Question for #####

drannan · Mar 3, 2009

I'm looking for advice for a rifle elk hunt. I have enough to draw Mt. Emily but have always wanted the Wenaha. I have been on the Wenaha hunt twice. In 2003 and 2006. I also went on a Mt. Emily elk hunt last year. I am now thinking about drawing the Mt. Emily next year instead of waiting for the Wenaha. What do you think??? I'm starting to worry the Wenaha's quality is slipping and by the time I draw it I will wish I had drawn a Mt. Emily tag......

HKShooter · Mar 3, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Mar-03-09 AT 10:18PM (MST)[p]How many years do you have until you draw Wenaha?

HK

lostinOregon · Mar 3, 2009

Resident or non-resident. Just food for thought it doesn't matter how many points it took to get the tag last year, it is how many people are ahead of you in the preference point pool. You may have 2 points off of what it took last year but are 6 years away because of the number of guys ahead of you.

Rich

drannan · Mar 3, 2009

I am an Oregon Res...and I will have 12 points going into next year. I'm not sure how many max point holders are left that are still puttin in for the Wenaha....probably still 30 or so...I havent looked in a year or two.

tagsoup · Mar 3, 2009

Looks to me that you are a couple years away from the wenaha, but you should draw mt. emily.

Romulus · Mar 4, 2009

Drannan, how did you do on your previous hunts in these units?

robinsg61le · Mar 4, 2009

Wenaha isn't slipping. It has slipped. Get the Emily tag before it does the same.

HKShooter · Mar 4, 2009

With the wolf packs established in and around the unit, I'm giving it a few years before all the big ones are winter kill. It sucks bad 'cause I have 10 points and the ONLY big bull unit in Oregon will be all but nonexistant by the time I draw. The ODFW thought they used to have a problem with calf retention 16 or so years ago...they won't have a calf to worry about, once the wolves find the birthing grounds. This is where hunters need to do their part to save our herds.

IMHO sooner is better.

HK

WapitiBob · Mar 5, 2009

If you were in the 11 point pool for the last draw cycle (2008) .....

119 apps in the 11-14 point pools
250 apps in the 11-14 point saver pools

Sorry, You ain't huntin the Wenaha

HKShooter · Mar 5, 2009

That was dran's question...should he wait for Wenaha or take a Emily or Walla tag. I think he knows he ain't gunna get the Wenaha, but will it be worth a crap in 5 years????? That is the million dollar question. I would listen to Bluemtn and call Jon Wick 'cause not too many people will know what is going on in those units any better than those two.

HK

WapitiBob · Mar 5, 2009

I understand his question but 370 apps @ 20/year, he's never going to hunt it.

I wouldn't rifle hunt either of the others but I would sure bow hunt them. I had a WW tag a number of years ago. Applied to ME a few days ago. They push the bulls off the tops early in the bow season. I have no insight into Mt Emily but it has a few supporters.

HKShooter · Mar 5, 2009

There isn't a straight line correlation between number of apps and number of tags. For lots of reasons...you never know how many tags the ODFW is going to issue...if the quality plummets in Wenaha some guys will go to point saver only...some guys will waste 15 points on much lessor hunt, I see it every year. It will be more than 13 points for sure, but it could be as few as 15, ya never know. There are too many variables to say he will never hunt Wenaha.

IMHO the sooner is better for that entire NE corner of the state. The wolves are taking hold and if we get a tough winter it could change those units very quickly.

HK

WapitiBob · Mar 5, 2009

I would spend a lot of time in whatever unit I choose and learn it before I committed to a tag.

They have no calf recruitment and cut the tags for over a decade because of it. Now they have hundreds of spike tags in there and a denning pack of Wolves under the lookout.

Doesn't make sense to me ......

drannan · Mar 5, 2009

Well I am losing confidence in waiting for the Wenaha...I'm really thinking about going for the Mt. Emily next year... I don't want to miss the Mt. Emily still in good shape, while waiting for the Wenaha past it's prime......Hmm.

WapitiBob · Mar 6, 2009

did you apply this year (2009) or just go for points?

