Raffle Permit Hunt deadline a week away

Yes, we hammered this last week, but this is the last week, as we want to make sure readers don't miss out on this opportunity.

The Washington State Raffle Permit Hunts deadline is July 22, one week from today.

The price for a Deer, Elk, Moose, Mountain Goat ticket is $5.90 a ticket. A bighorn sheep ticket is $11.90, a multi-species ticket for three-species raffles is $16.70 and a four-species ticket is $22.10. Dennis usually purchases four tickets in most categories each year.

Proceeds from the sale of single-species raffle tickets will be used for the management and benefit of that species. Proceeds from the sale of multiple species raffle tickets will be used for general game management.

There is no limit on the number of tickets a person may purchase. Residents and non-residents are eligible to purchase tickets. Refunds are not available on raffle ticket purchases. The "Once in a Lifetime Harvest" restriction is waived for auction and raffle hunts. The winner of the deer and elk raffles may purchase an additional deer or elk license/tag for the general hunting season if they choose. If selected, any legal weapon may be used during the hunt.

One winner and two alternates will be drawn for each hunt. Each winner must be eligible to purchase a hunting license and will be issued the appropriate license and tag at no cost. The drawing is done by computer and the winning ticket holder will be notified via phone and mail by mid-August. If you are selected for a multi-species raffle, a decision must be made as to which species you would like to hunt before your hunting license and tags will be issued by the Department."

Last week we provided info on the Northeast Washington Big Game Raffle which allows the winner to tag three of the following six species; one additional buck white-tailed deer, one additional bull elk, one bull moose, one additional cougar, one additional black bear, one additional turkey. The cost per ticket is $16.70. The deer, elk and moose hunt dates are Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The Black bear season is April 15 through May 31 and Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The winner may hunt cougar from Sept. 1 through May 31 and turkey April 15 through May 31.

Game Management Units open will be 101 through 124. If selected for this hunt, a decision must be made as to which three of the six species you want to hunt, before your hunting license and tags will be issued.

Other raffles includes: Black-tailed Deer in Game Management Units open to black-tailed deer hunting except GMU 485. The bag limit is one additional buck black-tailed deer.

Mule Deer in GMUs open to mule deer hunting with the bag limit of one additional buck mule deer; White-tailed Deer in GMUs open to white-tailed deer hunting with a bag limit of one additional buck white-tailed deer.

So there are raffles for various big game species, such as the three-deer raffle and raffles for each of the three deer species separately.

Of particular interest to Dennis, besides the deer raffles, are two other raffles, the Eastside elk in Eastern Washington, except GMU 157 and those GMUs closed to elk hunting and those GMUs not opened to branch antlered bull elk hunting with a bag limit of one additional bull elk.

The second is the moose raffle: Moose, two permits available to hunt in any open moose unit, with a bag limit of one moose of either sex.

The season for the above raffle permit hunts is Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

One more reminder about the raffle permit hunts next week, as the permit hunt applications are available until midnight, but remember, raffle tickets are no longer available to purchase online or over the telephone, as Washington gambling regulations prohibit wire sales.