Tioga Bull Elk (Oregon Hunting)

[solv3nt]

I'm back in Oregon and hoping to try elk again this year; how is the Tioga unit these days?

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[Koda]

In full disclosure Ive never hunted there but at 35% public lands it wouldnt be my first choice for coast range tags.

 

[solv3nt]

In full disclosure Ive never hunted there but at 35% public lands it wouldnt be my first choice for coast range tags.

Where did you find the tag data? I've been looking for it. I messed up this year, I should have put in for a draw, but alas, here I be.

 

[Horatius]

I'm back in Oregon and hoping to try elk again this year; how is the Tioga unit these days?

Busy and crowded. Weyerhaeuser started charging a per person to hunt on their part and drove a ton of people out of their land. Bow hunt in the rut, 1st season is 4 days for rifle and 2nd is now 7. I personally think the numbers will be going up with some of the logging that ripped through the place I hunt. Spend Time find the herds then find the biggest steepest darkest holes in the unit. They don' disappear but Ive had some packs out of some hell holes by Flashlight. I miss 40 yrs ago when I could get away from the crowds up there.

 

[Horatius]

go to ODFW website they have all the tag and drawing info. tag deadline is 4/15 every year.

 

[Horatius]

BLM quit maintaining roads and I've been seeing more and more of the Gates and water bars on rds that haven't washed out. Mostly still Rd hunters but I get pretty bummed when I work my way 4hrs into a unit to find people stomping in from the other side Running the elk out of the place I had them patterned, but I think that's the new overpopulated Oregon

 

[Horatius]

You could still try to find a couple herds in the Powers unit. never spent much time on that side of Hwy 42 hunting but its still Hunting and there are Elk.

 

[Horatius]

wildlife Safari has a pretty decent Elk herd and reasonable rates for a car safari

 

[Koda]

Where did you find the tag data? I've been looking for it. I messed up this year, I should have put in for a draw, but alas, here I be.

The hunting regs have unit descriptions, you can get hard copies for free at Fred Meyers and most any sporting good stores. You can view a digital copy on the ODFW website, all are free...

I see now Tioga is a controlled tag, so if you didn't apply you cant hunt there anyways. I still wouldn't apply for a unit with that low public land and I wont pay Wayerhouser to hunt.

You still have a lot of good choices for a general season tag, and I wouldn't overlook the west side of the cascades. If your from Roseburg I would look at the Umpqua National Forest, then the Willamette National Forest then maybe the Siuslaw National forest on the coast. You need public lands for a last minute DIY hunt.

You need to take a look at Page 40 of the regs to begin to get an idea of where to go. I would check out the McKenzie or Indigo unit in the cascades or the Siuslaw unit in the coast range if I was Roseburg based.

https://www.eregulations.com/assets/docs/guides/21ORHD_VLR4.pdf

 

[Horatius]

Good Luck on your hunt, I have only hunted Elk in Tioga but they are all Busy. I won't Pay to hunt on Weyerhauser Land either even when they throw in 2 weeks camping and a load of firewood. Wolves are running the Umpqua now and the cougars are thick as thieves in Oregon now Cougars kill at least one deer or elk a week so while they aren't all to blame They contribute to smaller herd sizes, I remember herds with 80 as a kid and the elk behavior was more predictable year to year. and of course massive hunting pressure from Bows and rifles.

 

[solv3nt]

The hunting regs have unit descriptions, you can get hard copies for free at Fred Meyers and most any sporting good stores. You can view a digital copy on the ODFW website, all are free...

I see now Tioga is a controlled tag, so if you didn't apply you cant hunt there anyways. I still wouldn't apply for a unit with that low public land and I wont pay Wayerhouser to hunt.

You still have a lot of good choices for a general season tag, and I wouldn't overlook the west side of the cascades. If your from Roseburg I would look at the Umpqua National Forest, then the Willamette National Forest then maybe the Siuslaw National forest on the coast. You need public lands for a last minute DIY hunt.

You need to take a look at Page 40 of the regs to begin to get an idea of where to go. I would check out the McKenzie or Indigo unit in the cascades or the Siuslaw unit in the coast range if I was Roseburg based.

https://www.eregulations.com/assets/docs/guides/21ORHD_VLR4.pdf

Thanks for pointing that out! I thought coastal elk was all open, in glad you mentioned that one. I'll take a look at the Siuslaw unit.

 

[solv3nt]

Scratch that, I'll take a look at the devil's staircase area.

 

[Bobbygun]

Ahhhh Tioga. I remember rifle hunting that unit 20 plus years ago. My dad, a buddy and I split up about 200 yards apart and headed out across a reprod unit. By the time we had gone 1/2 mile, we were all on our hands and knees crawling down the same rabbit trail and ran into each other. My buddy said he wouldn't ever go through there again without a handgun. I asked him: "Why a handgun?". He replied: "Because I couldn't get my rifle barrel in my mouth and reach the trigger at the same time." It was a miserable hunt. There are elk there, but the season is short, has to be 3 points or better, and the terrain is rugged.

 

[Bobbygun]

wildlife Safari has a pretty decent Elk herd and reasonable rates for a car safari

Isn't Dean Creek by Reedsport still free? Every year I look forward to putting in for the Dean Creek Unit, but for some reason the ODFW hasn't allocated any tags.

 

[solv3nt]

wildlife Safari has a pretty decent Elk herd and reasonable rates for a car safari

I was there Saturday with the kids admiring the elk!

 

[Horatius]

Isn't Dean Creek by Reedsport still free? Every year I look forward to putting in for the Dean Creek Unit, but for some reason the ODFW hasn't allocated any tags.

My Nephews and their friends used to hunt in the area S. of Dean Creek, Those Elk won't leave that Pasture area because they Know our LOVE of Elk...MEAT!

 

[oremike]

The Tioga unit is steep and deep. The good'ol boys that hunt that unit have a rig with them that has a wench mounted in the back of their truck spooled up with a half mile of industrial 1 inch crab rope.

 

[Horatius]

The Tioga unit is steep and deep. The good'ol boys that hunt that unit have a rig with them that has a wench mounted in the back of their truck spooled up with a half mile of industrial 1 inch crab rope.

I only laughed because its true

 

[Horatius]

early 80's I was hunting up there when we came across an elderly gentleman parked along the road looking into one of those holes. We stopped to see if all was OK, his said they killed a bull in the Bottom and his Son In Law was gutting it We asked if they needed any help as I swear we used to joke about not even looking in that hole for fear of really needing to get it out. Nope he says we found a solution before the season started. About that time a logging helicopter came over the ridge and lowered a choker, apparently while scouting they found the guy logging cedar and for 200 dollars he flew it to the road. and that's when I realized just how cheap my family was

 

[solv3nt]

The good'ol boys that hunt that unit have a rig with them that has a wench mounted in the back of their truck

Is this wench like a beer wench with massive jugs of BEER?