2017 Hunting Outlook
Continued from page 20
habitat conditions giving them a boost. “We are seeing forests
being opened up by clearcuts on both state and private lands so
there is plenty of good early seral stage habitat,” says Nuzum.
BIGHORN SHEEP
ELK
Because elk are larger, more robust animals more capable of
muscling their way through deep snow to find food, they did not
really suffer as much through the winter as deer, even in northeast,
and no reductions in tag numbers are needed to protect those
herds.
Torland, in John Day, reports that elk numbers in his area have
been holding strong for the past five years. Similarly, elk are
doing well in the central Oregon region units. “The calf ratio is
good this year at 48 to 100 cows,” says Heath. “With that calf
ratio, there will be a good number of yearling bulls for the next
hunting season.” However, bull ratios are a little below MO in
the Upper Deschutes, High Desert and Paulina units.
On the west side of the Cascades, both Vargas and Wolfer
report the situation is still the same. A lack of logging on public
lands has reduced the early seral stage habitat beneficial to elk
(and deer as well) and there tends to be more elk on private
timberlands where logging operations are ongoing. However,
there are still a lot of elk in southwest Oregon, but you will do
better if you hunt the private lands. Because of that lack of
logging the Cascade elk rifle season can be difficult. “Private
timberlands tend to have better hunting than the national forest,”
explains Wolfer. “There have been a few more wildfires in the
national forest, especially in the Indigo unit, that has created more
habitat.” So hunters hunting public lands may be able to take
advantage of those situations to increase their odds of success.
On the North Coast, elk numbers are good with favorable
Across their range in Oregon, both Rocky Mountain and
desert bighorns are generally doing fine, with problems usually
herd specific, with disease or cougar predation the usual culprits.
In John Day, Torland reports that the McClellan and Aldrich
Mountain herds are doing well. Foster, in Lakeview, says that his
herds are doing OK, but “we don’t have any bighorn populations
in Lake County that don’t have lions in them that are affecting
population size,” he says. And there is a small, unhunted herd in
the lava beds near Fort Rock that have been hanging in there for
the past 20 years. ODFW manages bighorns very conservatively,
and hunters who manage to draw a tag typically have a very good
change of shooting a big ram.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT
Rocky Mountain goats are also doing well, with Oregon’s
largest population in the Elkhorn Mountains. The goats are doing
well enough in the Strawberry Mountains, with a population of
about 60 animals, that 2017 will be the third year a tag will be
offered. One of the state’s newest herds located in the central
Oregon Cascade Mountains around Mount Jefferson has a current
population of about 120 animals, although no tags yet are being
offered for this herd.
PRONGHORN
Pronghorn populations have been doing pretty well in
Oregon. They are stable in the High Desert region around Burns
as well as in the John Day area, particularly in the Murderers
Creek unit. Torland has even seen some expansion of the local
population into the Northside unit.
“Our population right now, with the exception of the South
Wagontire Unit, is at an all time high,” says Craig Foster, of the
Lakeview ODFW office, “and tag numbers are as high as they
have ever been.” However, he is seeing signs of a potential
increase in the coyote population, which may eventually impact
future pronghorn fawn survival.
Unfortunately, as with mule deer, pronghorn also had
difficulty getting through the harsh northeast Oregon winter and
a number of hunts will have tag numbers reduced by 25 to 53
percent.
BEAR AND COUGAR
The story for bear and cougar remains the same. There are
good populations of both species in Oregon with cougars most
abundant in the southwest and northeast portions of the state.
Bears are also widespread with the exception of the desert and
drier mountain areas. The Coast Range has some of the largest
bear populations with their numbers increasing as you move
south. The Applegate Unit still yields the state’s highest bear
harvest.
The key to successfully bagging a bear is to locate their food
sources, especially berry patches, because that’s where the bears
will be when the fruit ripens. Most cougars are taken opportunis-
tically, but there is a small cadre of hunters who specifically target
the cats, either tracking them in the snow or coaxing them in with
predator calls.
Reprinted courtesy Oregon Hunters Association.
LOCAL RETAILERS GEAR UP
FOR
HUNTING
SEASON
CUSTOMERS FIND AMMUNITION MORE ACCESSIBLE THIS YEAR
Story by Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
Local retailers are seeing increased sales of ammunition,
attractants and other items for hunting season.
Buyers are experiencing increased ammunition availability
now that former President Barack Obama has left office.
Under President Donald Trump, ammunition has become
more readily available, Jake Bellinger of True Value Hardware
said. He attributed this to decreased fear of gun control
measures under Trump.
All calibers have become more available to customers in
recent months, according to Bellinger.
Sales of .30-06 and .243 rounds have been high in recent
months, and another caliber is growing in popularity,
according to Brandy Whitmore of Ace Hardware.
MyEagleNews.com
“The hottest selling caliber right now is 6.5 Creedmoor,”
she said. “I’ve sold quite a few rifles in that and the ammo.”
She credited at least part of the popularity of the long-range
target round to television.
“Basically anything people see on outdoor TV, they want,”
Whitmore said.
Whitmore also described a general spike in ammunition
sales, which she attributes to hunters sighting in their rifles for
the season.
As well as ammo, Whitmore also reported an increased
interest in archery supplies like arrows and targets, as well as
attractants like Deer Cane.
She said archery hunters typically start preparing for the
season a little earlier than rifle hunters.
In the coming months, Whitmore anticipated selling more
items that hunters from out of town forgot, like sleeping bags
and knives, as well as warm-
weather gear like long underwear.
GRANT COUNTY HUNTING JOURNAL 2017 • 23