My son and I hunted his youth hunt in the Ochoco last week (Oct 13-19) We had heard stories from others hunting previously that the elk were all over. Most of the hunters we saw claimed to not be able to find any either. It took us 4-1/2 days to find three cows, but the shot was too far for my son. The next day we called in a nice 4x4 bull to about 15 yards. And a 5x5 the next day. Too bad we had an Anterless tag for sure! But OTHER than that...the woods were void of Elk. We saw 200 deer in our 6 days there. I'm sure the pressure had driven them down or out of the area. But we weren't sure. Just wondering if anyone had an explanation...Thanks
Where did all the Elk go in the Ochoco?
- Thread starter dlhardy
- Start date
squirrelduster
Active Member
I hunted in the Silvies unit during archery season and had the same issue but figured it was due to the heat and incredible pressure. Lots of hunters. Some were shooting around camp just to make sure the elk knew we were there....
Timberstalker
Veteran member
Silvies hasn't been the same since the Ochoco's went to a draw tag. I used to have areas there where I was in elk every time I went, and never had competition, not anymore. There are still some areas that may not have much preassure, but I am usually weekend hunting solo and don't want to try to pack a bull out of those places by myself. I would like to have a week off there someday just to see what its like now, I haven't hunted there in a few years now. I think the rifle hunting there is better than the bow hunting too. As far as the Ochoco's go, I have heard more bad reviews on the Ochoco bow hunt than good, I think people think that because its a draw hunt its better than OTC. The real reason (IMO) its a draw hunt is to reduce hunting preassure in the Ochocos, not because its superior hunting. If you don't want alot of competition, hunt the Cascades. Not nearly as many hunters and plenty of elk. Its just alot harder hunting than the central Oregon units. That's where I have been spending most of my elk hunting days lately. Rarely do I ever see another bow hunter in the Cascades, when I do, I don't have to go far to get away from them.