Post by: elkchaser54 on July 16, 2021, 07:10:06 PM
Going to be hunting Archery from the 15th to 25th of September
Spent the last few days scouting around John Day in units 46 and 47 and was wondering if anyone else has experience in this area and would lend some advice. Don't need your spots but just wondering how your hunt experience was, from hunting pressure or weather and what worked for ya.
Messages work fine too if youd prefer other wise let's hear those comments!
Post by: Dan-o on July 16, 2021, 08:52:27 PM
Post by: elkchaser54 on October 06, 2021, 12:31:45 PM
Ended up hunting in murder creek unit for 8 days with a bow and was in elk the last 4 days straight. Had a shot at cow elk but passed hoping for a bull. Spent one day chasing a herd bull with cows but couldn't quite sneak in close enough for a shot. He was well over 300 and would have been quite the trophy for an OTC hunt on public land.
These elk were extremely wary of calls and humans. You can tell they are heavily pressured . There were tons of people every where with brand new 4 wheelers side by sides and new trucks. Definitely felt out of place in my beater truck. Finding small pockets away from all the wheeler traffic and road hunters was key.
There are a lot of elk down there and definitely would hunt this area especially as a draw tag. It will be interesting to see how many tags they offer and how much this improves pressure.
Post by: salt n sage90 on October 06, 2021, 02:25:09 PM
Post by: vandeman17 on October 06, 2021, 02:32:06 PM
I'm not educated on Oregon and the units over there, but a buddy that hunts hard over in this area (maybe these units) was saying next year they are doing away with the out of state OTC tags for archery elk. Correct me if I am wrong. More of a question inquiring if this is statewide or just certain units.
That is correct. It is not a done deal but pretty darn close for the elk units that were OTC archery elk moving to draw units for 2022. We were down there this year in an OTC unit and the amount of hunters was crazy. Talked to a few locals down in town and they all said it was the most people they have ever seen out in the mountains hunting.
Post by: theleo on October 06, 2021, 04:04:47 PM
I'm not educated on Oregon and the units over there, but a buddy that hunts hard over in this area (maybe these units) was saying next year they are doing away with the out of state OTC tags for archery elk. Correct me if I am wrong. More of a question inquiring if this is statewide or just certain units.
All of Eastern Oregon will be draw only for archery next year, including deer. The days of OTC archery east of the Cascades has ended there.