Eastern Oregon Elk Hunting

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ConfusedCoyote

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I'm saving points for good elk hunt in Eastern Oregon. And I'm curious about the Starky Experimental Forest. Has anybody hunted there? They give 25 tags a year for that area and there are 450 elk in the 30 square mile fenced in forest. Is it a waist of time? It takes 12 points and you still have a 55% chance at a tag. Does anybody now what caliber of elk are in there? Does anybody have any other units that I should look in to? I have a few years until I will have enough points to get a good tag. And when I decide on a area I will put in the time to get to know the area. So to sum it up does I would like any Elk hunting information about elk hunting Eastern Oregon. Thanks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Confused, I've elk hunted e. oregon all my life and killed a lot bulls and hunted most of the units. I'll send you a PM.
 
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Bowhunt32 has been helpful but I was hoping for some info from a few different people. Does anybody know of another forum that would be more helpful for me and my questions?
 
Confused,
I think the EXP forest is actually 40 sq mi and you are allowed to hunt about 30 sq mi of it. I have hunted all over NE Oregon as BH32 has, tell us what you are looking for and maybe we can point you in the right direction. Give us your top 3 or 4 priorities/expectations (like 350" bulls? see very few other hunters) and tell us your limiting factors (like rifle only? good road access?). I'm heading for the TC Mtns tomorrow so it may take me a few days to reply.

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My best friend is a gun hunter only. So probably rifle only. But if it does not work out with him I will bow hunt. I like the longer season and the rut action. I'm really into archery. I belong to a big archery club and go to a broad head league every week. I don't mind other hunters because archery hunters are easier to hunt around. I would like to hunt the best bulls oregon has to offer. When I decide on a unit and the years I don't get a tag I plan on camping in the area to get as educated as possible. Where are the TC mtns? I have only hunted the coast range for elk and I have only had limited success. It is tough hunting over there. With my job I'm starting to get more and more vacation time so I'm up for doing my home work. So when I can't be in the woods I'm using you guys as my home work.
 
There are some nice big bulls in several units.

I just drew a rifle Mt emily big bull tag and it took me 11 years. There is some big bulls up there and we've been hunting there for 30 years so we know it very well. We see several 350" bulls every year spike hunting, and every once in a while we'll see the occasional 370-380" which is what I'm holding out for the first few days.

A few other good units are the walla walla, and weneha unit. If you wanna know the good units, just look at how many tags they give out to how many people put in and that'll give you an idea of where and why people are putting in there. Typically the longer you wait for a better unit, the better chance you'll have at a nice bull. The strawberry mountains produce some monster bulls and if I remember, some of the biggest in the state. I believe the TC mtns are in the south east or at least southern oregon near california/nevada border. I know there some monster bucks down there, but never really heard much about the elk.

If you do your homework and call around, you shouldn't have to much trouble finding decent bulls in any of those units.
 
Yes, all 3 of those units are by each other and the terrain is practically the same. I would actually say weneha and walla walla are a little worse then Mt. Emily, IMO. Weneha is extrememly steep and rocky. Some places you wont even be able to get down where you would want to. Walla walla is just huge country. Very wide, long, deep canyons. Like I said, there all pretty tough, but thats where them big boys like to hide out.
 
Does anybody know about the deer hunting in the Mt Emily and surrounding units? Deer hunting over there might help me get some scouting time. Are there some decent quality animals in that area. And how many points for archery or gun tags?
 
starkey has huge bulls but anything harvested from that unit can't go in the record book. Neat to get a big elk but can't count it it is fenced in.
 
Does anybody know anything about the sled springs unit in oregon. I read that if you draw a elk tag you have to buy a deer tag. And you can't deer hunt unless you have a elk tag.
 
I can pretty much tell you that is false information. What page of the synopsis did you read this on?? I am curious.

Sled springs is a limited entry area/unit for both deer and elk. If you dont draw either, you dont hunt for either, if you draw for deer, you go deer hunting and not elk hunting, if you draw elk and not deer, well you get the picture.

It would be nice if you "had" to buy a deer tag to elk hunt in the same area you drew, but I'm afraid thats not the way it works.

Sled springs is an OK unit. Most the good animals are on private land.
 
There are some dandy animals in the walla walla and mt emily unit. I've shot both my record book animals in the walla walla unit, a 145" whitetail, 4x4 w/5-6" eyegaurds, (at the time ranked around #45 in oregon with a rifle) and a 18 15/16" 400lb black bear (at the time I was 17 and it was #10 in oregon for youth.) Lately though, more and more of it is getting harder to access to hunt, A LOT of private ground and thats where the animals know there safe. I dont recomend the walla walla unit unless you know someone that will let you hunt. The mt. emily gives you a couple more options since some of it is in national forest. You have the opportunity to shoot a monster muley or whitetail in either unit though. I woudl have loved to shoot a 30" muley instead of my 21" whitetail, but beggers cant be choosers when the oppurtunity arrises!!
 
Page 79. I wasn't specific, I meant to bow hunt Sled Springs. 257 R1 deer bow hunters must have a controlled sled springs elk bow tag used or unused to hunt deer in the sled springs unit. I can get the sled springs tag a lot easier, and I shoot at my archery league with a guy that hunts there every year and he is pretty successful. He see a lot of elk every day. And he says that anybody can get a deer over there.

Kyotekiller25, do you bow hunt?
 
Well I dont bowhunt so thats why I didn't know. I wasn't being specific either on my end.

Well there ya go. Nice to know somebody that knows the area already.
 
Starky has some Big Bulls for sure! I got drawn a few yrs back my firt time putting in for that Spike only hunt in Aug.(Oregon Res.then)Not sure if they do that hunt anymore.I seen a nice 6pt and a real dandy 7 pt bull the first day hunting.Second day I got a nice spike!I shot it at 237yds down in a steep canyon. Be prepared to pack it out.They don't allow no motor vehicles in there where you hunt.So bring pack horses if you can.,pack frame and get yourself a Big Game cart.I'd say you would have a good chance of getting a nice bull if you went.I know some will tease you about hunting in that fenced area.Its still a very big area and you still need to hunt it like you normally would in Elk country.No they aren't tame
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But there are plenty of Elk and less hunting pressure so it makes for a great hunt.
 
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I went with a friend who had a cow tag for the experimental forrest. It is a tightly controlled research area. If the people who work there want to they can tell you about every animal inside the fence. They suggested where we should look and we walked out and got a cow. Not exactly my idea of elk hunting but to each his own.
 


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