Making a plan...Mike Eastman style ...kinda long

[coastalarms]

My wife and I are trying to make a decent plan for being able to hunt elk, and hopefully be successful. We are not looking to break any records. Our goals are to be able to have a good time, be successful, be consistent, and not be around a bunch of other hunters. The last one obviously contributes to the others. In a perfect world we would like to be able to car camp and hike in to hunt, spike if need be.
And we are looking at rifle hunts. Its been forever since I picked up my bow and my wife hasn't shot a bow...

Step 1 for us is to start stacking up some points. We are putting in for point in Wyoming. We have some friends in southwest Wyoming that have been hunting there for close to forever.
We also have some family property in Havre, MT. I've never seen elk on the property. We do have family friends in the area so we may put in for points in MT as well (haven't really looked into that one). And the years that we strike out on tags for elk we hope to be able to come to Wyoming and chase antelope around.

Now the one I am having a hard time figuring out. Our home state of Oregon. We want to start hunting eastern Oregon for elk. We each have 2 points after last season. We are trying to come up with a unit that we could hunt at least every other year. It could be we do a bull hunt one year and a cow hunt the next year. The unit I have been kinda honing in on is Silves. With 2 points (so every other year) it looks to be about a 85% draw. We could put in for a cow tag as a second choice. The bull hunt has about 550 tags and the hunter success is only about 20%. The cow hunt for the same area runs about 23%. Seems kinda low.....

I am guessing quite a few of you have done the same thing, any guidance/help is more than welcome.

Thanks
RJ

 

[Tim McCoy]

I've found this to be a great resource for OR. Has success levels too. https://sites.google.com/site/oregontags/

There are plenty of higher success cow hunts, many on private land, so that may not fill the bill for you. What I have found on cow hunts is you make your success like most other hunts with planning and some work. Most don't, especially on cow hunts. If I was planning to learn an area for bulls with cows as a back up, I'd not be detered by 20% success for cows so long as I was physically able to get a few miles off the road and could scout or hunt regularly. You'll likely find a spot or three that hold game and end up filling a tag more often than not after a trip or two.

I'd take a second look at your numbers with the data available on-line. The link will give you an estimate of points needed to draw. The Silvies regular cow hunt 272A was oversubscribed last year, no second choice tags. The 272B hunt, in red ink, with access issues due to private land was undersubscribed. It could work as a second choice. Play around on the site, if you have not already used it, I think you'll like it.

 

[NDHunter]

Consider CO too. With 1 or 2 points, you can get into some decent units without a huge number of hunters. You can go there every 2-3 years, learn the unit and I'm sure do well.

 

[hoshour]

Get a free 3-month trial to the digital versions of Eastmans Hunting Journal and Eastmans' Bowhunting Journal and look at the Oregon MRS. http://www.eastmans.com/shop/eastmans-digital-3-month-free-trial.html

There you'll find everything you need to make a decision on what units to apply for. The new MRS will be in the April/May edition of Eastmans' Hunting Journal and you'll have that info a month before the application deadline.

You can also go to the Oregon Fish and Game site and get a unit map and the hunting booklet and work your way through the draw report yourself. http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/big_game/controlled_hunts/reports/

Elk is the 200 series. It's a lot more work and easier if you let Eastmans' do the work of collecting and organizing all the info you need.

 

[coastalarms]

we would have a shot at 272B cow elk hunt as a second choice, but its only about 20%. I've dug into the mrs in the past issues and looked at Ron's site as well.
Another question for those of you who hunt with a wife/partner/someone else. We are thinking of trying to apply separately to see if that helps. If it takes 3 or 4 points to get a hunt, then theoretically applying separate we would draw every other year. As one person draws the other builds some points. The other person can help each other glass, haul, whatever AND.....hopefully, we learn the area better and become better elk hunters. just a thought. .

 

[WapitiBob]

A 2 point unit is a 3 year draw cycle.
Silvies gets hammered fairly heavy and the pvt on the North end caters to Elk. I hunted that unit for over 10 years.

 

[Tim McCoy]

A 2 point unit is a 3 year draw cycle.
Silvies gets hammered fairly heavy and the pvt on the North end caters to Elk. I hunted that unit for over 10 years.

I usually do not apply as a party. It works much better for my way of thinking to put in separately, hunt together. Another way to look at it, hyper simplified, in OR, if it is a 50% draw, over time you both have tags together 50% of the time. Half the time you both have no hunt. If you put in separately, 1/4 of the time no hunt, 1/2 of the time one pulls a tag and 1/4 both pull a tag. Four outcomes vs. two. Staying with the simplified conceptual example, we can expect one or two of you to have a tag 75% of the time with the individual application strategy. Over time, you have the same number of hunts, simple matter of preference.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Sorry WB, hit the wrong reply with quote button, meant to reply to coastalarm's draw strategy question.

