Outdoors
Rec
B
Saturday, December 11, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
How to smoke a
Christmas turkey
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
In Eastern Oregon, fall turkey tags may be purchased through the end of the season. After the ﬁ rst of December, turkeys may still be hunted on private lands with permission.
GARY
LEWIS
ON THE TRAIL
he recipe is as follows: Pour 100
grains of powder down the barrel,
load a plastic cup with 1 1/4
ounces of lead and seal it with a ﬁ ber
wad. A shotgun primer goes under the
hammer.
In my possibles bag, I keep the plastic
shot cups pre-made, ready to go for quick
reloads. Quick reloads are important.
One of my favorite shotguns is an
Austin & Halleck bolt-action muzzle-
loader designed by my friend Ray Crow.
I call it Old Crow.
Once a year I take Old Crow out for a
walk. Sometimes for grouse, sometimes
for pheasant, but the most memorable
hunts are for wild turkey.
At zero-dark-thirty we sped south,
fueled on coﬀ ee, bacon and eggs. My
friend Troy Rodakowski had a line on
a ﬂ ock of turkeys that were roosting on
timber company land and feeding in a
friend’s ﬁ elds.
When the sun lit the eastern horizon,
a thin orange line beneath the brooding
clouds, the rain began to pour. We pulled
into the driveway where we were greeted
by the landowner wearing a slicker. He
indicated we could hunt anywhere on the
T
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
Even if hunting with a familiar gun and a proven load it makes sense to go to the
range and conﬁ rm the pattern and eﬀ ective range including holdovers at 30, 40
and 50 yards.
property, but for best results we should
use the barn as cover and take a peek
into the canyon ﬁ rst. Never one to sec-
ond-guess a host, I agreed. Troy was a
bit skeptical of our chances. We couldn’t
hear any birds and, in the downpour, we
couldn’t see any birds.
It was 80 yards through the rain to the
barn then we had to sneak alongside the
tractor and peer into the canyon.
A ﬂ ock of 20 birds were spread out
along the far side of the canyon. Hens
and jakes. I picked out a jake standing
still, shouldered the gun, put the bead
above the bird’s head and squeezed.
Click. I quickly threw the bolt and
squeezed again. Click. A bad cap.
In my pocket I had another cap. I
pulled the dimpled one oﬀ and put the
new one on. Now the turkeys were ner-
vous, exiting stage left. One lingered. A
jake craned his neck for a better look.
Boom.
One of the things I always forget
is the big white curtain of smoke the
muzzleloader throws up. I couldn’t see
whether I’d hit the bird or not. The rest
of the ﬂ ock legged it up the hill and out
of sight.
Forty-two yards is a long shot for a
muzzleloader. We had to chase down my
trophy and ﬁ nish it oﬀ . It was a young
gobbler, perhaps an 11-pound bird.
See, Turkey/Page B2
ODFW ramps up monitoring for elk, deer disease
Chronic Wasting Disease, never
confirmed in Oregon, was found
in two deer in Idaho in October
EO Media Group
Oregon wildlife oﬃ cials
are expanding their sur-
veillance for a disease that
can kill deer and elk after
the illness was conﬁ rmed
in two mule deer killed by
hunters in Idaho near the
Oregon border in October.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
(ODFW) has been testing
deer and elk for Chronic
Wasting Disease (CWD)
for more than two decades.
Since the late 1990s the
agency has tested more
than 23,000 samples from
deer and elk harvested
by hunters or hit by vehi-
cles. CWD has never been
detected in Oregon.
But the level of concern
among ODFW oﬃ cials
rose recently when Idaho
Fish and Game conﬁ rmed
CWD in deer killed by
hunters within 30 miles of
the Snake River, the border
between the two states.
It was the ﬁ rst con-
ﬁ rmed incidence of CWD
in Idaho. The two infected
deer, both bucks, were
killed in the Slate Creek
drainage near Lucile,
Idaho, which is along the
Salmon River north of
Riggins.
