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
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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