 

[WapitiBob]

The OP would actually have better quality hunts if he and the wife applied separately for Regular draw GEN tags in WY, doing the every other year deal by mixing in a Special GEN when needed to be assured of drawing and getting a point.

 

[Tim McCoy]

The OP would actually have better quality hunts if he and the wife applied separately for Regular draw GEN tags in WY, doing the every other year deal by mixing in a Special GEN when needed to be assured of drawing and getting a point.

No doubt about it. But it appeared to me he was looking for an OR strategy, ergo my post. If I misread that, what you said certainly wins out for quality of hunts.

 

[Timberstalker]

I think Silvies is an ok elk hunt. I have had the first season 3 times and the second 3 times. I'm 50% on branch bulls there with the biggest being a 320 class 6X7. I'm planning for my daughter to draw this fall, it's been 7 years since I've been there for the rifle season, I hope I can find her a bull to gun down. It's not always easy.
I hunted Wyoming Gen archery last fall, I'm certain if I went with a rifle I would have killed a bull. I saw 8 bulls in 6 days during the archery hunt never having been there before. I can't say I can see that many in Silvies even after 20+ years of hunting there.

 

[coastalarms]

I totally agree about Wyoming. I'd just like to try and figure out something for the home turf as well, but it seems hunting in Oregon is slowly "circling the drain". It would just be nice to have some hunts closer to home as well. My wife and I are self employed, which is a good and bad thing. Good is that we can take time off as long as we plan around it, bad is there's no such thing as paid vacation time. Also, with hunting in OR is that we can take camping trips during the summer to scout and generally get to know an area.

So, Wyoming/Montana for points, maybe hunt every other year out of state and Oregon to fill in. Do you guys think there is another unit we should look at in Oregon?

 

[Tim McCoy]

I think it really depends on what type of terrain you prefer and how far you want to travel. Pick one or two, learn them and have fun is what I'd do. I am lucky and can Cow hunt on depredation tags for the freezer yearly and have enough points to rifle or bow hunt for a big one on MT. Emily, where I Cow hunt. The timbered area that holds the Bulls was thinned and a new ag field is going in. I plan to see if that changes things, and if not rifle hunt a bull in 2016. Once I burn the points for a Bull, it will be back to eating Cows for me and chasing Spikes on the MT. Emily Unit. Not much of a problem admittedly. Makes me a poor resource for picking among the various Elk units. I have buddies who love to hunt Desolation and Murders Creek, can't say much beyond that about it, as I lack the experience.

 

[go_deep]

Sent you a pm. If you rotated species you could go to Wyoming ever year if you wanted.

 

[Alabama]

I totally agree about Wyoming. I'd just like to try and figure out something for the home turf as well, but it seems hunting in Oregon is slowly "circling the drain". It would just be nice to have some hunts closer to home as well. My wife and I are self employed, which is a good and bad thing. Good is that we can take time off as long as we plan around it, bad is there's no such thing as paid vacation time. Also, with hunting in OR is that we can take camping trips during the summer to scout and generally get to know an area.

So, Wyoming/Montana for points, maybe hunt every other year out of state and Oregon to fill in. Do you guys think there is another unit we should look at in Oregon?

Montana is kind of difficult to build points unless you plan on hunting it every year. You have to apply for the big game or elk combo license and draw (has been guaranteed for last 3-4 years) and apply for a limited quota hunt and not draw to gain a point. If you don't draw the limited quota you still have a general elk license and can only get an 80% refund if you choose to return it. If you want to hunt general elk every year then its a great deal, but if you want to hunt only limited entry hunts it will add up to at least hundreds and possibly thousands before you draw.

 

[coastalarms]

Good point Alabama, I hadn't realized that. That could be pricy for sure!

Thanks for the info go_deep! pm'ed ya back.

 

[WapitiBob]

Your options and hunt quality increase when you pick up a bow here in OR. Another thing to consider.

 

[Alabama]

I fully agree about Wyoming: it will be relatively close to hunt for you, quality of most hunts are high, long seasons and reasonable cost. Definitely apply in Oregon because you live there and can learn the units easily. I would say skip Montana and go for a unit in Idaho with 40-60% odds of drawing. On the years you don't draw Wyoming apply In Idaho separately and you would almost be guaranteed that one of you would draw and have a chance at Oregon as well. If you would start rotating points between the 2 of you in OR and WY and applying for the random in ID, then you will be hunting elk 5 out of 6 years. Sometimes you might actually draw more than 1. Good problem to have.

 

[coastalarms]

We thought of trying bowhunting......would have to blow the dust off my MQ1 . Next weekend we are going to head over to the Bow Rack and let my wife see if her elbow will let her pull a bow.....getting old is a bi#$

The nice thing is that Oregons tag deadline is much later than Wyoming, so we will know if we get a hunt in Wyoming that we can just grab points in Oregon.

 

[tim]

it doesn't matter which state, if you are hunting out of a vehichle you will not be able to escape other hunters.