Thread: Hunting During Deer Season for Other Game??

Ive been hunting for years and untill recently havent heard the rumors of not being abe to hunt during deer season for other game unless you have a deer tag and the tag of the game your hunting for.
To me this sounds a bit far fetched but to be honest I dont read the updates to Oregons hunting laws on a regular basis so maybe theres been an amendment I havent known about for years.

If anyone could clear this up that'd be great.
Thanks

Moonshiner,

You do have to have a valid deer or elk tag (filled or unfilled) if you are going to hunt cougar or black bear during general seasons for deer or elk.

■It is unlawful to hunt with a centerfire or muzzleloading rifle without a valid (used or unused) deer or elk tag for that time period and
area on your person during: Eastern Oregon controlled
buck deer centerfire firearm season, Cascade bull elk centerfire firearm season,
Coast bull elk 1st and 2nd centerfire firearm seasons both General and Controlled, Rocky Mt bull elk or either sex centerfire firearm
seasons, or standard Rocky Mt antlerless elk centerfire firearm seasons, (Nov.
19 - Nov. 27). This does not include the controlled
W High Cascade (119A) or Hood-White Rvr (141A) deer centerfire firearm hunts that occur Sept. 11 - Sept. 19. EXCEPTIONS:
(1)
Hunters who have a tag for one of the hunts listed above may continue to hunt bear and/or cougar within the time period and area for
which their deer or elk tag is valid (used or unused) provided they have a valid, unused bear and/or cougar tag. (2) Landowners,
or their
agent, hunting predators on lands they own or lease may use centerfire or muzzleloading firearms to hunt on such lands; (3) Hunters
may use .22 caliber or smaller centerfire firearms for hunting coyotes in the Juniper, Beatys Butte, Whitehorse and Owyhee units, in
Wagontire Unit south of Lk Co Rd 5-14 and those portions of the Beulah Unit in Malheur and Baker Cos during Rocky Mt bull or either
sex elk centerfire firearm seasons, or standard Rocky Mt antlerless elk centerfire firearm seasons (Nov. 19 - Nov. 27). Legal .22 caliber
centerfire firearms include common cartridges such as .222, .223, .22-250, .220 Swift and others less than .23 caliber.

I didn't check specifically for cougar but I believe it is the same. Here is the URL where I got this information. It's on page 3 just above the Oregon unit map.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources...gs_034-037.pdf

Just checked and it's the same for cougar. It's on page 1 of the cougar hunting regs online.

That quote you posted didnt mention Western Oregon Deer seasons, would that also be included?
Thanks

Good eye. I didn't catch that the first time I read it. It appears Western Oregon deer season is excluded. The only mention of deer seasons is for controlled hunts.

If you call ODFW they will tell you you can carry a rifle in the woods during deer or elk seasons but you cannot hunt. You have the right to carry a firearm in the woods......

Originally Posted by johnboy

If you call ODFW they will tell you you can carry a rifle in the woods during deer or elk seasons but you cannot hunt. You have the right to carry a firearm in the woods......

Absolutely. ODFW can't regulate possession of a firearms. That lies solely with the legislature. Than can and do regulate what firearms can be used for different hunts. But that's off the OP's topic.

So coyote hunting w/o a deer tag, in western oregon during deer season is a debateable subject?...

You can carry the gun, but cannot legally "hunt" Coyotes

Originally Posted by Moonshiner

So coyote hunting w/o a deer tag, in western oregon during deer season is a debateable subject?...

I just spent 1/2 an hour searching ODFW website. The only exclusions I see for hunting during deer/elk seasons are for controlled hunt areas and coast bull elk seasons. I have a friend who is not hunting deer this year because he didn't get his tag for over east and doesn't like hunting deer on the coast. He's been hunting coyotes this month. A little anecdote for what it's worth. I'll keep looking for you though.

I hunt for other things all the time during deer season. Big Foot, Im always looking for that guy. I hope the National Enquirer still has that 1 million dollar bounty for him. He sure is a sneaky bubblegum that only shows himself to moroons. WTF. No picture needed, if I see him, he will be delivered in the back of my truck to ODFW, with up too 100 .223 bullet wounds.

Sweet success. I found the specifics on this issue at the ODFW website on page 11 under License Requirements.

ALL HUNTERS
■■Must have a valid hunting license. (See exceptions for youths participating in the Mentored Youth Hunter Program on pages 84-85.)
»»Hunting licenses are valid through December 31 of each year. Hunts extending into or beginning in the following calendar year
require a new hunting license.
»»No one may possess more than one valid annual hunting license.
»»Hunters, 14 years of age and older, who will be hunting predators on public land, and western gray squirrels, unprotected
mammals, and unprotected birds on public or private land must have a valid hunting license. No tags are required.
»»Any hunter with a valid Oregon or Idaho hunting license may hunt in the waters or on the islands of the Snake Rvr, where the rvr
forms the boundary between the two states. All laws and rules of the respective states apply.
»»To apply for controlled hunts, all hunters must purchase a current hunting license.

As far as I can read it appears only a hunting license is required for hunting predators on public land. I'll let you find the place where coyotes are specifically named as a predator

i spent 3 hours total time with 3 different people at the salem office on this subject last year, plus several emails to david pond bend area warden, i got 4 different interpretations, the final word was if the warden rights the ticket your screwed, so the final say is going to be with whatever warden you run into.

be careful.

i really don't care to be out in the woods with several thousand guys with guns looking to fill a deer or elk tag anyway, i can wait the 2 weeks. just my opinion

Take a look at page 28, lower left bottom corner of the Oregon hunting rules and regs. under hunting prohibited, "No person shall" section. Hope this helps,, John

I see him, he will be delivered in the back of my truck to ODFW, with up too 100 .223 bullet wounds.

And you will be charged with killing a protected species. It is a federal crime to kill a Bigfoot.

Originally Posted by salmonriverjohn

Take a look at page 28, lower left bottom corner of the Oregon hunting rules and regs. under hunting prohibited, "No person shall" section. Hope this helps,, John

Page 28:
No Person Shall:
■Hunt with a centerfire or muzzleloading
rifle without a valid (used or unused)
deer or elk tag for that time period and
area on their person during: Eastern
Oregon controlled buck deer centerfire
firearm season, Cascade bull elk
centerfire firearm season, Coast bull elk
1st and 2nd centerfire firearm seasons
both General and Controlled, Rocky Mt
bull or either-sex elk centerfire firearm
seasons, or standard Rocky Mt antlerless
elk centerfire firearm seasons
(Nov. 19 - Nov. 27). This does not
include Controlled W High Cascade

It still refers only to Eastern Oregon controlled buck season. He should be golden during deer season on the west side. Elk season is obviously a different situation.

Key word here to remember is HUNT. You can carry, just not hunt. I believe it will be left to the person enforcing the law in the field to determine if you are "hunting", or just carrying. Like many of our firearm laws they are written to give the advantage to the enforcers of the law and if they determine you are hunting by your response to their questions and where/what you are doing at the time, they can cite you.

As far as I know you can hunt small game and upland anywhere as long as they are in season. Not sure on cougar and bear.

Small game OK with rimfire or shotgun

Johnboy,

Where in the hunting synopsis do you find that? I'm curious because I've read all over that thing and every is worded vaguely and ambiguously.... by intention no doubt.