Sled Springs archery elk

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nwhunter

Guest
Have any members hunted sled springs archery elk in the last few years? I have the points to split with a buddy or someone with super good intel and draw and be done with Oregon points game. Thought when I started I would draw Mt Emily before now and not sure I want to keep waiting. Thanks
 
I have not hunted this unit personally but I have hunted Mt. Emily. If you have 14 or 15 points you may keep at it since Mt. Emily is a good unit with lots of elk. However if you are under that I'd split it with your buddy since I have two friends that have hunted Sled Springs in the last couple years and they both killed decent bulls and saw lots of elk and had a great hunt.
Good luck!
 
I have 17 points but could still be 5 plus years away from Mt Emily or likely more.. By then the wolves will have all the top 3 units a mess anyways so would rather go on a fun hunt with opportunity at a 300 plus bull and be done.. Thanks for the replies.
 
Sorry, I didn't realize you were a non resident when you posted this. I know several res hunters that have hunted this unit and killed good bulls. If you have a friend to go with then do that as I'm sure you'll be able to gather enough info to have a good hunt. However if you want first hand knowledge I'm sure one of these guys would trade their knowledge and hunt with you to share the points.
Good luck with your decision.
 
Wolves are there but i could have killed 3 (at least) trophy bulls sept 30th with a bow when i was there deer hunting. Rutting tough...
 
I had a NR buddy who hunted it last year.. they went 1/2 with what sounded like an ausome Hunt!!
I'm a NR with 6 and would have went with them last year but I would have brought there average too low. Like someone above mentioned they had above 9 for an average so they thought they would for sure get the tag. They did encounter some wolves. They also had some politics before the hunt... something about the timber land not allowing access- but access ended up to be good!
 
From what I understand the access to timber land is good as far as the hunting goes but I was told you can't overnight camp on the timber land so camp spots are limited. Many people stay in a near by town or on the little bit of forest land there. Also there is a large ranch or two that you have to navigate around.
 
I have hunted it a few times and know where the big bulls are and a few secrets to the unit. I was an OR resident until last year. Now I am a NR. I will PM you the bull I took a couple years ago in there.
 
Pick your partner with care. Hancock will shut the gates in July if not sooner and there is no longer any camping on their land until it rains.
This will be my 4th year in there and your hunt can depend on what you put into it. Hit me up in April if you haven't connected and I may be able to help you out.
 
I would agree with WapitiBob, if whoever you are thinking of partnering with can't show you they have taken a 320" bull in that unit I would shy away. There are good bulls in there, but you have to know where to find them. The change by Hancock makes it harder in some ways, but in some way not. Too many guys know where to find a 280" six point, but you are using too many points for that. If you have the time and the energy 320"+ should be your number.
 
Thanks guys I really appreciate the info. I am researching many of the options that have been shared.
 
I read the start of the thread and was in the same situation as NWHunter, only I have 16 points and with even less chance of catching Mt. Emily, Wenaha etc... So I cashed them in for Sled Springs.

I'm excited about this hunt. I already had a bit of info on this unit from research I did a couple of years ago. If anyone who is willing to share info I would appreciate it, given I wont be hunting this unit ever again (62 now and doubt I'll build up the points to hunt it again), and wont share your hard earned info, it wont get out into the blogosphere.

This is the bull I got in Utah a few years ago.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-13-18 AT 06:33PM (MST)[p]Bulls cross the rhonde river at night (heard them) going to the feed plots on the wenaha side. I was camped right on the river. I would consider those timbered draws just over the border from troy.
I have 12 pts and have very seriously considered getting the tag. That is probly where I would go if I had the tag.
 
I want to thank those of you who gave me pointers and general information that helped me on my Sled hunt. I checked out the west side of the zone, but was into elk consistently on the east side of the zone so didn't relocate.

Roads were in great shape. I used my bike to park a tree stand on a wallow but it dried up and there were many others in the deeper canyons being used, so I pulled it after a few days with no action.

