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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2020)
MyEagleNews.com // Grant County Hunting Journal 2020 // 3 Stay safe while hunting W ith eight northeastern big game units located either partially or fully within its borders, Grant County is a popular spot for bow and rifle hunters. Prairie City is near the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. Dayville is popular for deer, sheep and elk hunting, as well as upland game birds. Mt. Vernon has premiere mule deer and Rocky Mountain elk hunting. Monument is known for its fishing, hunting and whitewater rafting. Seneca is great for pronghorn, Rocky Moun- tain elk and mule deer. Long Creek is known for trophy mule and whitetail deer, along with Rocky Mountain elk. For more information about the county, visit the Grant County Chamber of Commerce at 301 W. Main St. in John Day or online at gcoregonlive.com, or call 541-575-0547 or 800-769-5664. Stay safe while hunting The Grant County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team has averaged about three calls per month for the last 18 months, accord- ing to Coordinator Dave Dobler. Based on last hunting season, Dobler said many of the problems were from miscom- munication. He recommended all hunters and families follow basic safety guidelines. 1. Know the area you are hunting. “Carry a physical map and compass, and know how to use them,” Dobler said. “Check out You- Tube for some good training. Consider map- ping applications like Topo Plus and onXmaps for your phone. Carry a battery backup for your phone and the necessary cables to charge your device. Upload base maps for offline use. Know where you are, the closest path to get out or where someone can find you. We can’t find you if we can’t see you.” 2. Have a plan. “Many of our calls for help came from nervous family members because they thought the hunting party was overdue when in fact they were not,” Dobler said. “Sev- eral hunting camps in Grant County were con- tacted after nervous family called for SAR only to find out the entire incident was poor com- munication. SAR is not an answering/messen- ger service. Stick to a clear written plan, and if you need to change it, call and agree on the changes.” 3. Get a satellite communicator. “Devices like SPOT and Garmin InReach work off sat- ellites and do not require cellphone connectiv- ity,” Dobler said. “Depending on which device you choose, you can pre-program the buttons on the device and send an email or text mes- sage (depending on the device) to several peo- ple at any time. Therefore, you can let your loved ones know you are OK, need some help but not a SAR or you are in trouble and need immediate help. These devices cost about $200 along with the annual monitoring fees for the 24/7 emergency notification. You reg- ister the device with the company with some of your information, and if you hit the emer- gency ‘SOS’ button that information is pro- vided to the nearest 911 dispatch center. We had one activation last year, a firefighter, and we had that person identified, located and a status check on him within 30 minutes. These devices are cheap insurance and provide piece of mind to family members and hunters. Hunt- ers pay thousands of dollars for rifles, gear and vehicles — this is a no-brainer.” G RANT C OUNTY Hunting J OURNAL PUBLISHED BY THE BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLE CONTACT US VISIT US ONLINE: MyEagleNews.com FOLLOW US: Facebook.com/MyEagleNews EMAIL US: office@bmeagle.com WRITE US: 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845 Copyright © 2020 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved — EO Media Group Hunting J OURNAL Inside Local hunters photo gallery ..................................................................................................... 5, 10, 17 and 30 The first buck ...............................................................................................................................................................6 ‘The majestic giant’ ...................................................................................................................................................8 The Promise .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 ‘A precious tradition’ .............................................................................................................................................. 14 The tag of a lifetime .........................................................................................................................................18-19 Shooting the Breeze: The blissfully ignorant ................................................................................................ 23 ‘Jumping up cow’ .................................................................................................................................................... 24 Meet Buck, Oregon’s only anti-poaching K-9 ............................................................................................... 28 State considering requiring hunters to draw for archery tags ............................................................... 29 2020 big game preview ....................................................................................................................................... 32 advertising index Welcome to Grant County G RANT C OUNTY 1188 Brewing Co. .......................................................................................................................... 33 1st Choice Auto Body .................................................................................................................. 21 Andy’s Plumbing & Sports ......................................................................................................... 31 Bare Bones ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Blue Mountain Chiropractic ..................................................................................................... 21 Blue Mountain Hospital ................................................................................................................2 Blue Mountain Eagle ................................................................................................................... 35 Boyer’s Cash Store ........................................................................................................................ 20 Burnt River Market ....................................................................................................................... 25 Chuck’s Little Diner ...................................................................................................................... 27 Dale Store ........................................................................................................................................ 15 Dayville Café ................................................................................................................................... 20 Dayville Mercantile ...................................................................................................................... 25 Dayville Mini Market.................................................................................................................... 35 Depot RV Park (City of Prairie City) ............................................................................................4 Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair .................................................................................................... 25 DP Home Entertainment ..............................................................................................................9 Duke Warner Realty ..................................................................................................................... 12 Eastern Oregon Realty ................................................................................................................ 15 Ed’s Sinclair & Mobil ..................................................................................................................... 13 Ferguson Surveying..................................................................................................................... 33 Frontier Equipment ..................................................................................................................... 16 Gardner Enterprises ..................................................................................................................... 21 Gibco Ag & Industrial .................................................................................................................. 15 Grant County Building Supply ................................................................................................. 27 Grant County Chamber of Commerce .................................................................................. 16 Grant County Fairgrounds & RV Park ..................................................................................... 20 Grant County Snowballers ........................................................................................................ 25 Grubsteak Mining Co. Bar & Grill ............................................................................................. 21 Hodgen Distributing ................................................................................................................... 31 Hotel Prairie .................................................................................................................................... 21 Huffman’s Select Market ...............................................................................................................4 John Day Auto NAPA ......................................................................................................................9 John Day Hardware True Value ...................................................................................................4 John Day Polaris ............................................................................................................................ 11 John Day River Trading Post ..................................................................................................... 20 John Day River Veterinary Center ........................................................................................... 31 Lake Creek Camp .......................................................................................................................... 27 Len’s Pharmacy .............................................................................................................................. 16 Les Schwab Tire Center............................................................................................................... 36 Mills Building Supply................................................................................................................... 25 Mobile Glass ......................................................................................................................................9 Mossy Oak Properties Cupper Creek Land Company ..................................................... 31 North Fork RV Park ....................................................................................................................... 15 Nydam’s ACE Hardware .................................................................................................................7 OK Garage ..........................................................................................................................................9 Oregon Trail Electric Co-op ....................................................................................................... 22 Outpost Pizza, Pub & Grill .......................................................................................................... 15 Pepsi .................................................................................................................................................. 33 Pioneer Feed .................................................................................................................................. 26 Prospector Ice ................................................................................................................................ 27 Rocky Mt. Dispensary .................................................................................................................. 34 Russell’s Custom Meats & Deli.................................................................................................. 20 Subway ................................................................................................................................................9 Suds Pub .......................................................................................................................................... 33 Timbers Inn & RV Park ................................................................................................................. 27 Thomas Orchards ......................................................................................................................... 20 The Ugly Truth Bar & Grill ........................................................................................................... 21 Triangle Mini Market ................................................................................................................... 35 Whitetail Properties ..................................................................................................................... 35
