JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
Messages
387
Reactions
433
Last elk season (2017) I saw the least amount of deer since I got serious about 10 years back. Normally during 2nd season elk out east you see buck chasing tail all over the place.
I am guessing the hard previous winter took its toll.
Has anyone been out east around heppner, fossil, ukiah, desolation area this spring?
I will be taking my little boy hunter (7) on his first hunting trip and I am Debating on what to put in for or just try a whole new area.
not looking for honey holes.
Private messages welcome.
Thanks in advance.
 
Last Edited:
Last elk season (2017) I saw the least amount of deer since I got serious about 10 years back. Normally during 2nd season elk out east you see buck chasing tail all over the place.
I am guessing the hard winter previous winter took its toll.
Has anyone been out east around heppner, fossil, ukiah, desolation area this spring?
I will be taking little boy hunter (7) on his first hunting trip and I am Debating on what to put in for or just try a whole new area.
not looking for honey holes.
Private messages welcome.
Thanks in advance.
The winter kill here at the ranch was horrendous last year. Took hundreds of carcasses out a year or so ago even after everyone tried to feed as many as we could. It will take a few years to catch up. No deer were taken here last fall. We can usually take a legal buck any afternoon. The elk faired better but still had issues. We have a huge pheasant and quail population this spring.
 
I agree with Argonaut that the winter kill 2016-2017 in eastern Oregon was horrendous. It seemed to hit both fawns and yearlings hard, so the recovery will be multi-year. The ODFW issued emergency tag reductions for the 2017 season in the easternmost quarter of the state ( Fish and Wildlife Commission meets April 21 in Klamath Falls Field Tour April 20 ). However, I think the die off extended further, perhaps to the easternmost half of the state.

You can see the monthly average temperature numbers by region for that period through the NOAA (toggle the "Climate Division" to see various areas of Oregon). Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

I hunted Fossil unit last year. It was my first time hunting that unit, so I can't speak to it from deep experience, but I talked with many local hunters while in the field and they all agreed that the numbers were way down. I saw nothing but a few does my entire hunt. I also stopped at an ODFW check post on my way home and they confirmed the same low yield.

The ODFW has published the 2017 harvest statistics ( Big Game Hunting Harvest Statistics | Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife ). You can compare yields by unit/region in 2017 to prior years, though the data is not the most user friendly.

I'm trying to figure out where to apply in OR myself, so I appreciate your circumstance.
 
One more thing to add: a good place to see harvest success and quality (% of 4-point or better) in a format that is easier to browse than the ODFW data is Ron Wold's website. Look at the "Detail" pages. However, it doesn't look as though he's updated the site to include the 2017 harvest numbers yet, unfortunately.
oregontags
 
it was pretty few and far between over in eastern oregon last season. i filled my tag with a spike buck but the other 7 tags were not filled. it was a treacherous winter and it shows.


lots and lots of fawns though. hopefully they turn into bucks!
 
Thanks.
I was afraid of that. I'll look at the links above, but I think I'm still going to go and just have fun with my boy and his oldest sister before she goes off to college next year.
 
Not sure about this winter, but had antlerless tag in John day valley last year (LOP), saw more bucks than does during the antlerless season. Still filled the freezer though.:D
 
I drove hwy 20 to and from Idaho and never saw a deer. I did see 12 Antelope, one bald eagle, two coyotes, a big white hawk and more cattle than I have ever seen grazing along the road. It was a good trip hunting a house if 43 goes through.
 
How them deer out East?
I Drew Hepnner buck. I'll be talking my boy for his first deer hunt and going to be camped at Bull prairie to do some fishing as well.
Archery elk hunters, did you see anything. Good? bad? I know they have a bad cougar problem there. Spoke to camp host at the lake and he has seen one black and one gray wolf running around out there as well.. FML.
anyways, hope it will be decent year.
PMs welcome if you don't want to discuss publicly.
 
Last Edited:

Upcoming Events

Oregon Arms Collectors March Gun Show
Portland, OR
Tillamook Gun & Knife Show
Tillamook, OR
"The Original" Kalispell Gun Show
Kalispell, MT
Teen Rifle 1 Class
Springfield, OR
Kids Firearm Safety 2 Class
Springfield, OR

New Resource Reviews

New Classified Ads

Back Top