Where would you put in in Oregon with 14 points?

[SI Eagle]

A buddy of mine and me both have 14 points in Oregon and after starting out paying $70 a year to put in and it now being closer to $200 we have abandoned our original plan of trying for the Mt Emily tag and want/need to go elk hunting. We are both seasoned elk hunters and looking for a good unit to kill a nice bull. Just a quality hunt. Would even be willing to share points with the right people in order to insure a quality hunt. Thanks

[blackveltbowhunter]

Archery or Rifle? I can't help with first-hand knowledge. But I have been witness to several good friends/hunting partners who ended up in the same boat as you.  All were rifle hunts. ( My hunting  partner actually started out wanting an archery tag then when the state stuck it to NR he was forced to look at other options to maximize the points). Of those the snake river has been the most consistent producer from what I have seen. The same hunting partner mentioned above booked a drop camp and went 3 for 3 on good bulls with one being a real nice 6. Stay away from Starkey IMO. Every hunter I know who has bailed and gone with that unit has a bad taste regardless of harvest. Good Luck!

[go4steelhd]

The main questions are
Rifle or archery
What type of hunt are you looking for- glassing,slow timber hunt, setting up and have being elk pushed past you, bugling in bulls in archery?
What- type of bull would you shoot the first day
What terrain do you want to hunt- sage, heavy timber, high country, rough terrain, mild terrain
Physical fitness- average to me means you can walk 5 miles in the mountains every day with a light pack, Good means you train

I currently live in Oregon and grew up here. My avatar is an Oregon bull

[Halo]

Good luck, I have 22 elk points. My daughter has 4 and I may just apply with her to get her a better hunt but I haven't started really looking at next year's options yet.

[SI Eagle]

The main questions are
Rifle or archery
What type of hunt are you looking for- glassing,slow timber hunt, setting up and have being elk pushed past you, bugling in bulls in archery?
What- type of bull would you shoot the first day
What terrain do you want to hunt- sage, heavy timber, high country, rough terrain, mild terrain
Physical fitness- average to me means you can walk 5 miles in the mountains every day with a light pack, Good means you train

I currently live in Oregon and grew up here. My avatar is an Oregon bull

Very good questions that I should have listed.
Looking for a rifle hunt with good bulls, again not expecting giants but would prefer any 6pt of course. The terrain would depend on the quality of the hunt. I would say it wouldn't matter as long at the hunting is good and average to good fitness as we are both in pretty good shape but in out early 50's and not getting younger.

[Bigshooter]

Here is a site I would check out:  https://sites.google.com/site/oregontags/

And my advice would be to apply for the Pole Creek Muzzy tag.  There will only be 1 nonresident tag at most maybe 0 if it goes to a guide.  Obviously it's not a rifle tag but this is a good hunt for average 5 and 6 point bulls.  But you will get a quality experience with so few tags given out.  And you could do this hunt 2 years in a row 1 hunt where you have a tag and the next year where your partner has a tag.


Actually looking at the site I posted it looks like next years tag will be going to the guides.  So you wouldn't be able to draw until 2020 and then again in 2022 for your partner.

[go4steelhd]

I will send you a PM
I don’t want to blast areas on the general forum

[finnman]

With what was asked, murderers creek or north side. Chance for a good bull, nice terrain not weather dependent. Outfitters are available. A framer we use guides for Hunters Rendevous, they killed a bunch of nice bulls this year in those units.

[jnordwell]

Heppner muzzleloader. My dad otc hunts there and always sees a few good bulls. This last year a guy with his kids drew it and his daughter shot a monster 7x6 I guess..

[Rimrock hunter]

Murderers Creek has been very good to me in the past.

[Bobvernon2]

Well saddle mountain always produces 😂😂😂

[GBoyd]

I don't have a suggestion, but some general advice. Don't forget about the spike hunters if you're rifle hunting. I've heard more than a few stories of people being disappointed by their draw hunt because they didn't realize there would be other simultaneous hunts with dudes running all over the mountain.

[BrandonWatts]

Heppner muzzleloader. My dad otc hunts there and always sees a few good bulls. This last year a guy with his kids drew it and his daughter shot a monster 7x6 I guess..

This!
I have hunted heppner with a bow and there are some good quality bulls there. My buddy that lives in Oregon hunts there every year and they always fill there tags. Said he has seen bulls that will go over 300 in the unit. One bull they took scored right at 340. Not an easy area but definitely one I would put in for.

[KopperBuck]

Heppner muzzleloader. My dad otc hunts there and always sees a few good bulls. This last year a guy with his kids drew it and his daughter shot a monster 7x6 I guess..

