABC News - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Snow and ice removal from vehicles targeted in five states - Land Line Media - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Efforts to restore a neglected Charlotte cemetery prove it's neither gone nor forgotten - WFAE - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Port Of LA Teams Up With Dairy Industry To Address Supply Chain Disruptions - NBC Southern California - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Rekindling connections in the small flame of a qulliq - High Country News - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Environmentalists angered by management of Rocky Hill - About Regional - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Former Bucs Tony Dungy and Shaun King Lead the Army of Head-Scratchers Over the Bucs' Fatal Blitz - Sportscasting - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Wilcox County Students recognized for work in the community - 41 NBC News - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Permits now required in Douglas County for riprapping, clearing and grading projects - Echo Press - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- What the Forest Remembers, by Jennifer Egan - The New Yorker - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Advocates Want the EPA to Force Portland to Clean Up a Key Stretch of the Willamette River - Willamette Week - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Sidewalks and subdivisions: The final part of our SW Hamilton series - BikePortland.org - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Ghana loses 3% of its total revenue to fire outbreaks - GNFS - GhanaWeb - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Country diary: A tiny island on a loch perfect for a solstice overnight camp - The Guardian - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- When It Comes to Air Assault, Ukraine Could Give Russia a Run for Its Money - The National Interest - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Saints expected to start QB Ian Book vs. Dolphins as Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian land on reserve/COVID-19 list - The Athletic - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- Global maps of cropland extent and change show accelerated cropland expansion in the twenty-first century - Nature.com - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- The moments that defined the Middle East in 2021 - TRT World - December 28th, 2021 [December 28th, 2021]
- The Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs Created the Amazon Rain Forest - Scientific American - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]
- UNIFIL deminers persevere with clearing south Lebanese land of deadly mines | UNIFIL - UNIFIL - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]
- Landfill size, tipping rate increasing over coming fiscal year - Maryville Daily Times - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]
- Here's how Bally Sports' takeover of Fox Sports Southwest affects Spurs fans - mySA - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]
- Nonprofit Harmony Lanes brings inclusive transportation to High Country - The Appalachian Online - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]
- With the Suez Canal Unblocked, the Worlds Commerce Resumes Its Course - The New York Times - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]
- New section of SH 249 opens | Navasota Examiner - The Navasota Examiner - April 5th, 2021 [April 5th, 2021]