Washington Elk Hunting Application Summary
Draw Deadline
Applications dates …………………May 26
(http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00766/wdfw00766.pdf)
Results available…………………Late-June.
Fees
Fees required at application
Elk Tag*………………………………………..$42.50 (resident)/$434.00 (non-resident)
Special Hunt Application**………………$6.50 (resident)/$60.50 (non-resident)
Multiple Season Permit Application***………$6.50 (resident)/$60.50 (non-resident)
Multiple Season Tag………………………..$180.50 (resident)/%1800.50 (non-resident)
*The Elk tag price includes a Washington Hunting License. Elk tag/license price and special hunt application are Non-refundable. An Elk Tag License must be purchased prior to purchasing a Special Permit Application.
**It is possible to purchase multiple Special Hunt Applications for various hunt dates, quality hunts, antlerless hunts, etc.
***The Multi Season application allows a hunter to hunt during all 3 general seasons (Archery, Modern Firearm, and Muzzleloader.) The bag limit of one Elk applies. Once you harvest an Elk you are done with that species.
Points
For each year you are unsuccessful in the Special Hunt drawings you are issued one bonus point.
Purchasing A Bonus Point Only
It is possible to purchase a bonus point only in Washington. To do so you must first purchase the Nonrefundable Elk Tag ($42.50/$434.00) and then the Special Hunt Application ($6.50/$60.50). On the Special Hunt App you will place a “Ghost Hunt Choice Number” of 2999.
Hunt Choices
Washington’s system places a multiplier on the points. The number of points is squared and it is this number of random numbers that are issued to the application (or number of cards in the barrel). If a person applies for an elk permit for the first time, they have one card in the barrel. If a person has built up two points, they have four cards in the barrel. If a person has three points built up, nine cards are in the barrel and so on. (Placing a multiplier on the points more noticeably increases the chances of being selected over someone who is a new applicant or was recently awarded a permit.)
The computer spins the barrel by issuing random numbers to each application. The lowest random number that is issued to each application is the number used to order the applications from the lowest random number to the highest. It is the same as drawing cards from a barrel one by one. The application with the lowest random number is drawn first from the barrel and the hunt choices are checked. As each application comes up for consideration, the first hunt choice is checked to see if there is a permit left to be awarded. If there are none left, the second hunt choice is checked. If there is a permit available for that hunt choice, the application is selected for that hunt. If not, the process continues until all of the hunt choices on the application have been checked. If all of the hunt choices marked on the card have run out of permits, no permits are awarded to that application.
Non-Resident Permit Allocations
Washington does not discriminate against Nonresidents. The more points you have the better the odds of drawing a tag.
Hunter Education Requirements
When, purchasing a license, all individuals born after January 1, 1972 must show proof that they have completed a hunter education class.
Group Applications
On group applications, the points of all of the applicants are averaged and the average is used in the drawing for that application. If the first group member has two points and the second one has six, then four points are used for the drawing. If the first member has one point, the second member has two, and a third member has four, then two points are used in the drawing for that application. The averaged points are rounded to the nearest whole number.