07' Buck-Where to go?

ultramag · 11-29-2006, 08:09 PM

Its time to start planning next year's hunt.

First off- I have 4 preference points.

I know that any unit can produce some quality bucks, but I don't want to use 4 points on a unit that I could have drawn with 1 or 2 points. On the other hand I don't want to wait another 5-7 years for a coveted SE muzzleloader tag.

So this is where you guys come in

I have been studying OF&W's point summaries and there are a few SE units that I am interested in.

I have a pretty good chance of drawing a Steens tag this year or an almost sure thing next year. Others that I am interested in hearing about are E. Whitehorse, Beulah, N Warner, or?

I have also heard good things about the Silvies unit.

Now for the hunt- I don't have any pack animals (just a couple of lazy labs

) but I am not afraid to put a few miles on my boots. I am hoping to be able to glass multiple deer per day with the opportunity to pass on a few bucks before going for the kill.

I would appreciate any advice or words of wisdom from those of you who have hunted any of these areas in the last few years.

kill2hunt · 11-30-2006, 01:18 AM

this year during elk season my father, i know its not the same, but saw multiple big bucks every day in murders crick...... he said a good majority of them had horns 5-6 inches outside the ears! i have also heard great things about the norhtside and also the whitehorse. my personal opinion is that any one of those units has good deer its just where you hunt in them. i hunted the steens unit a few years back, and i mean hunted hard we had days of glassing canyons where you get the feeling no man has ever been in the bottom. we covered miles upon miles, we even had to break out the trick books a make some drives..... but the only buck that was seen was a really small 3by2 and a spike. i guess there was a die off but there just werent any deer? but good luck where ever you go

WSU · 11-30-2006, 06:53 AM

I am also interested in some info. on the big buck units. I just moved to oregon and next season will be the first year I hunt in oregon so i don't have any points, but I've heard good things about the buck prospects in oregon. What are the units that are considered big buck units? PM's are welcome and just post. Thanks.

hillsboro · 11-30-2006, 07:32 AM

You have to hunt it hard and do alot of walking but there are big bucks in the owyhee river drainage and it is a huge unit. The game guy says the ne and se parts of the units are what you want to focus on.

newbeebob · 11-30-2006, 08:26 AM

I was in the N. Malhuer unit for second season elk this year and saw quite a few nice bucks in the southern part of the unit. I have no idea if they are in the area during hunting season, but I had 3 nice 4x4's in shooting territory the one day we elk hunted towards the bottom of the tree line. Good luck

jschainsaw · 11-30-2006, 09:45 AM

you should stay on the west side- That's where the big ones are-

Limbhanger · 11-30-2006, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschainsaw

you should stay on the west side- That's where the big ones are-

Nope, nothing big over here either, better head to Idaho.

Seriously, I dont think there is such a thing as the go to "big buck unit" anymore. Sure, late season muzzleloading in the desert, or Trout Creek Mts hold promise, but even these arent what they used to be. There are a "few" big ones (When I say big I mean fully mature TOAD class) scattered around in many different units.
They didnt get big by standing around with a bunch of does during the daylight hours and living near the roads. Some areas that once had awesome bucks just dont have them anymore. Homework, scouting, getting off the beaten path and being set up in the right place to see big bucks when they are visible is in my opinion how to find mature Muley Bucks. Oh ya, just my opinion, but units that give out 1500 or more tags every year and the majority of guys kill the first spike or fork they see shouldnt complain when they dont see any mature bucks.

WSU · 11-30-2006, 11:58 AM

I plan on hunting hard once I draw a tag, even though that may be a few years. Packing a mature buck out for miles wouldn't bother me at all.

ultramag · 11-30-2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kill2hunt

this year during elk season my father, i know its not the same, but saw multiple big bucks every day in murders crick...... he said a good majority of them had horns 5-6 inches outside the ears! i have also heard great things about the norhtside and also the whitehorse. my personal opinion is that any one of those units has good deer its just where you hunt in them. i hunted the steens unit a few years back, and i mean hunted hard we had days of glassing canyons where you get the feeling no man has ever been in the bottom. we covered miles upon miles, we even had to break out the trick books a make some drives..... but the only buck that was seen was a really small 3by2 and a spike. i guess there was a die off but there just werent any deer? but good luck where ever you go

Thats kind of what I have heard about the Steens.

Anybody hunt it this year?

mtn300 · 11-30-2006, 09:52 PM

Put all the units you considered in a hat and draw one out

that will be the unit that has the 30" 4x4 that will go about 190 b/c

I wouldn't put money on it though. Wait a minute that is in colorado what am I thinking make that forked horn 12" wide now thats a hogg.

I would consider the columbia basin unit good for a few big bucks just need to know the right people. Jschainsaw knows where all the big bucks are ask him

he has 30" bucks on every wall in his house

LuckyStrike · 12-01-2006, 04:32 PM

Go for one of those desert bucks. If you get a chance look at the heads in the little store in Adel, south of Hart mtn. Those bucks were all killed around Adel and they are all cactus bucks, all gnarly and all. Must be thirty of them. Beattys Butte, Whitehorse, look at the upper Owyhee on the Idaho border.