Author: Gary Lewis & Others
Publisher: SUN PUBLISHING, Aug 1999
Binding: Softcover
ISBN: 1-882084-04-7
Synopsis
Most complete guide to hunting in Oregon. Six authors give advice on taking care of meat, wild game recipes, selecting an outfitter, taxidermy, and cover big and small game, waterfowl and upland birds, equipment, skills and safety, and much more. 80 B/w photos, 80+ color photos, detailed maps; 8x11 inches, 116 pgs.
More Information
It's more than meat on the table, more than a moment's decision to let the arrow fly or the hammer fall. It is the chase and the solitary challenge, the time spent with your father or your child around a campfire. It is a crisp autumn morning when hope rises with the sun.
This is what inspired author Gary Lewis to write Hunting Oregon. His love of hunting is reflected in the pages of this comprehensive, 116-page book covering the state of Oregon. The book details the how-to's of the Oregon sport from the coastal forests to the Snake River canyon to the rugged Steens Mountains. Hunting Oregon contains more than 160 photos, with half in full-color; maps; and wild game recipes as well as a list of public land hunting opportunities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents............................................... 1
Thoughts from the Author................................... 2
Foreword............................................................ 3
About the Authors............................................... 4
Live Game in the Wild - Pictorial........................ 5
WATERFOWL AND UPLAND BIRDS
Geese...................................... 6-8
Ducks..................................... 9-13
Doves....................................... 14
Quail................................. 15 & 16
Chukar.............................. 17 & 18
Grouse.............................. 19 & 20
Pheasant.......................... 21 & 22
Wild Turkeys........................ 23-25
SMALL GAME
Ground Squirrels and Rockchucks.................... 27-30
Western Gray Squirrels............. 31
Cottontails and Jack Rabbits................... 32-35
WHERE TO HUNT
Maps: Western Units.................... 74
Eastern Units.................... 75
Where to Hunt...................... 76 & 77
Public Hunting Areas........ 102 & 103
SKILLS & SAFETY
The Stalk............................... 81 & 82
Spotting Game.............................. 96
Hunter Safety........................ 97 & 98
Compass and Map........................ 99
Global Positioning Systems....... 100
Survival Skills.......................... 101
EQUIPMENT
Shot Selection Guide................... 26
Knives................................. 79 & 80
Rifles and Handguns for Big Game.............. 89
Archery and Muzzleloaders......... 90
Shotguns..................................... 91
Binoculars................................... 92
Spotting Scopes.......................... 93
Rifle Scopes........................ 94 & 95
OTHER INFORMATION
Capturing Your Trophy on Film... 83
Taking Care of the Meat...... 84 & 85
Taxidermy............................ 86 & 87
Seleting and Outfitter.................. 88
Wild Game Recipes........ 104 & 105
Passing on Our Heritage 106 & 107
Afterword........................ 108 & 109
Appendix................................... 110
Index of Advertisers.................. 111
Notes/Memoirs.......................... 112
PREDATORS
Coyotes................................. 36-39
Bobcats.............................. 40 & 41
Mountain Lions.................. 42 & 43
Bear...................................... 44-47
BIG GAME
Mule Deer.............................. 48-54
Blacktail Deer........................ 55-59
Antelope............................... 60-63
Elk......................................... 64-70
Bighorn Sheep................... 71 & 72
Goats......................................... 73
EXCERPTS
ANTELOPE PRONGHORNS ON OREGON'S HIGH DESERT By Jack Elbert
In Oregon, taking an antelope is generally easier than securing an antelope tag. So, when I planned my hunts in 1993 the possibility of getting an antelope tag the same week as a Nevada deer tag didn't seem to be such a big deal. That is, until I found myself with both tags and the seasons opening on the same day.
The Nevada hunt included Norm Holiday, his son Ray, and Bruce Ulmer. When I told them of my good fortune, Norm said, "You have to go hunt antelope. You've no choice. We will wait a couple of days and meet you in Nevada."
The area I would hunt antelope was a private little hole in the Steens Mountains that I call my "Secret Spot". We would have to pack in over five miles with "Ruby the Mule".