I had a good hunt and would hunt it again, but don't think I will be able to amass the points to hunt it again before I am too old. I passed a couple of gimme shots on small bulls and probably should have taken them given I never got into bow range on the bigger bulls I was hunting.

Observations:
Every single Oregonian I met who had hunted the sled before, with some saying they hunted that unit over the last 30 years, said that the Sled has changed in the last five years. They claimed the elk were not bugling like prior years, and there were fewer elk in general. One guy even said he had wolf photos on his trail cam.

I never saw a wolf or heard one. My brother hunting in Chesnimus heard wolves three different times during his two week hunt. Yet he was into elk most days.

The wolves will continue to change things in the Sled and Chesnimus units and that may actually put an end to point creep as fewer guys opt to burn points in a unit with a declining elk herd. It maybe in the next few years. It should be interesting to follow.

Happy trails, all.
 
I'm headed to sled springs tomorrow for elk I've been hunting this unit for years love it nice bulls good hunt. It took a lot of years for me to map all the pattern of these elk and spots to look during all different weather conditions. The wolves make archery a little more difficult now when it comes to calling.
 
Would you recommend this hunt in 2019? I'm done waiting and I'm going burn the points with some friends. I'll be going over scouting in April before we put in. Just looking for some good input
 
WapitiBob said:
Pick your partner with care. Hancock will shut the gates in July if not sooner and there is no longer any camping on their land until it rains.
This will be my 4th year in there and your hunt can depend on what you put into it. Hit me up in April if you haven't connected and I may be able to help you out.
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Thinking about applying for the 2024 season.. has the unit changed much since then
 
Never been to starkey; ukiah I hunted a cpl years. Depends on bow/rifle, weather, how much a guy scouts, etc. Draw odds will show perceived quality relative to other units, but, a lot of the harder to draw units are still living off 10 year old memories or 20 in the case of wenaha and mt emily. That's the downside to using odds to determine a quality hunt today.
 
WapitiBob said:
Never been to starkey; ukiah I hunted a cpl years. Depends on bow/rifle, weather, how much a guy scouts, etc. Draw odds will show perceived quality relative to other units, but, a lot of the harder to draw units are still living off 10 year old memories or 20 in the case of wenaha and mt emily. That's the downside to using odds to determine a quality hunt today.
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I agree, I have hunted many units that aren’t a draw and had incohnters w great bulls every year 300-330 class I just don’t see how units like sled that are 10 pints to draw are or seen to be relatively low success of decent bulls .. I see Emily and wenaha units being a 330 minimum standard bull units in my opinion. And sled being a 300 min with a possibility at bigger. I have buddy’s that have killed great bulls out of sled but they lucked into the bulls.
 
Rtaune said:
I agree, I have hunted many units that aren’t a draw and had incohnters w great bulls every year 300-330 class I just don’t see how units like sled that are 10 pints to draw are or seen to be relatively low success of decent bulls .. I see Emily and wenaha units being a 330 minimum standard bull units in my opinion. And sled being a 300 min with a possibility at bigger. I have buddy’s that have killed great bulls out of sled but they lucked into the bulls.
WapitiBob said:
Never been to starkey; ukiah I hunted a cpl years. Depends on bow/rifle, weather, how much a guy scouts, etc. Draw odds will show perceived quality relative to other units, but, a lot of the harder to draw units are still living off 10 year old memories or 20 in the case of wenaha and mt emily. That's the downside to using odds to determine a quality hunt today.
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21C5DF34-5606-4A4F-A686-6318C9508D3B.jpeg
 
There’s no escapement cover in sled and 1000 yard rifles have removed the river canyon; they simply don’t live long enough. When you do find an old one, genetics, and feed come into play. Last year my partner shot the 2nd biggest bull I’ve seen in 50 years; quarters cut at knees, back straps, tenderloins, and neck meat weighed 347 hanging at the processor and he’s a 280 6x6.
 