This!
I have hunted heppner with a bow and there are some good quality bulls there. My buddy that lives in Oregon hunts there every year and they always fill there tags. Said he has seen bulls that will go over 300 in the unit. One bull they took scored right at 340. Not an easy area but definitely one I would put in for.

My family's ranch is in that unit with lots of good hunting and I don't put in for bull tags there. That's private access with elk killed every year... Just depends on what you're looking for I guess. Tons of people unless you get the Pole Cr tag. That's not going to be a slam dunk either - there's been a couple tag holders on here from the past. Maybe look them up. I don't know what the non-resident odds are, but I would say 14 pts in Heppner seems crazy to me unless I have one tied up.

[vandeman17]

I would be applying in either Mt Emily or Walla Walla

[KopperBuck]

I can't emphasize enough how many people this unit can bring for any of the seasons and if it's rifle you'll be hunting alongside spike hunters. Just want to be up front about that. You will want to do your due diligence in how to get away from the crowds.

[SI Eagle]

I would be applying in either Mt Emily or Walla Walla

The only problem with that is that I will NEVER draw either of those units with my points for out of state. They only give one tag and I will be chasing it for $200 a year and it may take me another 15 years to draw it. Decided it's time to hunt and get out fo the points game there. I have 22 for Washington so it's not like I have had much luck in drawing.

[vandeman17]

I would be applying in either Mt Emily or Walla Walla

The only problem with that is that I will NEVER draw either of those units with my points for out of state. They only give one tag and I will be chasing it for $200 a year and it may take me another 15 years to draw it. Decided it's time to hunt and get out fo the points game there. I have 22 for Washington so it's not like I have had much luck in drawing.

Understood. Are you applying in other states as well? Murderer's creek and heppner would be my next choices.

[theleo]

I would be applying in either Mt Emily or Walla Walla

The only problem with that is that I will NEVER draw either of those units with my points for out of state. They only give one tag and I will be chasing it for $200 a year and it may take me another 15 years to draw it. Decided it's time to hunt and get out fo the points game there. I have 22 for Washington so it's not like I have had much luck in drawing.

The issue is you're in no mans land. There's a bunch of units worth 3-5 points but where you're at the only units worth the wait you've put in are the big three. You'll end up burning a decades worth of points or have to get another decades worth from a value perspective.

[vandeman17]

I would be applying in either Mt Emily or Walla Walla

The only problem with that is that I will NEVER draw either of those units with my points for out of state. They only give one tag and I will be chasing it for $200 a year and it may take me another 15 years to draw it. Decided it's time to hunt and get out fo the points game there. I have 22 for Washington so it's not like I have had much luck in drawing.

The issue is you're in no mans land. There's a bunch of units worth 3-5 points but where you're at the only units worth the wait you've put in are the big three. You'll end up burning a decades worth of points or have to get another decades worth from a value perspective.

 

[shallowforks]

I would be applying in either Mt Emily or Walla Walla

The only problem with that is that I will NEVER draw either of those units with my points for out of state. They only give one tag and I will be chasing it for $200 a year and it may take me another 15 years to draw it. Decided it's time to hunt and get out fo the points game there. I have 22 for Washington so it's not like I have had much luck in drawing.

The issue is you're in no mans land. There's a bunch of units worth 3-5 points but where you're at the only units worth the wait you've put in are the big three. You'll end up burning a decades worth of points or have to get another decades worth from a value perspective.

this isn't entirely true. The watershed hunt was 50% draw with 16 points and %100 draw with 17 points in 2018 so with a couple more years you could pull that tag. Or if your flat out done waiting the snake river tag was 100% draw at 12 points this year. That's hardly wasting any points and a damn good tag! Personally id go for the snake river tag. DIY opportunities as well as outfitted for whatever type hunt your looking for. Outfitter that heads out of freezout filled a lot of tags in 2017. haven't heard how this year was

[boneaddict]

“The issue is you're in no mans land. “


 

[theleo]

Or if your flat out done waiting the snake river tag was 100% draw at 12 points this year. That's hardly wasting any points and a damn good tag! Personally id go for the snake river tag. DIY opportunities as well as outfitted for whatever type hunt your looking for. Outfitter that heads out of freezout filled a lot of tags in 2017. haven't heard how this year was

What an outfitter can achieve in that country is only relevant if you're willing to pay said outfitter, or if you're competent in using stock. The OP is in his 50's, in decent to good shape, hasn't mentioned getting a guide or being good with pack stock, and said difficult terrain needs to have hunting to justify it. It's decent hunting in absolutely abusive country, where if you're on foot you're stuck close to the roads and trail heads with the other fools that underestimated the terrain. If the OP is willing to spend money on a guide there's multiple other units with easier terrain and better trophy quality where he could hunt private ground where animals aren't as pressured.   