We left the Blazer Friday morning with Bruce tagging along to provide me safe company. I can and will hunt alone, but prefer to do "the smart thing". We left the truck about 8:45 am. By 2:00 p.m. we had made camp and were climbing to the top of a small peak to do some glassing. Just as we eased our way tot he top of the peak we jumped a nice mule deer buck. He in turn spooked three bull elk that were bedded on the next slope. We watched them as they ran away looking over their shoulders. We set up the spotting scope, brought out our binoculars and began the process of locating as many buck antelope as we could before darkness set in. It took less than five minutes for Bruce to spot the first antelope. Not long after that I located another nice buck, and while we were watching him I spotted four bighorn ships rams in the next canyon. I had seen sheep in this canyon before so I wasn't too surprised. Bruce was thrilled; he hadn't seen many sheep before.
It was about an hour later when we located a very large herd of antelope in a small, hidden dry lake. There were so many animals that we quit counting after 20. They were also so far away that we couldn't judge the size of the buck. The sun was getting low so we decided it was time to get a closer look at the big herd.
This country is relatively flat until you reach the edges of the rims. But every now and then there is a small outcropping of rock that provides the hunter with a comfortable viewpoint. It was from one of these that we spotted the buck I decided I would make my own. He wasn't even close to record book size. He was simply the most "Macho" male on the mountain. His herd was the largest group of does I had ever seen under one buck's command, 30 animals in all.
His horns were very distinctive, well shaped and wide spreading. From the side view they looked rather short, but when he faced you they reached well to the sides. It took a lot of studying to realize they also sported a good length of ivory at the tips.
The stalk was simple, stay behind the row of junipers below us and I would come out about 125 yards from them, then shoot from behind the last tree. I was using a borrowed 25-06 since the only rifles I own are a Savage 99 and Winchester 98, both lever action and both very old.
We left them to their world while we headed back to camp for dinner. One of the nice things about "Ruby" is she allows me a bit of luxury I didn't have in the old days of backpacking.
That night we dined on ravioli, canned peaches and a bottle of fine Portuguese Rose wine and watched a sky full of stars that can only be found in Oregon's high desert. It was the time of the Perseid Meteor Shower so we sat in the dark, sipping the last of the wine and making wishes on the falling stars.
The first light of dawn found us back at our rocky outcrop. The first thing Bruce did as spot a half dozen mule deer bucks grazing about 300 yards away at the edge of the big rim. "That's great Bruce, but we want to find antelope. We'll look for bucks in Nevada." I said in a whisper, but secretly I was very pleased to see the bucks.
Then I spotted a herd of antelope back in the direction of camp. "There they are!" I tried to whisper, but I'm sure it was louder than I wanted. We studied them until it got light enough to make a safe stalk. We also wanted to determine the direction in which they were feeding.
We left the top of the rocks and worked our way down to the last two trees. Bruce would wait and watch from there. Lining up the two trees with the herd, I slowly crept out to the last cover. The antelope were grazing in a small depression that we hadn't noticed from our elevated stand. This was a big help since they had spread out a little in the meantime.
By the time I made the last tree my hands were shaking from the excitement of the hunt. I had to find a rest in order to hold the gun steady. Unfortunately, the rest was just a little bit too high to be "steady". From only 125 yards I missed the buck entirely. The antelope weren't spooked at the shoot, but they did look right at me and began to bunch up. I rushed the second shot, but felt it was good anyway. After recovering from the recoil I watched as the entire herd raced toward the rising sun. They went behind a few small junipers and when they came out the other side the buck was missing.
We followed their tracks and found the buck dead behind the bushy junipers. It was 30 minutes into my hunt and my buck was down. We took the customary photos just as the sun cleared the end of the rim. It was only 400 yards to camp and Ruby. We finished removing the tape and boning out the buck in camp. We arrived back at the truck at 2:45 p.m., just 30 hours after leaving it.
DUCKS By Bill Monroe
Hunter and writer Bill Monroe recounts several of his most memorable
duck hunting trips around the state: Summer Lake, Nehalem, Albany,
Scappoose, and Forest Grove.
SUMMER LAKE - Leaves whisper anxiously across the graveled driveway, swept by the same wind ruffling the feathers of thousands of roosting ducks somewhere out there in the pre-dawn darkness.
These mallards are taking a break on a frozen section of the Deschutes River.
