-
How to Smoke a Wild Turkey
To smoke a wild turkey, start with one muzzleloading shotgun. Add 100 grains of Hodgdon Triple 7, drop in a fiber wad and add 1-1/4 ounces of number 5 lead shot. Then tamp down another fiber wad to keep the load tight and dry. Garnish with a 209 shotgun primer and serve. At the end…
-
Archery Elk Tactics from the Experts
It’s game time. You’ve been counting down. The opener is approaching – the day when the months of practice and the scouting pay off. Up in the high country, the grass is curing with the heat and elk antlers are hardening. The bulls have started to rub. In a few days, the biggest elk will…
-
Face to Face with Fall Turkeys
Last December, I hunted fall season turkeys with a muzzleloader. After locating several flocks that ranged in size from 4 to 25 birds, we set up an ambush along a fence line. I could take a turkey of either sex, but the first bird to get within 15 yards was a Rio Grande gobbler with…
-
Elk and Elbow Room – Oregon’s Best Blackpowder Hunts
Have you ever found yourself complaining about too many hunters in your favorite area? It’s a sentiment that would have resonated with Daniel Boone, who – legend has it – saw the smoke from his neighbor’s fire and decided it was time to head west, in search of more ‘elbow room.’
-
Spring Turkey Hunt Makes Lasting Memory for Father and Son
Many people that don’t hunt or fish or go on long backpack trips scoff about the attraction that the great outdoors holds for us. Forget about them. There is one reason why you have to get out there and spend those precious days afield. It has nothing to do with amassing wealth or possessions. It…
-
Striking Gold in October’s Elk Hunt
There comes a tipping point. You can throw up your hands and go home or you can come at the problem from another angle. In the Burnt River country you can see where dreams made it to the tipping point. Here they took gold by pick, by pan and by water blast. The names that…
-
Turkey Season – Itching to Hunt
This time the blind went up in 17 seconds, as quick as advertised. Positioned at the corner of two trails, there was a good chance the birds would come out of the trees, down the hill toward us along the main trail.
-
Cascade Elk Hunt – One Hunter’s Education
One thing I find when I talk to hunters from around the country is that they are jealous of Oregonians. In many states, whitetail deer are the only big game to hunt. We have 11 big game species and none engender more downright envy among our less-fortunate countrymen than Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt elk.
-
If You’re Talkin’ Turkey You’re Talking Southwest Oregon
Decades ago, the National Wild Turkey Federation and state Fish and Wildlife officials set about to establish a population of wild turkeys in southwest Oregon. After a few false starts, a population of Rio Grande turkeys gained a foothold in Douglas County. From there, trap and transplant operations spread the birds far and wide.
-
Mining the Wilderness for Elk in Archery Season
At the crest of the mountains where the John Day River begins its journey to the Columbia and the Powder River flows east, a rusty wheelbarrow stands silent testimony to the history of our region. Chinese immigrants once struggled to earn their way in this new land and grizzled miners pulled their fortune from the…
Field Guide
Oregon Hunting
Hunting in Oregon is a more diverse experience than anywhere else in the country. One of the great things about Oregon hunting is the incredible variety of species available for the taking; a hunter can choose to pursue mule deer, blacktail deer, Columbian whitetail, northeast whitetail, Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt elk as well as goats, sheep and predators. The abundance of diverse habitat allows for everything from sage rats to black bear hunting in Oregon!
I’ve been fishing and hunting in Oregon since I was a teenager and I’ve gotten to know the country, habitat and hotspots. The result was an Oregon hunting guide—my book, Hunting Oregon.
The first Hunting Oregon was brought to you by Sun Publishing in 1999. As every Oregon hunter knows, animal habits and habitat change. That’s why we published the second edition—Gary Lewis’s Hunting Oregon. This update, finished in 2010, is completely new, with chapters written by Scott Haugen and Duane Dungannon. In full color, this Oregon hunting guide is what every hunter needs to have before they head out into the field.
There are other ways to prepare for your time in the Oregon outdoors, and I’ve listed a few helpful resources below, to go along with Hunting Oregon.