2013 Oregon Controlled Rifle Hunts
lambeau
2/12/13 4:17pm
After 10+ years of trying to draw for the Trout Creek Mtns in SE Oregon I am looking to put my 9 preference points to work this year on a less difficult to draw mulie hunt. Based on EHJ's MRS reports, I've narrowed the list of likely units down to the Owyhee, Whitehorse, Beatys, Beulah, Murderer's Creek or Silvies, with a question mark for the Ochoco. While I have a decent idea of the types of country in each unit (desert vs. mountains) along with general herd conditions from speaking with biologists, I'd appreciate any input the MM crowd can offer up on any of the above hunts. I am a NR hunter, so I need/want to restrict my selection to units with preferably at least a couple hundred total tags.
6,562
Hunterstrailhead.com is a great resource for determining your actual draw odds - you have to pay to join now, but I think it is worth it.
Thanks for the heads up on the fires. I would think maybe hunting the edges of a burn area might not be a bad idea, as long as the area did not burn too hot. Here in north ID, we've had good luck zeroing in on the previous year's prescribed burns for finding elk the following season.
Here's a free link regarding OR controlled tag draw percentages that an engineer (Ron Wold) out of Portland has uploaded to the web. He seems to have his numbers squared away and it looks like it will be very helpful in deciphering what a guy's preference points will and will not qualify him for in terms of drawing odds.
@ Springville Shooter,
I will shoot you a PM. Unfortunately, after spending several years zeroing in on the Trout Creek & Steens Mtn hunt we now have more than enough points for most of the average controlled hunts. Kind of in that "no man's land" - still not enough for the top hunts that have enough tags for a couple of NR hunters, and overkill for the balance of a many hunts that probably do not justify 9 points. Such is life.
it's no secrete, oregons deer hunting isn't great, buck you can do alright with a little leg work.
#1, although it's my favorite unit in the state, cross off Ochoco unit for your buck hunt, unless you just want a chance to fill a a tag. don't get me wrong, I feel if I had the tag, and since it is out ky back door, I could get an honest crack at an average 160" buck, but I believe that is WAY over expectations.
if you were hunting elk- I would be 100 times better help.
but I've killed my fair share of respectable oregon mulies- It starts out with what you are hoping to achieve on your hunt, so what are you wanting to achieve and what kind of hunting do you like to do?
After having applied for this many years, my hopes would be to have a reasonable chance of shooting a 170"-180" class buck (min). Having dropped a fair amount of $$ on NR licenses to accumulate said points - granted, it looks like we don't need 9 points to draw a lot of these units - I have no intention of making the trip to OR just to harvest an average buck. I can do that at home. Hike, spot & stalk in mountainous terrrain is how I've done most of my mulie hunting (much of it in the ID Smoky and Sawtooth mountains). Seeing animals is always a bonus.
Another unit we are considering is the Snake River unit. I've hunted unit 11 in ID south of Lewiston on the east side of the river and it has great genetics. I would assume that the OR units on the west side of the river might possibly be comparable. Nasty country, though.
Regarding elk, my brother and I also have 10 pp each and are in the same boat as mulies in terms of trying to figure out what units we realistically can draw that would be worthy of the burning the points on. Tentatively, Ochoco, Starkey and Snake River are at the top of the list.