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CritterGitter91

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I drew the Powers unit any bull rifle tag, and I am looking for some info from people willing to share. Or, if anyone knows someone who knows the unit well I would love to talk with that person. I donā€™t know anyone who has ever hunted this unit or who even wants to hunt this unit, so any secrets shared are between me and you. I have a lot of experience elk hunting the Oregon coast, so I know what to expect. I donā€™t expect to shoot a monster, but I do plan on holding out for the first mature 5 or 6 point bull I see. I will hunt hard all 9 days, plus I will have about a week to scout right before the season starts. Any help would be greatly appreciated. In exchange, I would be happy to share some of my honey holes with you in a private email. I can share some great info on where to find elk in the Siuslaw unit, Rogue unit or Snake River unit. I have hunted all three extensively and have taken several mature bulls.

Is the Wild Rogue Wilderness worth hunting? My first impression is that trying to find a mature bull in there is probably a waste of precious hunting time, but if the elk hunting is good I would be willing to backpack hunt in. I have been studying the map of the unit in addition to looking on onX maps, and I have several areas in mind that I'd like to ask about.

I am also ready and willing to hike down into the thick, steep canyons if I can get a good tip on which ones consistently hold bulls during rifle season. Having never hunted this unit before (and probably never will again) I donā€™t want to waste a lot of time hunting hard where there are not likely to be elk. Having hunted Siuslaw unit a lot, I know the Coast range rosies are not evenly distributed. Their in pockets, and I donā€™t have the benefit of spending several years getting to know where these pockets are located in this particular unit. Since this is arguably the best rifle roosevelt elk tag in the state, I am really hoping I can hang my tag on a mature rosie this year.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me out!
 
#4 ·
I grew up in the tip of Powers Unit. I'm not trying to discourage you, just help you set realistic expectations.

The brush forms a wall along the roads you can't see into. By elk season, it is somehow wetter than mere standing water .. you'd stay drier jumping in a pond than you'll be wading through that brush. Throw out your gore-tex and whatever other fancy rain gear you have and get some Helly-Hansen neoprene, it's the only chance you've got.

In older times, like when I hunted it, there were a lot more elk and there were places to see .. back in those days, they still logged on public land. The clear cuts supported more elk than the forest will support today so the elk numbers are down and the elk are very scattered.

It is a miserable hunt with little hope of success IMHO. I would rather be beat with a stick than hunt elk there again.
 
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#5 ·
Access has gotten very limited. If I drew that tag I would consider getting a Bone Mountain access permit from Weyerhaeuser :palm: . $250 and there are 8 left. https://wyrecreation.com/permits

PS: My next door neighbor got a very nice mature 6-point the last time he hunted it (5 years ago?). He always spoke highly of the unit. There are some nice bulls in there. Google earth is your friend :)

Good luck!
 
#7 ·
LuckyDraw said:
Also the fire ļæ½ļæ½ļæ½ļæ½ļæ½ļæ½ wont help. Even though its on the edge of powers its taking a lot of resources locally. Not trying to be a Debbie downer just trying to help share some
Things to be prepared for!
Click to expand...

Resources shouldn't even be a discussion topic come rifle season when it's raining buckets.....


Bone Mtn is a good recommendation, Eden Ridge is another one to look at. I wouldn't recommend the rogue wilderness area as it's a dark hole. There definitely could be a monster or two hiding in it but the elk density is a lot heavier in the areas being logged. Target 3-5 year old cuts that hold spots of open inbetween the reprod where elk can bed down. Then sit down and glass until your eyes fall out of your head.

tc
 
#8 · (Edited)
I live 1 mile as a crow flies from the powers unit... we have a lot of gates that went up that we were under the understanding would open after fire season... they didnt open last year and i can assure you this fire wont help despite your buckets of rain. I do get your thought process on the rain. If i was you i would take what i said into consideration! Scouting will be tough to do and don't wait for the gates to open. The permit will fix all of those concerns as then i agree the resources wont matter and the buckets of rain will be a done deal.
 
