Oregon Bow Hunters members?

[Joe]

Just curious how many of the bowhunters here are memebers of the Oregon Bow Hunters.

I decided I need to renew my membership as I let it expire several years back. I guess I got frustrated with OBH because it seemed like all they did was fight with the Traditional Archers of Oregon. I hope the two groups are past that by now. At this point there is no time for that.

My feeling is that if we don't get together to try and defend ourselves we stand to lose a bunch of hunting opportunity in the very near future.

The most obvious example is the current proposal to make the late Blacktail hunt a limited draw that would be your ONLY deer hunting opportunity for the year. This would mean that bowhunters that want to hunt in November would have a 2 week limited draw season compared to a 4 week (minimum) rifle season if the shortest rifle season option is taken. THIS IS A BUNCH OF BULL! There is no biological reason for such a cut of bowhunting opportunity!! The numbers just are not there to blame any population decline on archery harvest.
I have not even bowhunted for deer for six years and this has me very concerned. Anytime somebody want's to take away hunting opportunity without a biological basis we all stand to lose.

Any thoughts? Anybody else going to join OBH?

[TheRogue]

I, too have thought about this. I've been a member of OHA for a while now. I'm afraid as this battle heats up, it will end up being the old "guns vs sticks", and that is just plain wrong!!

How do I join??

TR

[Joe]

Oregon Bow Hunters has a web site where you can print out a membership application. Cost is $20.00 per year.

I spoke with Don Poole who is the President yesterday and he said they are really in need of increasing membership to get anything done.

[Mello-Yello]

I'm a member. Indeed, it's amazing how few bowhunters in the state are actually members. Something I'd like to see more of the folks that host 3D shoots do is, offer a reduced entry-fee to OBH members. Other states do this, and it helps membership numbers dramatically.

Here's their website

Oregon Bowhunters

[BrianMaguire]

I am both an Oregon Bowhunters and OHA Member. It seems however that neither organization really gets involved with important policy that has to do with habitat. The environmental groups ONRC and ONDA, etc. do more good for hunting than either of the two main hunting groups.

The push to put more restricitons on bowhunting is the ODFW doing the easy thing. Restrict hunting but don't do jack for habitat. Some at ODFW are awesome when it comes to habitat but others just plain suck. THey don't want to get political or offend anyone other than the hunters.

The blacktail restrictions are not the only thing the ODFW is proposing, it will be the eastside Elk seasons next. THe ODFW from what I can tell is dead set on making eastside bow elk a draw system. Restrictions are the easy way out, we hunters don't fight hard and don't have the funds that the cattleman have. We simply need to speak up.

[ 02-25-2004, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: BrianMaguire ]

[Just Fish]

I have been a member for many years I have shoot the OBH state 3D many times the best I done was 3rd.

[Mello-Yello]

We've may have run into each other at some point Just Fish . I've attended the last three OBH State 3D Championships and plan to attend them from here on out. One doesn't have to be a contender to shoot at these tournaments. It's a blast regardless, and you'll get to make a lot of new friends.

What class do you shoot?

[sliverpicker]

I belong to TAO and OHA. Used to be a OBH member also, but let it expire when all the pi$$in' and moaning that Joe mentioned above was going on.

I also belong to RMEF, NWTF, and NRA. Not real active with any of the organizations, time seems to be rather in short supply these days.

sliverpicker

[Joe]

I was just reviewing the harvest statistics for the 2000 season and came up with the following.

-Only 5.7% of bucks killed in Western Oregon are taken by bowhunters.
-It takes an average bowhunter 110.2 days of hunter effort for each buck killed compared to 38.6 days for the average rifle hunter. To me that means that bow season would have to be 100 days instead of 54 ( the combined total of early and late season ) for bowhunters to have a similar per hunter harvest. If anything we should be looking at adding bowhunting days not removing them.

I believe that the only reason anybody is considering making the late season a seperate limited entry draw is because bowhunters in Oregon are not well organized. It just doesn't seem logical that anybody could look at those figures and decide to cut bowhunting days. Maybe I am missing something but I just don't get it.

[Ras]

Hey Joe;

Can you come up with the statistics for Eastern Oregon deer, and elk for both sides of the state as well?

Ras

[BrianMaguire]

>>.Can you come up with the statistics for Eastern Oregon deer, and elk for both sides of the state as well?

Ras - these stats (for elk) are in the Elk Management plan if you hunt for them. Its on the ODFW web site or you can get them for each unit from this web site. Blue Mountian Monitor link

[Joe]

Like Brian said all the statistics are on the ODFW Wildlife Program home page.

Bow harvest on Eastside Bucks forn the year 2000 was 8.9% of the total take. Average bowhunter days per buck was 47.5 compared to 13 rifle hunter days per buck. The elk stats are very similar but I don't have time to look them up and do the math right now.

I think even most bowhunters are surprised to see how small a part of the picture they really are. This is the reason archery seasons are usually far more liberal than gun seasons. The problem is that if this proposal goes thru then the rifle season would actually have more days than bow season. :whazzup:

If bowhunters want a fair shake in the future they really need to get more organized or they will be the ones to lose out. BTW there is still time for people to provide public comment on these proposals if anyone is interested.

[Just Fish]

Mello Yellow I shoot bowhunter free style.I have been shooting 3D since the game started mid 80s.I bet we have been to the same shoots.