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Hunting Oregon Antelope With a Bogus Bovine and Binoculars
“There’s a buck feeding on that far slope. Every now and then he stops to look around,” I whispered. “I think we could get within range.” I put my binoculars down and examined our approach. The ground rose in a gentle swell, crested at a low ridge, troughed in a grassy valley and crested again,…
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Early Hunt Targets Resident Canada Geese
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon’s goose harvest in 2006 was approximately 78,800 birds. 14,400 goose hunters averaged 5.6 days afield. That’s a lot of hunters educating a lot of geese. The ones that don’t graduate to the freezer and dinner table go on to get advanced degrees in hunter avoidance. Get…
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Hunting Mule Deer in the Timber
A dull glow filled the somber sky and filtered down through the tops of the big pine trees. I began to move. A driving rain had been falling since 4:00 a.m. and the treetops were saturated, leaving precious few places where a hunter could find dry shelter.
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Draw a Bead on September’s Doves
September 1 marks the opening of Oregon’s dove hunt. For some hunters, it’s the social event of the year. For others, it’s a chance to pull shotguns out of the closet and tune up for fall bird hunting. Whatever reason you hunt doves, your best bet is to go early in the month.
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Mr. Coyote – Don’t Call Him Late for Dinner
Scientists classify the coyote under the order Carnivora in the family Canidae. Canis latrans has been called the brush wolf and the prairie wolf. Some folks call them song dogs and others call them yodelers. The Aztecs called them coyotl. Ranchers call them trouble at calving time.
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On the Prowl for a Pronghorn
When you set out to tie your tag to a pronghorn, you’ve got to be mobile and flexible. When you find the herd, they could be feeding out in the middle of a wide-open basin, or resting in the shadow of a rimrock in the badlands. It takes a lot of country to support a…
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On the Wings of Spring
We joined the hunt in progress a few miles outside of Klamath Falls. Brad Douglas parked the Expedition a quarter mile away. A field of white decoys shimmered in the afternoon sun. Then on the horizon, white snow goose wings winked against the sky, and a mass of birds seemed to lift out of the…
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Scouting Sweet Spots for Mule Deer
Don’t go scouting for mule deer this year if scouting, to you, means walking all the trails, and sky-lining yourself on every hilltop to watch for deer. Better to stay home and mow the lawn, wash the car, or take the kids to the lake. Because when you go scouting, you’re more likely to educate…
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Mountain Quail in Southwest Oregon
A jewel set in a glacier-scoured valley between Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey, Diamond Lake was named for John Diamond, who discovered it in 1852. For the fishermen who have sampled its waters, it sparkles in memory, but for the bird hunter, the real treasure can be found in the foothills to the west –…
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High Altitude August Bears in the Berry Patch
General season black bear hunting opens August 1 and runs through November 30 in eastern Oregon and December 31 in western Oregon. To find a bear early in the season, hunt the food sources that are available. In August and September, that means hiking the high mountain meadows and the old burns where huckleberries grow.…
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.