Oregon Numbers

ORsouthpaw · Sep 18, 2003

I just read in the Oregonian that the Blacktail numbers are dropping to the point that they maybe shaving days off the end of the rifle season, Limiting bow hunters to buck only and reducing the the overall exposure to blacktails in general. The primary reasons listed were: Loss of habitat, Disease and Forest Management practices. Of course these changes would not take place until the 2004 season. Just wanted to pass this along.

Bob D. · Sep 19, 2003

Same story here in Wasington. With that hair-loss disease, lack of logging and fires, and development, the population will do nothing but decrease.

OregonArcher · Sep 21, 2003

i read the same report the other day as well. i would like to see a reduction in doe tags for sure and do away with the spike hunting on doe tags. as far as the forked horn or better for archers i wouldnt mind that at all. to get some of what we had before we are going to have to give somethings up and those are the ones id like to vote for. plus i think those would be acceptable by most people.

ojocaliente · Nov 1, 2003

I just returned from a five day guided black tail hunt in Oregon.
We hunted hard for five days and saw lots and lots of deer
but very few bucks with better than a fork or spikes. I was under the impression that Oregon had plenty of trophy deer and the outfitter we used said Douglas county was the hot bed for trophy black tails. On the way out someone gave me some newspaper to wrap the fish, and there on the front page was a story about the chief of police getting busted for four seperate game violations. Could it be that most of the big bucks are geting whacked out of season or is October just a bad time to be in the woods looking for mature deer? Tom Brown Ojo Caliente

OregonArcher · Nov 1, 2003

well that poaching incident didnt happen in douglas county. that was in Bandon which is on the coast. now i grew up in douglas county and still hunt there. there are some big nasty bucks in that county. but with the weather the way it has been lately i can understand why you didnt see squat. its been really warm up until the last couple of days and dry to boot. if the weather is cold and wet then you will surely see alot better bucks than what you did.

YollaBolly · Nov 3, 2003

Suffice to say, that after they shed their velvet they tend to be mostly nocturnal until the weather changes. It was a tough season in CA this year with excellent antler growth but with spotty results.

ojocaliente · Nov 3, 2003

Thanks for the replies. I guess it would be better to hunt Oregon
during the muzzle loader hunt or the last rifle hunt if I get another chance to hunt Black tails up there. The ranches we hunted were great because they had some open areas where we could apply our coues deer glassing tactics. I doubt i'll ever get another chance to hunt black tails. The outfitt that I hunted with gets $3750 for the late hunt and that's way to expensive to be going back each year. If you here or know of any
outfitter who has an excellent record with trophy blacktails I would like to visit with them some time. Thanks Tom Brown/Ojo Caliente Outfitters.

ojocaliente · Nov 3, 2003

Dear YollaBolly:Got an email that said you outfitt blacktail hunts in northern CA. Could you send me an email or a brochure or
send me a phone number and I'll call you.Thanks Tom Brown/Ojo Caliente outfitters. My email is [email protected]