Oregon rifle muledeer hunters? Results?

[finnman]

I have been reading results on another site and seems to be a rather bleak season in eastern Oregon this year. Some nice bucks but mostly zeros and few deer at all seen. My buddy, his son and another guy hunted a week in SE Oregon, saw next to nothing and shot the only 2 bucks they saw, which were together. A nice 4 point and a 3x4.
How about anyone else?
My wife has 11 points for deer but I keep waiting for it to get better....not sure if that is going to happen!

[CJ1962]

Went down to Lower Deschutes unit.  My Oregon family had 4 tags.  Hunted through Sunday the 11th and the only bucks we saw during daylight hours were on private land.  This is an easy unit to draw so I wasn't expecting much, but not to see a single buck on public land during daylight hours was pretty disappointing.

[MtnMuley]

Burned my points on a unit that takes far lesser points than I had. Decided to not even pursue it, nor buy my tag. I'd personally rather chase muleys with an OTC archery tag in Oregon.

[finnman]

That OTC archery hunt is gone starting next year. All draw for archery now in eastern Oregon.

[vandeman17]

Didn't have a deer tag in the unit, but while on my old man's archery elk hunt we saw FAR MORE deer than we did in the other years we had a tag. Cameras had a lot more deer too. Bunch of younger up and comers and I saw one very nice 4x4 that I would have easily killed on any draw tag I had in WA. 

[Buckjunkie]

My son, son in law and father in law had Owyhee tags last year. It was pretty bad. They only filled 2 of 3 tags and they shot forkies. After the hunt a guy said we should have tried hunting from a boat.

I have a Mt Emily late deer tag this year. I have been down twice learning the unit. The deer numbers are way down. I read where 2200 of their 3300 whitetails died from EHD. The mule deer supposedly faired better, but their numbers were already down.

[rtspring]

Not sure where everyone was hunting, but the unit I hunt had a ton of bucks!  Seen many in the 160-170 range. Plus a few that absolutely blew my mind.  I of course shot a two point!!!  Deer numbers are just fine. 

[KopperBuck]

Deer numbers are just fine.

Hardly.

[rtspring]

Deer numbers are just fine.

Hardly.

This is exactly why some of don’t post much anymore! Cause people such as yourself contest every damn thing people say!!  I don’t know much, I only hunted 30 straight days out of a 30 day season!  Pretty sure I know the game numbers. 

[abhold87]

Got mine in the sumpter unit Sunday evening of the opener. I think the full moon And hotter weather had the deer super nocturnal. Shot mine at last light and was the only deer I saw all day due to sitting on his bedding area waiting for him to come back out where I saw him that morning.

[Buckjunkie]

Got mine in the sumpter unit Sunday evening of the opener. I think the full moon And hotter weather had the deer super nocturnal. Shot mine at last light and was the only deer I saw all day due to sitting on his bedding area waiting for him to come back out where I saw him that morning.

Great buck! Thanks for sharing.

[finnman]

Got mine in the sumpter unit Sunday evening of the opener. I think the full moon And hotter weather had the deer super nocturnal. Shot mine at last light and was the only deer I saw all day due to sitting on his bedding area waiting for him to come back out where I saw him that morning.

Congrats!
Eastern Oregon is a giant area. It’s absolutely possible some areas are doing ok and others not. And if the only deer you see all season is a big 4x4 and you kill it....it’s a good day.
However, there are many units guys are seeing absolutely next to nothing and that’s not a hoax. 

[abhold87]

I can believe that. Between this hunt and the last time I was able to hunt there down in the pine creek unit I’ve hunted and hiked a ton of miles for the little amounts of deer I’ve seen. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time and lucked out. I watched a huge basin over at willows creek lake the first night and never saw a deer. I know I scared some walking over to the lake to get water but it was maybe 3 at most. The only other deer I heard was one that was snorting at me as I hiked back to camp in the dark after I shot my deer. Tons of sign up where I was but I saw more mountain goats then deer.

[pd]

Abhold, those are really beautiful goats.

[JimmyHoffa]

What do you guys suspect to be behind the lack of seen animals?  Fires?  Cats?  Wolves?

[csaaphill]

That OTC archery hunt is gone starting next year. All draw for archery now in eastern Oregon.

Source for that please. All I seen was they were thinking about it but hadn't done it yet. Last I checked just a couple of weeks ago the comments against it was way more than for it.

[kselkhunter]

That OTC archery hunt is gone starting next year. All draw for archery now in eastern Oregon.

Source for that please. All I seen was they were thinking about it but hadn't done it yet. Last I checked just a couple of weeks ago the comments against it was way more than for it.

2021 all east side Oregon archery deer is controlled draw. That was already finalized.

2022 all east side Oregon archery elk is also planned to go controlled draw. But elk is still under review. Very likely to happen though.

[csaaphill]

What do you guys suspect to be behind the lack of seen animals?  Fires?  Cats?  Wolves?

all 3 probably.

[csaaphill]

Not Out of state for me at least not since 2015 but I hunted the Columbia basin unit, and did see some deer but had to go to the side of the open to hunt area I was in that had the creek on it to see those. opening morning too hot 80 degress or more. Sunday I went to the side with the creek near the road and seen 9 but could never put horns on any but per the tracks one was but more likely small.
I knw deer are or already have thier fall and winter coats but I don't think they'd be as dark as what ever I seen Monday when I went. It was either a coyote or wolf, but could never make it out good enough to know for sure. Deer I know pretty much on spot, for I'd seen the one's I'd seen just the week before, and followed them and when I seen agian they were a heck of a lot further out than this thing I seen Monday. Only difference was the weather it was hot then and Monday was not too cold but windy and a bit rainy so...
So yeah dark in color and not big like a deer but big bodied so not sure but don't think it was a doe or deer but coyote or maybe wolf.
Looking forward to my Elk tag on the 28th. Spike only but...

[finnman]

What do you guys suspect to be behind the lack of seen animals?  Fires?  Cats?  Wolves?

Along with a harsh winter a year or two ago. It took the deer herds down in a lot of eastern Oregon.
My mom and step dad have hunted the Paulina unit for 30 years. It’s close so they hunt for a week then do drives from Bend to hunt more. Last year they saw 12 does all season. No bucks. Year prior 8 does, and one nice 4x4 he shot. If anyone has ever paid attention to the winter herds in the fort rock, wagon tire, silver lake areas, you know what I am saying.

[robescc]

My son, son in law and father in law had Owyhee tags last year. It was pretty bad. They only filled 2 of 3 tags and they shot forkies. After the hunt a guy said we should have tried hunting from a boat.

I have a Mt Emily late deer tag this year. I have been down twice learning the unit. The deer numbers are way down. I read where 2200 of their 3300 whitetails died from EHD. The mule deer supposedly faired better, but their numbers were already down.

We did awesome in the Owyhee this year, 6 for 6. I was the only one that hunted from the boat and shot a forky on day 4. I should have held out though. We got some really nice bucks in camp.

[Mr Mykiss]

Check the mule deer rifle success thread on iFish and compare it to past years...that’ll tell a story for ya.

[Martinhunter]

I'm with you, I'm so tired of reading these posts all over the internet of people saying no deer here no deer there, deer have gone extinct ect.. It's ridiculous. A guy could ask about the deer herd in a high fenced farm and everyone would say they all died from wolves  !! Tired of hearing it

Not sure where everyone was hunting, but the unit I hunt had a ton of bucks!  Seen many in the 160-170 range. Plus a few that absolutely blew my mind.  I of course shot a two point!!!  Deer numbers are just fine.