Limiting Oregon Westside deer and elk tags

[TimberJunkie]

I have been living in Oregon for 12 years now, I think it has some great hunting opporthnities, especially if a person wants to hold out for 12+ points. I live and work in the Rogue and Applegate units.
I find it crazy that I can't get away from other hunters. During bow or rifle seasons, I have been 5 miles into the darkest holes in the wilderness and found horse packers. I think the success rate for rifle elk in the cascade area is about 5% or less. I am pretty successful considering these obstacles, but I would love to hear from others about what they think of going to a controlled hunt draw for the Westside zones, or at least the Rogue Unit. Deer populations are down, and hunter numbers are seemingly way up. Maybe not....
I would rather hunt every other year, or every third, and have a real opprrtunity to get away from other hunter and increase the odds of seeing something other than spikes all day.

What are your thoughts, would this hurt revenue so much, that the state would never do it?

Would love to see ODFW be more creative and less money driven.

 

[Tim McCoy]

For most longtime W OR residents, I suspect that idea would go over like a turd in a punch bowl. When the east side went to almost all controlled hunting, a long time ago, the complaints lasted for a very long time, still hear some today. Many annual hunting traditions died, same family in the same camp every year sort of things became impossible in many units.

I'd be supportive of a blend on the west side, a general season for all, then some controlled draw opportunities with moderate numbers at other times, like they do with the kids hunts. They offer a Nov and Dec controlled deer and elk in the Rogue unit for kids, but it is open during the general too, last I looked anyway. That sort of thing.

ODFW will always need $, nature of it. Good luck getting them to be less $ focused. Last I knew, hunter numbers were not way up, but it has been some time since I read that and I could be misremembering it. The biggest issue facing the west side is logging is almost non-existent, so once the canopy closes in, no ungulates in any numbers. So in my view, the only way you will see west side deer/elk go to controlled hunts anytime soon, is if the population crashes.

 

[Timberstalker]

Keep west side general, if it went to a draw ODFW would offer so many rifle tags you would draw as second choice anyway. I have mentioned in the public meetings about more draw opportunities on the west side many times. Like late muzzy deer hunts in all units, muzzy elk hunts inbetween archery and rifle seasons. They take notes but I never see any new hunts offered. I have hunted the Santiam unit for decades, it is not what it used to be for deer, I can hardly find a doe. Elk seem to be doing ok where I hunt, I sure would like a muzzy elk tag from September 26-30 up there!

Timber Junkie, you may be sing more pressure down there since the private logging companies started shutting things down up north. Also the lack of deer where I usually hunt has recantly forced myself down your way. The deer hunting just plain sucks in the Santiam on national forest these days. From what I've seen it has nothing to do with ODFW and everything to do with lack of logging and access.

 

[Tim McCoy]

TS, you nailed it for the Santiam unit. Kicked around there for many decades as well. Logging = deer. If they are not careful, another big fire, like the one up by Detroit many years ago, will happen.

 

[TimberJunkie]

Thanks for the replies gents. It's an ugly truth but still manageable. I went out this morning and had three spots picked out to park and walk in, I was there alkost an hour before light, all three placed had camps. I am glad to see people out hunting though. It's good to see younger kids out learning the ropes too.

Some more options with later tags is a great idea. I would like to see maybe the two parts the season in the Rogue Unit being different hunts. Hunters could pick one or the other. I talked to some huys today from California. They had 8 guys in their camp, all new to Oregon hunting. Jut another example.

Hoe the season treats you fellas well.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Build your OR points. There is some good controlled hunting east for archery bulls and some muley units with low pressure. About every 3rd year or sooner, you could hunt one or the other in a fairly good for OR unit.

 

[Timberstalker]

TS, you nailed it for the Santiam unit. Kicked around there for many decades as well. Logging = deer. If they are not careful, another big fire, like the one up by Detroit many years ago, will happen.

Detroit is where I used to do really well, no more clear cuts up there, It's a brush choked mess. Can't even hardy drive my pickup up some of the roads. The cut banks used to have deer trails completely cut up with deer tracks, now days I might see a track or two. Even then wasn't easy to kill a buck but it was very doable, nowdays it's pretty much a waste of time. Sad to say but a good burn up there would be a blessing.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

Keep west side general, if it went to a draw ODFW would offer so many rifle tags you would draw as second choice anyway. I have mentioned in the public meetings about more draw opportunities on the west side many times. Like late muzzy deer hunts in all units, muzzy elk hunts inbetween archery and rifle seasons. They take notes but I never see any new hunts offered. I have hunted the Santiam unit for decades, it is not what it used to be for deer, I can hardly find a doe. Elk seem to be doing ok where I hunt, I sure would like a muzzy elk tag from September 26-30 up there!

Timber Junkie, you may be sing more pressure down there since the private logging companies started shutting things down up north. Also the lack of deer where I usually hunt has recantly forced myself down your way. The deer hunting just plain sucks in the Santiam on national forest these days. From what I've seen it has nothing to do with ODFW and everything to do with lack of logging and access.

Exactly! The most crowded hunts I have been on have been in "limited tag" areas. I don't see the application fee adding any quality to the hunts.

 

[Tim McCoy]

... Sad to say but a good burn up there would be a blessing.

Probably just what it needs. But with all the fuel, it may not create the ideal jig saw mosaic we'd hope for. It's really too bad there is not a happy middle on logging on the NF lands.

 

[tttoadman]

I like the idea of a draw for the second half of the western deer season. They cut it in half by closing it during the cascade elk hunt. I think the issue is the lack of habitat for deer in the valley where they should be living. They were pushed further into the mountains and the logging made it a little closer to the habitat in the valley. Now they try to sneak around in the thick timber until a cat gets em.

As far as people, what a shit show. The hillbillies around my house just hunt for a 1 1/2 months and shoot deer like crazy. The issue is many of these people will haul ass for home with a deer and save their tag for the next weekend. I don't believe the reporting is accurate enough to be useful to F&G.

For the guys that actually do care about tags, there are a lot of guys that hunt that entire time and fill a tag with a forky buck for every friend they have. I have very few friends because I tell em what I think of them as they roll through town with their third deer of the season acting like a big shot.

I will continue to hunt the high ground in the Santiam unit because I love it. Lucky now and then, and that is OK with me for now.

rant over.

 

[Micah S]

It's a bad idea. On the east side when ochoco unit became over crowded during archery season they made it draw only and now the units around ochoco are over crowded because it pushed others in to the units next door.

If your spot has too many hunters find a different spot.

The Santiam unit has plenty of deer but there distribution has changed dramatically in the last 20 years I have no problem finding good bucks.