Discussion starter · #9 · (Edited)
Thanks everyone for the responses! I just bought the Bone Mountain Weyerhaeuser permit so I will probably start there. Hopefully it was worth the $250. I am really hoping that because of the permit requirement this area is unpressured enough that the elk can often be found in clearcuts even during rifle season.
 
Discussion starter · #10 · (Edited)
SquarePeg said:
I grew up in the tip of Powers Unit. I'm not trying to discourage you, just help you set realistic expectations.

The brush forms a wall along the roads you can't see into. By elk season, it is somehow wetter than mere standing water .. you'd stay drier jumping in a pond than you'll be wading through that brush. Throw out your gore-tex and whatever other fancy rain gear you have and get some Helly-Hansen neoprene, it's the only chance you've got.

In older times, like when I hunted it, there were a lot more elk and there were places to see .. back in those days, they still logged on public land. The clear cuts supported more elk than the forest will support today so the elk numbers are down and the elk are very scattered.

It is a miserable hunt with little hope of success IMHO. I would rather be beat with a stick than hunt elk there again.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like your describing Siuslaw unit... or just every Oregon coast unit in general. I've hunted Siuslaw unit a lot so I know what you mean about the words "brushy" and "wet". I realize it's still the Oregon coast range, and that requires my expectations to be pretty low. However, my hope is that it is a better quality unit for elk than the other units, even if only slightly better. The success rate for this tag is a lot better than all the other Oregon coast units, with the exception of maybe Sixes unit (which is almost all private land and very hard to gain access). The success rate for rifle season is about 3 times higher than OTC Oregon coast rifle elk tags, and this fact had a lot to do with why I put in for the tag. I just bought the Bone Mountain Weyerhaeuser permit, and I am hoping this gives me a big advantage by providing access to clearcuts with limited hunting pressure and allowing me to avoid bushwhacking through the soaking wet rainforest as much. Just the success rate alone suggests that it is still a good quality roosevelt unit for people who hunt hard the whole season.

I definitely know what you mean about the declining numbers of elk on public land. Since I bought the permit, I am hoping to avoid public land for the most part unless I am having a really hard time finding elk around Bone Mountain. Hopefully this private area has decent elk hunting comparable to how it used to be on public back when you hunted the unit.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
tailchaser said:
Resources shouldn't even be a discussion topic come rifle season when it's raining buckets.....


Bone Mtn is a good recommendation, Eden Ridge is another one to look at. I wouldn't recommend the rogue wilderness area as it's a dark hole. There definitely could be a monster or two hiding in it but the elk density is a lot heavier in the areas being logged. Target 3-5 year old cuts that hold spots of open inbetween the reprod where elk can bed down. Then sit down and glass until your eyes fall out of your head.

tc
Click to expand...
Bone Mountain is definitely where I plan to focus. Hopefully I can put that $250 permit to good use. I have never been to this area so I do not know how old the clearcuts are, how much pressure it gets, elk numbers, etc. Is this a good area to glass up a bull in a clearcut during rifle season?
 
#12 ·
The general rule of thumb is if it's privately held timber company it has timber production going on. So clearcuts will be found with various ages of growth. If it's federally owned it's probably a thick jungle. There is some sparse BLM ground that occasionally gets thinned but it's unreliable at best.

Powers has the worst checkerboarding I've seen with regards to land ownership. However most of the timber companies allow access during rifle season and if it doesn't it's well marked.

It's been roughly 5 years since I helped someone on that hunt. I lived near there for 20 years and didn't hunt it due to restrictions during bow season and I absolutely HATE poison oak. So I avoided it. There are some nice bulls to be found, personally I'd look at the 6-12 year old cuts that have grass and water sources nearby.

tc
 
#13 ·
Bone Mountain on private is a better bet than the part I hunted. I spent my time in Eden Valley, Panther Ridge, and down into the Rogue Canyon. Pretty miserable in elk season. I have seen elk in there, nothing real big, and sparsely scattered.



I've mostly punted on Powers for elk. My results are about the same in the Cascades but it is warmer and drier there in October than in Powers unit in later November. Might as well be comfortable if I'm going to be "snake bit." I still go back for deer especially before the first rain while most people are road hunting.
 
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