Hunters, huddled together against the desert chill, wait for the window to open at the Summer Lake Wildlife Area southeast of Bend. Some have been in the line for hours. More are still arriving after an all night drive from distant homes in the Willamette Valley.
Opening day of duck season on Oregon's most popular high desert marsh is an experience so unique it almost defies description.
Summer Lake drains thousands of square miles into one of the last alkaline sumps of what was once a massive inland ocean. It reeds and bulrushes are protective cover for the Pacific Flyway's October ducks and - a month later - snow geese that linger here from as far away as Russia's Wrangel Island before scooting south to California barely ahead of winter's freeze. In early October, the season's first day is marked by hundreds of hunters and thousands of ducks. Out on the marsh, campers in three graveled lots, each the size of a football field, arise and gulp coffee. Most are too pumped to eat. Two hours before sunrise, the parade begins. Like fire flies, lines of flashlights snake across the marsh's dikes, hunting parties dropping off one by one in favorite spots.
A single red light on the roof of headquarters can be seen across a space nearly the size of Rhode Island. It's timed to turn off half an hour before dawn, the official start of shooting time.
The ruddy duck's diet is made up of insects, aquatic animals and vegetation.
Ducks are already flying head high above the dikes when it abruptly dims. There is a three-second pause, then a shot. And another.
Suddenly the 1,200-acre hunting area erupts in gunfire and confusion. The air fills quickly with birds and steel.
CHOOSING A PLACE TO HUNT
Information is a hunter's most powerful weapon. In a time when many ranches are limiting access to private land and more hunters are competing for a finite resource on public lands, good information helps the hunter to know where to located game.
Knowledge also helps the hunter determine which units to apply for to maximize the potential of drawing good tags. Every year there are a few hunts which are under-subscribed; hunts that are good bets where success often runs high. Sometimes it means that the hunter must use a bow or a shotgun or a muzzleloader instead of a rifle. Sometimes it means hunting in a part of two or less when tags are really limited.
Start your search by reading. It helps to be familiar with the "Oregon Big Game Regulations" synopsis and, in particular, the unit maps. The controlled hunts are listed in tables showing hunt number, hunt name, bag limit, season dates and number of tags that were offered last year. This only tells part of the story.
The hunt descriptions that follow the tables tell the boundaries of the hunt area and the percentage of public lands to be found within those boundaries. Form this you get some idea of your chances of drawing a tag and the possibilities of finding a place to hunt once you get your tag.
The next place I turn to is the "Oregon Tag Guide" for Controlled Hunt Drawing Odds. Two Oregonian hunters calculate the odds each year of drawing tags in Oregon's controlled hunts. The tables in this book list percentage of private land, hunt number and name and historical harvest percentages. The tables show just what the likely chances of drawing a tag for a particular hunt are under Oregon's current preference point system. For instance, the 1999 guide shows that if you had two preference points for Buck Deer you would have a 66% chance of drawing a tag in the Silvies Unit. The Oregon Hunter magazine, put out by the Oregon Hunter's Association, is another good resource for helping the hunter searching for new ground. Other good sources are Fishing and Hunting News and Washington and Oregon Game and Fish magazine. These magazines regularly spotlight productive hunting units.
The hunter who wants a trophy animal needs to keep reading. The Boone and Crockett Record Book (firearms) and the Pope and Young Record Book (archery) show the counties where trophy animals have been taken. The second edition of the Record Book for Oregon's Big Game Animals, published by Oregon Big Game, Inc. also lists counties where bigger animals were taken. This is invaluable information for the trophy hunter.
After you have narrowed your search down to a particular area and are zeroing in on a unit to apply for, you need to start talking to real people. Ask people you know for the names of others who have hunted the area.
Contact biologists for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The numbers and addresses for the regional offices are located in the back of this book. Ask for names and phone numbers of field biologists. These are the people who should know what is really happening in the areas for which they are responsible. Ask about how the animal populations fared during the previous winter, as about predation and buck-to-doe or bull-to-cow ratios. Also ask about recent logging operations and road closures in the area you are considering.
Many ODFW field biologists are hunters, themselves. Don't expect them to tell you where they hunt, but it doesn't hurt to ask where they might consider trying, themselves.