The Idaho agency has
also increased its surveil-
lance, including scheduling
a special hunt in that area,
according to ODFW.
ODFW is asking
hunters, those who sal-
vage roadkilled deer and
elk, and others to help the
agency monitor local herds
for CWD.
“The news of an Idaho
detection is alarming, but
we have been working for
years to keep CWD out
of Oregon and preparing
to respond if it is detected
here,” said Colin Gillin,
ODFW’s state wildlife
veterinarian.
ODFW has emailed tag
holders for ongoing and
upcoming deer and elk
hunts in some Northeastern
Oregon units requesting
they provide parts from
their deer or elk for testing
if they are successful on
the hunt. Barrels placed at
three ODFW oﬃ ces will
make it easier for these
hunters to submit a head
for sampling by biologists
and veterinarians.
The barrels are at:
• Grande Ronde Water-
shed District oﬃ ce, 107
20th St., La Grande
•Baker City ﬁ eld oﬃ ce,
2995 Hughes Lane
•Enterprise ﬁ eld oﬃ ce,
64945 Alder Slope Road
Starting in 2022, it will
be mandatory for anyone
transporting wildlife car-
casses or parts to stop
at a check station if they
encounter one and to allow
their animal to be tested.
A cervid parts import
ban also remains in eﬀ ect:
Oregon residents or those
traveling through who are
returning from hunting out
of state may not bring in
certain cervid (deer, elk,
and moose) parts that con-
tain brain or spinal cord
tissues as these are known
to be tissues of CWD con-
centration in infected ani-
mals. Several hunters have
been cited for violating this
regulation, most recently
in Klamath County. Ore-
gonians who hunt in other
states also need to be aware
of and follow that state’s
regulations for CWD.
What is CWD?
CWD is a fatal neuro-
logical disease found in
the North American cervid
family, which includes
deer, elk and moose. A spe-
ciﬁ c type of prion protein
is the cause the disease,
which damages the ani-
mal’s brain and causes pro-
gressive loss of body con-
dition, behavioral changes,
excessive salivation and
eventual death. It was ﬁ rst
identiﬁ ed among captive
deer at a research facility in
Colorado in 1967 according
to the CWD Alliance.
The prions that cause the
disease can last a long time
in the environment, poten-
tially reinfecting new ani-
mals that come in contact
with infected soil or other
surfaces. It is found in
saliva, urine and feces and
contaminates soil in the
animal’s habitat. Because it
can be passed in urine, the
Oregon legislature banned
the use or possession of
commercial scent lures
containing cervid urine
beginning in 2020.
CWD is only consid-
ered a disease risk to cer-
vids. There is no evidence
it can spread to people
through contact with a sick
animal or consumption of
meat from a sick animal.
However, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention, and state ﬁ sh
and wildlife agencies, do
not recommend the con-
sumption of meat from any
sick or infected animals,
including CWD.
The disease does not
spread to livestock.
What are the symp-
toms of CWD in deer and
elk?
In most cases, it is dif-
ﬁ cult to determine if an
animal has CWD until it
is tested, because the dis-
ease takes months to sev-
eral years to cause clinical
symptoms and eventual
death.
Deer and elk with late-
stage CWD suﬀ er a loss
of bodily functions which
causes abnormal behaviors
including:
• Staggering or standing
with very poor posture or
an exaggerated wide pos-
ture (legs in very wide
stance)
• Carrying head and ears
lowered
• Emaciated body con-
dition (thus the term
“wasting” disease)
• Consuming large
amounts of water and
staying near water
• Drooling or excessive
salivation
Other diseases or par-
asites present in deer and
elk can cause similar symp-
toms, especially in chronic
cases. More information at
https://www.dfw.state.or.us/
wildlife/health_program/.
What should I do if
I see an animal I think
might have CWD?
Call your nearest
ODFW oﬃ ce or contact
ODFW’s Wildlife Health
See, Disease/Page B2