ARROWCHUCKER · Mar 6, 2009

Apply for the Mt. Emily rifle tag. There are more 350+ bulls in there than most people think. The only thing is you will need stock to get them out and a Swarovski spotting scope to find them. I have tagged along on that hunt in 05' and 07' and saw great bulls on both hunts. A 350+ bull on public land is a true monster

brdhuntr · Mar 6, 2009

I am a non-resident with only 5-points. My question is do i have any chance at all of drawing Mt. Emily,or is it pretty much zero odds until i get at least 10 points. I'm 62 and in pretty good shape,but this is one hunt where if i do draw, i would definately be going with an outfitter. Thanks...

drannan · Mar 6, 2009

WapitiBob, I just put in for a point....we should have a rifle tag in our group again this year and I will go along and depending on what I see my decision should be made for next year!

ArrowChucker, how did you guys do in '05 and '07??? We havent used stock yet...sometimes I think about it....we just chop them up, cape them, and put it in our J104s and go..and I actually like it.

Drnaln · Mar 7, 2009

>I am a non-resident with only
>5-points. My question is do
>i have any chance at
>all of drawing Mt. Emily,or
>is it pretty much zero
>odds until i get at
>least 10 points. I'm 62
>and in pretty good shape,but
>this is one hunt where
>if i do draw, i
>would definately be going with
>an outfitter. Thanks...
With 5 points you have zero odds of getting Mt Emily.With only 1 tag given to Non-residents each year,you'll probebly never catch up with the "point creep".A Mt Emily tag is given to the outfitters each year & you could hire the guy that has that tag.A non-resident tag in the Wenaha & Walla-Walla is available in the draw ONLY every other year.
David

sandman · Mar 8, 2009

Good thread! I have been applying for the wenaha for 13 years.If my calculations are correct i have a good chance on drawing a tag within the next 3 years. If the hunting gets bad i will point saver it until it gets better

"Pain is fear leaving your body"

drannan · Mar 8, 2009

Thats my problem.....(at the risk of making the odds worse for Mt Emily) I dont want to have enough points to draw the Wenaha, and find out that the quality has dropped so much that I would have been better off to draw the Mt Emily 5 plus years ago.

I would rather draw the Mt Emily and have a decent hunt, start over, and not wait maybe 10-15 more years for the Wenaha or other units to get better......or worse.....

WapitiBob · Mar 9, 2009

At the sake of sounding like a broken record or a doom and gloomer, hunters need to download the preference point reports and look at the point pools for a given hunt as well as the point saver pools.

Having 5 points now and having 10 points 5 years from now will do little if anything for your odds at these NE units. Too few tags and too many hunters ahead of you. The phrase commonly used is "point creep". The carrot keeps dangling at 2-3 points ahead of you for decades.
There are people applying for Wenaha that realistically have no chance at that tag for the next 150 years....
I'm no expert nor do I guide there but If I couldn't draw a tag in one of those NE units in the next 5 years I would go elsewhere.

Drannan, I think all you can do is ask, ask, ask. Talk to everybody you can talk to. Be advised those Wolves aren't going away. None of the NE units will "get better".

drannan · Mar 9, 2009

You are right. I'm about 90% decided to go with the Mt Emily next year.... I think the only thing holding me back is that my mind has been made up for so many years that I would wait for the Wenaha....I'm pretty sure waiting will be the wrong choice.

shedhornfreak · Mar 9, 2009

I heard it once in this topic and that is call the professionals that spend alot of time in those areas. You can't base your desicion on preferance point %. It is just an estimate. You don't know who will point saver, try a differant unit, pass away, or any other reason. You need to talk to people that know the area and the bulls. In the Wenaha you need to talk to either Jon Wick or Brian Rahn. These two guys spend alot of time in the Wenaha, weather it be hunting or picking up sheds. Or even talk to the local biologist, but how far can you trust them. For Mt. Emily there might be a couple guys in Lagrande that might know something or a couple out of Pendleton. Rick Hendrickson out of Pendleton is very noligible of the Mt. Emily unit. Good luck on your choice.