texan coming to oregon for elk?

ampersat · 09-16-2003, 05:57 PM

alright, i spend all my time on the main board and LIG so if this is old hat around here, don't slap me around too much, OK?

i've got a buddy in texas who would be interested in coming up for elk hunting. i don't hunt (yet) so i can't help him. if he was coming up to fish, the fishing board would say hire a guide. so should i have him contact an outfitter? he hasn't hunted elk before so it would be kind of a hand-holding sort of trip for him. i'm also thinking that he would want it butchered, packaged and shipped home as well. (gee, sounds kushy. wish i could go for something like that.) who should i contact for something like this?

Grits · 09-16-2003, 06:10 PM

I would definetely find him an outfitter if he has $$. Hunting in Oregon is way different than Texas (have done both) and elk require more skill than deer IMHO.

You may have a hard time finding someone this late and since I have never used an outfitter I can't recommend any.

If they are more interested in coming out and tromping through the woods and the success of their trip isn't measured soley in getting an elk have them hunt the coast around Tillamook. There are lots of elk and if they can walk off the beaten path they stand a good chance of getting a shot.

If they really want an elk I would send them to CO.

As far as the butchering, I do my own but I think my dad pays around $200 to have his cut up each year. Shipping a few hundred pounds of meat could be spendy.

Mello-Yello · 09-16-2003, 06:13 PM

If he can afford it, absolutely get a guide, at least the first time around. A guide service will take care of all his needs, it just costs money.

To go it alone first time around, at least this year, would not likely be fruitful. As for next year, he should be able to gather all the information he needs to find a decent spot and take care of his logistics.

Oh, and send him pictures of our mountains. I took a good friend (native texan), after one weekend, he ended up hospitalized for two days with dehydration. "Whale, ah never faylt thuhrsty!"....poor guy almost killed himself. This place can be brutal on flat-landers...

Bubzilla · 09-16-2003, 06:15 PM

Don't know what sort of price range you had in mind for an outfitter, but you should know that elk hunts are not cheap--they run from well over $1,000 for a simple cow hunt to in excess of $10,000 for a trophy bull.

ampersat · 09-16-2003, 06:42 PM

mellow-yellow: where'd you learn how to type a texas accent? you're killing me.

Norm · 09-16-2003, 07:14 PM

There are lots of packers around the Eagle Cap. Somtimes they get cancelations at the last minute. Your looking at spending 3K+ per person for a one guide two hunter trip. I'm hoping to do a archery drop camp in the Eagle Cap next year with my son, thats a little more reasonable at about $700 a person. Elk are big critters, I would not recomend trying it on your own without some experienced help. The coast range can get pretty crazy in places during elk season, caution is advised. I started bowhunting after my first rifle season experience on the North coast.

Bounty Hunter · 09-17-2003, 06:31 AM

You might mention to him that we have 2 sub-species of elk in Oregon. I know some people like the idea of trying to bag one of each. If it was my only hunt in the NW I would want to focus on the Roosevelt Elk (West of I-5, or so they say...). You can get the non-native invasive Rocky Mountain Elk in several other states.

McBaine · 09-17-2003, 08:08 AM

Roosevelt actually are east of I-5. They are basicly on the Casecade range and Coast range mountains. Rocky Mountain Elk are basicly only going to be found in the NE corner of OR. Remember Rocky Mountain Elk have bigger antlers, but smaller bodies than the Roosevelts.

Artwo · 09-17-2003, 09:19 AM

You will basically find Rocky Mountian on the east slopes of the Cascade range east to the Oregon Border (some mixing of breed does occure in the Cascades) and Roosevelts can generally be found west of the Cascades to the ocean.

Bubzilla · 09-17-2003, 09:35 AM

Rocky Mountain Elk "non-naitve" and "invasive"? You make them sound like locus!

Darn, I wish there were a serious infestation, though. I believe, however, if you check, that they were native to much of Oregon, including but not limited to their current distribution. The herds in Oregon today are more or less the progeny of the elk planted in the Wallows at the turn of the last century, but their plantings were designed to recover a native species.

As for being just in NE Oregon, they are actually spread throughout all of Eastern Oregon--with considerable populations in Central Oregon. In fact, some of the Central Oregon herds are in better shape than those found in North Eastern Oregon--at least as far as bull ratios and calf survival are concerned. And, if I were out to get a true trophy--although Oregon is definitely not the best place for that--one of the places I'd look would be Southeastern Oregon, i.e., High Desert.

Should have mentioned that the biggest difference in which side of the state you hunt is going to be in tag availability. Much of the west side of Oregon still has general season hunting, while most of the east side is limited entry, i.e., you must draw for a tag. Most of the best draw areas require several years worth of rejection--which result in points--before you have a high chance of success in the draw. Outfitters, since 1997, have been able to offer non-resident hunters special tags outside the draw process that are priced at twice the cost of a normal non-resident tag. A big exception to this are the "spike only" hunts.

[ 09-17-2003, 12:43 PM: Message edited by: Bubzilla ]

tailchaser · 09-17-2003, 10:18 AM

Back on the subject of killing an elk rather than the geography of the existance, I took a couple of guys from Kansas last year for a Roosevelt hunt and damn near killed them hiking up and down canyons. I don't think the people from the midwest realize how much terrain has to do with bagging an elk and what you must do to accomplish it. Granted, a token few will be shot from landings, but for the most part it's a hard hunt and should be notified as such. In the end the guys I took nailed a nice 5x5, and should've had the 4 pt with it, but the other guy couldn't hit it, but ended up 1 for 2 on the trip. It was almost entertaining to see thier faces when we said we were heading down that canyon to pack him out. They thought the end was near in life and I thought it was one of the easiest packs I've ever had! :grin:

tc