[SI Eagle]

Or if your flat out done waiting the snake river tag was 100% draw at 12 points this year. That's hardly wasting any points and a damn good tag! Personally id go for the snake river tag. DIY opportunities as well as outfitted for whatever type hunt your looking for. Outfitter that heads out of freezout filled a lot of tags in 2017. haven't heard how this year was

What an outfitter can achieve in that country is only relevant if you're willing to pay said outfitter, or if you're competent in using stock. The OP is in his 50's, in decent to good shape, hasn't mentioned getting a guide or being good with pack stock, and said difficult terrain needs to have hunting to justify it. It's decent hunting in absolutely abusive country, where if you're on foot you're stuck close to the roads and trail heads with the other fools that underestimated the terrain. If the OP is willing to spend money on a guide there's multiple other units with easier terrain and better trophy quality where he could hunt private ground where animals aren't as pressured.   

That's absolutely the problem. I don't have stock but willing to pay an outfitter to pack me in or someone that has stock that is familiar with the unit. I am looking hard at the Snake and would be in shape to hunt it. Not sure what the cost is compared to other hunts with better potential or better hunt per $ spent. Actually, when I checked, I have 16 points and my partner has 13 so the Snake is somewhat #1 on the list. Just don't want to waste all those points after all the years. Would even be willing to pay an outfitter a discounted price in another unit if he had a client with no points and needed to partner up to get drawn for a quality hunt. Just don't want to spend thousands of dollars in points waiting to hunt one of the big 3 and be 75 when I finally draw.

[KopperBuck]

Outfitted could definitely change the game as far as unit. I know nothing about outfitted hunts or outfitters, but my beef about Heppner would soften as I know some of those ranches they hunt in.

I’m in the same situation as a resident as far as no man’s land. I’ll be most likely on the Snake or one other unit.

My wish is that OR would make you declare a weapon and have to stick with it regardless of drawing.




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[theleo]

Or if your flat out done waiting the snake river tag was 100% draw at 12 points this year. That's hardly wasting any points and a damn good tag! Personally id go for the snake river tag. DIY opportunities as well as outfitted for whatever type hunt your looking for. Outfitter that heads out of freezout filled a lot of tags in 2017. haven't heard how this year was

What an outfitter can achieve in that country is only relevant if you're willing to pay said outfitter, or if you're competent in using stock. The OP is in his 50's, in decent to good shape, hasn't mentioned getting a guide or being good with pack stock, and said difficult terrain needs to have hunting to justify it. It's decent hunting in absolutely abusive country, where if you're on foot you're stuck close to the roads and trail heads with the other fools that underestimated the terrain. If the OP is willing to spend money on a guide there's multiple other units with easier terrain and better trophy quality where he could hunt private ground where animals aren't as pressured.   

That's absolutely the problem. I don't have stock but willing to pay an outfitter to pack me in or someone that has stock that is familiar with the unit. I am looking hard at the Snake and would be in shape to hunt it. Not sure what the cost is compared to other hunts with better potential or better hunt per $ spent. Actually, when I checked, I have 16 points and my partner has 13 so the Snake is somewhat #1 on the list. Just don't want to waste all those points after all the years. Would even be willing to pay an outfitter a discounted price in another unit if he had a client with no points and needed to partner up to get drawn for a quality hunt. Just don't want to spend thousands of dollars in points waiting to hunt one of the big 3 and be 75 when I finally draw.

Outfitted, the Snake would be an alright choice. Looks like Del Sol would charge you and your buddy $2,250.00 a piece according to their website. But... you open the can of worms once you go guided because then some other units become much stronger contenders. For rack size, outfitted on private ground in units south of the big 3 down to around John Day would have better potential. I'm just trying to give you an unbiased opinion on this since my natural inclination as a guy that uses stock is that I'd just head for the ugliest hole I could find and go kill something.

Sorry to Shallowforks if I came off rude. I grew up in NEO and still spend most of my times in the mountains there. Year in and year out the top three units for chewing up and spitting out DIY guys on foot are the Snake, Minam, and Imnaha. Maps don't do them justice for the terrain, and most don't understand that that until it's to late. If you've got good stock they aren't bad, if you don't you should just wake up every morning  in punch yourself in the privates because that's the best you're going to feel all day.

[theleo]

My wish is that OR would make you declare a weapon and have to stick with it regardless of drawing.

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Even better would be pick a side of the state for OTC tags.

