| Choosing A Place To Hunt | |
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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 party 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. From 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. |
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James Flaherty was |
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