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We went 2 for 3 in Sled rifle this year. We were 7 miles inside of the gates and saw 1 group of hunters the entire week. I did see a few tracks of other hunters, but never ran across them. Mature 6 and a decent 5 point were taken and we spotted 5-6 other shooters.
 
I bow hunted it this year. We did see some decent bulls but I could only hunt the first ten days. Hancock never opened while I was there and all of us were hunting the NF land. The elk we found were pushed onto timber land so after the first couple days it got tough. I did have my first wolf encounter. Called him in with a mouth reed doing coyote yips. I was in a large herd of elk most of opening morning, the bull pictured was in the herd. I could here him but never saw him. I was covered in cows for nearly 4 hours. Another hunter nicked him that afternoon but only had a couple drops of blood. His son took the picture just before he shot. There are good bulls there but I would not do that hunt again unless I could commit to the whole season. There are not enough elk on the NF land to handle the number of tags given and you never know when the timber land will open.
sled bull.jpg
 
callsalot said:
I have not hunted this unit personally but I have hunted Mt. Emily. If you have 14 or 15 points you may keep at it since Mt. Emily is a good unit with lots of elk. However if you are under that I'd split it with your buddy since I have two friends that have hunted Sled Springs in the last couple years and they both killed decent bulls and saw lots of elk and had a great hunt.
Good luck!
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I’m looking at taking my dad to hunt Sled Springs in 2023 for elk. I would like to talk to you about your hunt, the unit, and any thing you learned and noticed. Please give shoot me an email [email protected]
 
There are plenty of elk in sled springs and there is plenty of ground to hunt even if Hancock is closed, however, if you can't access the easy Hancock ground and have to drop into the canyons to pull out a bull it will be a lot of work. There are about 160,000 acres of NF land in sled springs with a lot of elk on it.
 
last year it did not take long for the elk to move off the NF onto Hancock. We had 8 guys in our group and we were all in elk the first two days. By Monday we could see elk and here bugles from the private but we found nothing on NF
 
desperatehills said:
I bow hunted it this year. We did see some decent bulls but I could only hunt the first ten days. Hancock never opened while I was there and all of us were hunting the NF land. The elk we found were pushed onto timber land so after the first couple days it got tough. I did have my first wolf encounter. Called him in with a mouth reed doing coyote yips. I was in a large herd of elk most of opening morning, the bull pictured was in the herd. I could here him but never saw him. I was covered in cows for nearly 4 hours. Another hunter nicked him that afternoon but only had a couple drops of blood. His son took the picture just before he shot. There are good bulls there but I would not do that hunt again unless I could commit to the whole season. There are not enough elk on the NF land to handle the number of tags given and you never know when the timber land will open.View attachment 101628
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That was me. We actually determined through footage that I clipped the last inch of a cow's hind quarter. I couldn't see that she was still slightly in front. Heartbreaking still. I got incredibly lucky and drew the Premium Elk tag so I'm hoping to finish this story :)
 
jeggert78 said:
That was me. We actually determined through footage that I clipped the last inch of a cow's hind quarter. I couldn't see that she was still slightly in front. Heartbreaking still. I got incredibly lucky and drew the Premium Elk tag so I'm hoping to finish this story :)
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congrats, I'll be there again as well
 
I’m not opposed to a deserving person getting the premium tag. I love it when good things happen to deserving people. However, I agree that you should turn the tag back in since you already admitted to blowing the back leg off of a cow. You’ve filled this tag already.
But go ahead, wound 4-5 more throughout your extra long season and then get a big one during the rut so you can be a hero!
 
bonepicker said:
I’m not opposed to a deserving person getting the premium tag. I love it when good things happen to deserving people. However, I agree that you should turn the tag back in since you already admitted to blowing the back leg off of a cow. You’ve filled this tag already.
But go ahead, wound 4-5 more throughout your extra long season and then get a big one during the rut so you can be a hero!
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I've got no dog in this fight but just can't follow the logic. How does "clipped the last inch of a cow's hindquarters" become "blowing the back leg off of a cow"? And how does anything that happened last year make this year's tag already filled?
 

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