[shallowforks]

The snake is rugged to be sure. I just wanted to throw a couple options out there that I hadn't seen mentioned. If your in good shape you can definitely do it. One could cover a lot of ground by staying on top glassing into all the steep canyons and then go vertical once you find a bull that you like. I know its not always the case but most of the time theres a reason for all the points it takes to draw a unit. Ive seen 340 bulls up on the forest service just by glassing from imnaha rd. that would be a good way to spend a weekend scouting and getting familiar with the unit. Id definitely depend heavily on glassing for that hunt, and stay as mobile as possible. Good luck deciding

[whuppinstick]

That's absolutely the problem. I don't have stock but willing to pay an outfitter to pack me in or someone that has stock that is familiar with the unit. I am looking hard at the Snake and would be in shape to hunt it. Not sure what the cost is compared to other hunts with better potential or better hunt per $ spent. Actually, when I checked, I have 16 points and my partner has 13 so the Snake is somewhat #1 on the list. Just don't want to waste all those points after all the years. Would even be willing to pay an outfitter a discounted price in another unit if he had a client with no points and needed to partner up to get drawn for a quality hunt. Just don't want to spend thousands of dollars in points waiting to hunt one of the big 3 and be 75 when I finally draw.

If you do the Snake I would stay far, far away from Steen's Outfitting.  My dad and uncle burned their points a few years back on this "last hurrah" big hunt and we did a drop camp with Steen's.  That guy is a joke and he ruined the hunt by putting us in the wrong place.  We had requested a very specific camping location from the moment we booked, even checking in 2-3 times along the way, but he was just lazy so put us a couple miles away, which was too far of a daily commute for my dad and uncle.  I was able to get there every day and take pictures of numerous 300+ bulls.  My dad and uncle saw zero elk in a week where we were camped and I never even cut a track in the snow in that area.

[SI Eagle]

That's absolutely the problem. I don't have stock but willing to pay an outfitter to pack me in or someone that has stock that is familiar with the unit. I am looking hard at the Snake and would be in shape to hunt it. Not sure what the cost is compared to other hunts with better potential or better hunt per $ spent. Actually, when I checked, I have 16 points and my partner has 13 so the Snake is somewhat #1 on the list. Just don't want to waste all those points after all the years. Would even be willing to pay an outfitter a discounted price in another unit if he had a client with no points and needed to partner up to get drawn for a quality hunt. Just don't want to spend thousands of dollars in points waiting to hunt one of the big 3 and be 75 when I finally draw.

Damn, that's good to know because they were on my list to contact!! Thanks for the information. Anyone have any suggestions on a good outfitter for a drop camp?

If you do the Snake I would stay far, far away from Steen's Outfitting.  My dad and uncle burned their points a few years back on this "last hurrah" big hunt and we did a drop camp with Steen's.  That guy is a joke and he ruined the hunt by putting us in the wrong place.  We had requested a very specific camping location from the moment we booked, even checking in 2-3 times along the way, but he was just lazy so put us a couple miles away, which was too far of a daily commute for my dad and uncle.  I was able to get there every day and take pictures of numerous 300+ bulls.  My dad and uncle saw zero elk in a week where we were camped and I never even cut a track in the snow in that area.

[SI Eagle]

Damn, that's good to know because they were on my list to contact. Do you or anyone else have any suggestions on an outfitter in that area?

[loper]

For rack size, outfitted on private ground in units south of the big 3 down to around John Day would have better potential.

Very well-said 

[Shawn Ryan]

I've DIY archery hunted and backpacked the Imnaha and Snake in their respective wilderness areas.  To have an outfitter and a rifle sounds dreamy to me! I'd have no problems dropping my OR points in either unit, if I had any:  as a non-res, I never saw the benefit of paying for points because the archery OTC units are so good compared to WA.

I'm no OR expert and I'll bet some of those units to the west of the Blues are much easier hunts.

[huntnnw]

Or if your flat out done waiting the snake river tag was 100% draw at 12 points this year. That's hardly wasting any points and a damn good tag! Personally id go for the snake river tag. DIY opportunities as well as outfitted for whatever type hunt your looking for. Outfitter that heads out of freezout filled a lot of tags in 2017. haven't heard how this year was

What an outfitter can achieve in that country is only relevant if you're willing to pay said outfitter, or if you're competent in using stock. The OP is in his 50's, in decent to good shape, hasn't mentioned getting a guide or being good with pack stock, and said difficult terrain needs to have hunting to justify it. It's decent hunting in absolutely abusive country, where if you're on foot you're stuck close to the roads and trail heads with the other fools that underestimated the terrain. If the OP is willing to spend money on a guide there's multiple other units with easier terrain and better trophy quality where he could hunt private ground where animals aren't as pressured.   

also pay someone in a jet boat and drop you off and hunt up and everything comes down. I watch hundreds of elk on the Oregon side from the ID side

[coachcw]

Stay away from Ottis wagner too .

[BUTTER]

Look at the heppner muzzy hunt

[buddy01]

Take a look at this site,        200 series Historical drew odds.  /   Oregontags  on line. I archery hunt starkey myself.  I have 14 points also,